Yoga guide
Yoga is a good way to work towards the splits: lunges, lizard and pyramid pose stretch what the front split needs, and wide-legged folds and bound angle what the middle split needs. Regular stretching adds a lot of range, mostly over months. No study has timed the splits, though, and no one can promise you'll get there by a date.
This guide covers the front split (hanumanasana) and the middle split, what limits each, how flexibility improves, how long to hold and how often, why a clear pull works as well as forcing it, building strength in the stretch, the hamstring injury that slow, forced stretching can cause, very flexible joints, and a 30-minute class with blocks. A flat middle split may depend partly on the shape of your hips, and flexibility of any amount is worth having.
The front split stretches the front leg's hamstrings and the back leg's hip flexors, muscles that respond well to stretching. The middle split stretches the inner thighs and also depends on how far your hip sockets let your thighs swing out.
Our searches found no study of how long it takes to reach either split. The only studies that measured the splits are tiny ones in gymnasts and one small yoga trial whose figures are hard to trust. Our training guide's estimate, not a trial result: weeks to a few months if you're close, many months to a year or more from a stiff start.
Across 77 studies (3,870 people), stretching programmes improved range of movement by a large amount, and in one trial daily hamstring stretching added about 19 degrees in 4 weeks. People who start least flexible gain the most.
Over weeks, gentle stretching gained about as much range as hard stretching in two large reviews, and in dance students gentle stretching and strength work built more usable range than hard stretching. Hold 30 to 60 seconds on most days.
In 15 professional dancers hurt while stretching slowly with a straight knee, every strain sat near the sitting bone, and the median time back to full performance was 50 weeks. Never let anyone push you down.
Even in professional dancers with normal hips, the bones meet at the end of a split, and hip shape varies between people, so some adults may never sit flat in a middle split; that evidence is indirect. If your joints are already very flexible, build strength rather than stretching further.
The front split (hanumanasana in yoga) has one leg forward and one back, both straight, with the hips facing forward. The front leg needs hip bend with a straight knee, which stretches the hamstrings and the sciatic nerve behind them; the back leg needs the hip to open, which stretches the hip flexors at the front. A half split is the front leg straight with the back knee on the floor and your hips over it: a stepping stone, practised on blocks.
The middle split (also called the side or straddle split) takes both legs out to the sides until the inner thighs approach the floor. It needs the inner-thigh muscles to lengthen and the hip sockets to let the thigh bones swing out that far. In yoga, the wide-angle seated fold (upavistha konasana) and the wide-legged standing fold work towards it, as does the pancake, a seated straddle folding forward between the legs.
Our training guide to the splits has the full anatomy and its own routine. This guide covers the yoga poses and a yoga class for both splits.
Our searches of about 600 records found no study of how long adults take to reach the front or middle split.
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Stretching with vibration changed the front split in 10 trained gymnasts and in young girls in gymnastics, over a few weeks. In the one yoga trial, 40 students with no yoga experience did 70 minutes twice a week for 16 weeks, and the gap between groin and floor in a front split went from 11.25 to 5.25 cm, against no change in a group that watched 10 minutes of yoga video a week. That trial's methods aren't described and its starting figures are hard to trust: beginners only 11 cm from a full split, with very little spread between them. Even national-team karate athletes averaged about 150 to 156 degrees on a sideways split test, where 180 is flat.
Daily hamstring stretching added about 19 to 20 degrees in 4 weeks in one trial and about 9 in 6 weeks in another, and teenage boys gained about 12 degrees in 6 weeks. Across 84 studies of tight hamstrings, stretching beat doing nothing by about 9 to 12 degrees; one short stretch didn't change range beyond measuring error, while at least a week of stretching (about 70 minutes in all) was likely to.
This estimate comes from the stretching trials above, not from a study of the splits. Progress varies a lot between people, so use it as a rough guide, not a deadline.
Measure once a week, at the same time of day after the same warm-up: the height of your hips from the floor, or the blocks you need (our suggestion).
Over 3 to 8 weeks, most of the extra range comes from tolerating more stretch. In 26 studies averaging about 19 minutes of stretching a week, the stretch people could tolerate rose a little, while their muscles and tendons barely changed.
Across 65 studies, stretching programmes raised stretch tolerance moderately and lowered muscle stiffness a little, and muscle fibres didn't lengthen. Over 3 to 12 weeks, static stretching lowered muscle stiffness moderately in 10 studies; only high volumes and intensities lengthened muscle fibres, and then only slightly.
People who started least flexible gained the most, women gained more than men in one large review, and age didn't stop people gaining in 79 randomised trials.
