Expert: Kimmi - 4/17/2009

Question
I am a flyer on an all-star and high school varsity team. I have great flexibility in both left and right splits, heel stretches, scales, scorpions, etc; but my problem lies with middle splits and jumps. For some reason I just seem to be lacking so much flexibility in this area, and i want to improve it to further improve my jumps and flyer flexibility. Do you know of any ways I can work on this besides sitting in a middle split? My goal is to be able to eventually sit flat in a middle split with legs directly beside me and be able to lean forward with my stomach on the ground, just like the majority of flyers can do! Thanks for any feedback.

Answer
Hi Jess,

  This might not be what you want to hear but first of all some people, no matter how hard they work, will never be able to achieve that middle flexibility. I am one of those people. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try.
  The second part you might not want to hear is that sitting in the middle splits is the BEST way to achieve that middle flexibility. The goal you listed is best achieved by sitting in the middle splits all the time whenever you can. Everytime you sit down, you sit in the middle splits. Good luck to you. I hope you can achieve your goals!

Happy Cheering,
Kimmi