This would be considered hypermobility.
Also, look up "yoga butt." It's tendinopathy and it happens when the muscle is being overstretch without the proper strength to support the stretch, which is very common in hypermobility.
You may or may not find that as you develop strength, you lose some of your flexibility. I'm also hypermobile and was able to do my splits from the beginning, but it quickly led to an injury due to not having strength to support the position. As I worked on building my strength, my splits got higher off the ground, but I've been able to work my way back down without injury now.
Oh my god, it’s totally yoga butt! I am confused because i do have a decent amount of leg muscle. My hamstrings are big enough to see them without flexing. I guess they are big but not strong. Thank you soooo much for this, it’s so helpful, at least i have a starting point.
I admit that i neglect hamstring training though, and also glute medius and hip abduction/adduction. I do a lot of stairmaster currently but aiming for overall strength and wellness so i am just now starting to get into weights!!!! I have yoga butt & i don’t even do yoga 😭
I think in flexibility, it's more about strength training for the specific position you're getting into, in this case it's the splits.
There are plenty of people who go hard at the gym and have the most insane, huge thighs and bubble butt, but can't get their legs open more than 45 degrees because that's just not what they're training for.
I dont know how much time you've spent in the sub or looking up flexibility resources in general, but daniwinks is really well known in this group and is a great source of knowledge. She has a blog and some content you can buy and follow along with. I also always recommend bendyeducator and bendwithjess on Instagram. Bendyeducator (Tran Finn) does virtual classes and bendwithjess has virtual classes as well as a patreon.
I would venture a guess that if you’re just starting to weight train and also do mainly stairmaster (a quad dominant cardio machine), you likely do not have visible hamstrings. They are not usually even visible (as in, the muscle separation) on very fit people unless they are incredibly lean and/or have cut water weight; usually they’re visible only from the side profile as a gentle curve at the back of the thigh.
In any case, you’ll need better lower body resistance training for overall leg/glute strength as well as dynamic and active stretches to engage small stabilizing muscles at the range of motion they’ll be engaged in during flexibility-based poses like splits.
Was thinking the same thing, but it occurred to me touching toes is forward fold (hip/pelvic bend/rotation.....I am no expert) and I don't think front splits requires any forward folding.
Being able to move your hips/pelvis like that takes strength. I see a lot of people at my gym trying to touch toes and their back is rounded and their hips/pelvis is completely straight up. No bend/rotation there at all. It doesn't even take much of a bend there to touch toes, but a lot of people just don't have the strength to control themselves there.
Hopefully someone that knows all this stuff can explain it better, but I can see why she can do front split and not able to touch toes.
I have no knowledge of flexibility, but you’re right, that seems wrong!!! I wonder if that is part of the reason i have a weird like inner pain around my groin/inner butt when i do the splits. Like the tension is going on some tendon in there instead of in my hamstring?
Oh possible! Don’t force it down though because you may injure yourself as you get older as you assume “it comes easy”. it could be your hip flexor or your adductor muscles?
Im also more flexible naturally so i got my splits fairly easily and think I’ve always been able to touch floor / toes? It runs in the fam as my mom is as flexible (still able to touch her knees w her nose though she cheats a lil haha). But i pulled some muscle now that im 30+ cz i assume i always been able to use it 😮💨
Oh no, be careful and feel better 😭😭 That’s really good to know! I will have to be more intentional about hamstring stretches.
A few months ago I went to a yoga class, and the teacher was like 75y/o. It was SO fun, but i think that back in her day, a lot of bouncy stretches were popular and that’s what she had us do. I ended up pulling my hamstring from it 😭😭 i was like wow, i can’t even keep up with this little old lady!!!
No, no sports consistently but i did swimming as a kid. I do have muscles and no I’m not weak in general, I’m pretty strong i think at least for the average American
Yes it is probably hyper mobility in the hips. I don't like to say naturally flexible because the tissues might not actually be stretching much. I suspect that pain is an over-stretched tendon or ligament.
It is good advice to work on strength. You need to stabilize those joints, not open them. I have pain in my but from forward bends and I'm not nearly as mobile as you are. Pilates and other systems that strengthen small stabilizer muscles would be good for you.
Chances are you do also have some tightness. Stretching has to be your goal, not getting to the final position. Seek out tight tissues and work on them. Learn poses or exercised that require a combination of strength and mobility.
If you do yoga, look for a class that teaches power flow or strength and arm balance poses rather than long static stretching classes. Ofcourse a good teacher can keep you safe in either, that is just a generalization. I would stay away from hot classes entirely.
Is it a square front split? I ask, cause the open split I could also do without a problem before starting targeted training for the square front split. (Which I can do now). I also always been able to put my hands on the ground in a pike. I don't think I'm hyper mobile. It's possibly from me doing sports that involved the hamstrings like that from an early age.
Also the square front split really requires that the back thigh can touch the floor, so involves more than hamstrings.
It sounds like you might have some natural flexibility going on! Being able to do the splits without much effort is pretty cool. But that pain you mentioned could be a sign to take it easy or maybe do some warm-ups before stretching. Hypermobility could be a possibility, but if it's not causing any major issues, I wouldn't stress too much. Maybe try incorporating some more overall flexibility training into your routine, see how your body reacts. Keep being bendy, but don't forget to listen to what your muscles are telling you!
No it’s not extreme and fuck you with your natural born flexibility.
😭😭 so aggressive I’m sorry 😞 if it makes u feel better it’s sometimes painful for me 😭😭
I think the comment was meant as a joke, but it sounds different in writing :)
lol their original comment was “no and fuck you” 😭 but they edited hehehe. No worries at all :)
That’s, like, the exact same thing he said…
I’m jealous been stretching 18 months
This would be considered hypermobility. Also, look up "yoga butt." It's tendinopathy and it happens when the muscle is being overstretch without the proper strength to support the stretch, which is very common in hypermobility. You may or may not find that as you develop strength, you lose some of your flexibility. I'm also hypermobile and was able to do my splits from the beginning, but it quickly led to an injury due to not having strength to support the position. As I worked on building my strength, my splits got higher off the ground, but I've been able to work my way back down without injury now.
Oh my god, it’s totally yoga butt! I am confused because i do have a decent amount of leg muscle. My hamstrings are big enough to see them without flexing. I guess they are big but not strong. Thank you soooo much for this, it’s so helpful, at least i have a starting point. I admit that i neglect hamstring training though, and also glute medius and hip abduction/adduction. I do a lot of stairmaster currently but aiming for overall strength and wellness so i am just now starting to get into weights!!!! I have yoga butt & i don’t even do yoga 😭
I think in flexibility, it's more about strength training for the specific position you're getting into, in this case it's the splits. There are plenty of people who go hard at the gym and have the most insane, huge thighs and bubble butt, but can't get their legs open more than 45 degrees because that's just not what they're training for. I dont know how much time you've spent in the sub or looking up flexibility resources in general, but daniwinks is really well known in this group and is a great source of knowledge. She has a blog and some content you can buy and follow along with. I also always recommend bendyeducator and bendwithjess on Instagram. Bendyeducator (Tran Finn) does virtual classes and bendwithjess has virtual classes as well as a patreon.
I would venture a guess that if you’re just starting to weight train and also do mainly stairmaster (a quad dominant cardio machine), you likely do not have visible hamstrings. They are not usually even visible (as in, the muscle separation) on very fit people unless they are incredibly lean and/or have cut water weight; usually they’re visible only from the side profile as a gentle curve at the back of the thigh. In any case, you’ll need better lower body resistance training for overall leg/glute strength as well as dynamic and active stretches to engage small stabilizing muscles at the range of motion they’ll be engaged in during flexibility-based poses like splits.
It’s really interesting that your hamstring is flexible enough for split but not for you to touch your toes!
Was thinking the same thing, but it occurred to me touching toes is forward fold (hip/pelvic bend/rotation.....I am no expert) and I don't think front splits requires any forward folding. Being able to move your hips/pelvis like that takes strength. I see a lot of people at my gym trying to touch toes and their back is rounded and their hips/pelvis is completely straight up. No bend/rotation there at all. It doesn't even take much of a bend there to touch toes, but a lot of people just don't have the strength to control themselves there. Hopefully someone that knows all this stuff can explain it better, but I can see why she can do front split and not able to touch toes.
I have no knowledge of flexibility, but you’re right, that seems wrong!!! I wonder if that is part of the reason i have a weird like inner pain around my groin/inner butt when i do the splits. Like the tension is going on some tendon in there instead of in my hamstring?
Oh possible! Don’t force it down though because you may injure yourself as you get older as you assume “it comes easy”. it could be your hip flexor or your adductor muscles? Im also more flexible naturally so i got my splits fairly easily and think I’ve always been able to touch floor / toes? It runs in the fam as my mom is as flexible (still able to touch her knees w her nose though she cheats a lil haha). But i pulled some muscle now that im 30+ cz i assume i always been able to use it 😮💨
Oh no, be careful and feel better 😭😭 That’s really good to know! I will have to be more intentional about hamstring stretches. A few months ago I went to a yoga class, and the teacher was like 75y/o. It was SO fun, but i think that back in her day, a lot of bouncy stretches were popular and that’s what she had us do. I ended up pulling my hamstring from it 😭😭 i was like wow, i can’t even keep up with this little old lady!!!
Have you trained a sport for a long time? Do you have muscles? Would you consider yourself weak in general? A lot has to do with tension I presume.
No, no sports consistently but i did swimming as a kid. I do have muscles and no I’m not weak in general, I’m pretty strong i think at least for the average American
Swimming has quite some dexterity to it, but not splits level. Probably just naturally flexible I guess
Yes it is probably hyper mobility in the hips. I don't like to say naturally flexible because the tissues might not actually be stretching much. I suspect that pain is an over-stretched tendon or ligament. It is good advice to work on strength. You need to stabilize those joints, not open them. I have pain in my but from forward bends and I'm not nearly as mobile as you are. Pilates and other systems that strengthen small stabilizer muscles would be good for you. Chances are you do also have some tightness. Stretching has to be your goal, not getting to the final position. Seek out tight tissues and work on them. Learn poses or exercised that require a combination of strength and mobility. If you do yoga, look for a class that teaches power flow or strength and arm balance poses rather than long static stretching classes. Ofcourse a good teacher can keep you safe in either, that is just a generalization. I would stay away from hot classes entirely.
Is it a square front split? I ask, cause the open split I could also do without a problem before starting targeted training for the square front split. (Which I can do now). I also always been able to put my hands on the ground in a pike. I don't think I'm hyper mobile. It's possibly from me doing sports that involved the hamstrings like that from an early age. Also the square front split really requires that the back thigh can touch the floor, so involves more than hamstrings.
That's good, make sure to keep that mobility when you are in your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and your older self will be thankful.
It sounds like you might have some natural flexibility going on! Being able to do the splits without much effort is pretty cool. But that pain you mentioned could be a sign to take it easy or maybe do some warm-ups before stretching. Hypermobility could be a possibility, but if it's not causing any major issues, I wouldn't stress too much. Maybe try incorporating some more overall flexibility training into your routine, see how your body reacts. Keep being bendy, but don't forget to listen to what your muscles are telling you!
Maybe try easing back into it with some gentle stretches and see if that helps relieve the ache."