In professional dancers with normal hips, the front and side splits pressed the thigh bone's neck against the socket rim and shifted the ball out of the socket by about 1 to 6 mm, and on a splits X-ray the ball moved out in 42 of 47 dancers. Hips with an impingement shape had less range in computer models, and the angle of the thigh bone's neck varies by up to 30 degrees between healthy adults and doesn't change with stretching. Single stretching sessions didn't change inner-thigh range in the 4 studies that tested it. Put together, some adults may never sit flat in a middle split; that's an inference from dancer imaging and models, not a tested result.
In 57 younger adults, 30-second holds gained as much as 60-second holds and more than 15; holding longer or stretching 3 times a day added nothing in another trial. In 62 adults aged 65 to 97, 60-second holds gained range about twice as fast as 30-second holds.
One analysis of 189 studies found gains levelled off at about 10 minutes per muscle a week; another found no link with time spent stretching; an older one found at least 5 minutes a week and more frequent stretching helped. An expert panel suggests 2 to 3 sets of 30 to 120 seconds per muscle every day for the biggest ranges. Nobody has tested a dose for the splits.
Holding a stretch, and contract-relax stretching (pushing gently against the stretch, then relaxing into it), built about twice the lasting range of moving stretches across 77 studies.
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Over weeks, gentle stretching gained about as much range as hard stretching in two large reviews, and 4 of 5 programme studies in another review found no difference. Some single-session studies favoured harder stretching, and one review leaned that way. In dance students, gentle stretching built more usable range than hard stretching. Stretching into pain hasn't been shown to get you there faster.
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests about 60 seconds of stretching in all per muscle group on at least 2 days a week, and the NHS flexibility routine at least twice a week. After you stop, range slips back within weeks but stays above where you started, and stretching 2 or 3 days a week kept a gain in one trial.
A few minutes of easy movement and leg swings warm the muscles before you stretch, as gymnastics safety rules ask. One session of stretching adds range for less than half an hour, which is why change comes from weeks of practice.
In 11 trials that compared them directly (452 people), strength training and stretching improved range by similar amounts, and slow-lowering (eccentric) training improved leg range by a large amount across 17 studies.
In 39 dance students over 6 weeks, strength training at the end of the hip's range and gentle stretching improved how high they could lift the leg themselves more than hard stretching did; all three improved passive range.
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In ice hockey players, weak inner thighs, not tight ones, went with groin strains, and an inner-thigh strengthening programme cut groin problems by 41% in semi-professional footballers.
Standing hand-to-big-toe pose, warrior III, high lunge and goddess hold your legs in long positions with your own muscles, which is strength in the stretch (our reading). Our training splits routine adds Nordic curls, Cossack squats and Copenhagen planks.
In 15 professional dancers injured while stretching slowly with a straight knee, every strain sat high near the sitting bone, and most involved the tendon of one hamstring muscle (the semimembranosus). Symptoms were mild at first, yet the median time back to their previous level was 50 weeks (range 30 to 76), against 16 weeks for sprinters' hamstring strains. Our hamstring strain guide has the rehab plan.
In 98 ballet students, 88% of sudden rear-thigh injuries happened during slow flexibility work such as the splits, and 70% of those injured had continuing problems.
Never let anyone push you into a split: the Whyte Review into gymnastics in the UK heard of coaches using their body weight to force gymnasts down into splits, sometimes to the point of tears and injury.
British Gymnastics now says a gymnast must be able to ease off or stop any stretch beyond mild discomfort, and that adjustments must not force a deeper stretch. In a yoga class, you can say no to any hands-on adjustment.
Stretch to a clear pull you can breathe through, never pain. Harder stretching added no range in two large reviews, and slow, forced stretching with a straight knee is how dancers strain the high hamstring tendon.
Work below the pinch rather than into it: stretching into it doesn't change bone shape. If hip pinching keeps happening, see our hip impingement guide.
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Professional dancers had more cartilage damage at the top of the hip socket than non-dancers (28.8% against 7.1% with lesions over 5 mm), and hip and groin problems are common in dance, though dancers' hip bones are mostly shaped like anyone else's. There are no data for people practising the splits for fun.
The 9-point Beighton score includes placing your palms flat on the floor with straight knees; 5 or more points counts in adults, 4 or more over 50. The Hypermobility Syndromes Association says around 1 in 10 people are hypermobile, and most have no symptoms; 18.3% of 12,853 UK adults counted as hypermobile on a questionnaire, and 72% of 85 elite dancers scored 5 or more.
In 9 women with joint hypermobility syndrome and 9 others, the muscles resisted stretch equally, but the hypermobile women went much further before stopping. So stretching until you feel it can take a very flexible body too far (our reading).
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The NHS says the main treatment for joint hypermobility syndrome is "improving muscle strength and fitness so your joints are better protected", and advises not overextending your joints just because you can. The Hypermobility Syndromes Association suggests yoga "focused on strengthening and control rather than increasing flexibility", and the Ehlers-Danlos Society advises people with unstable joints to avoid sports that focus on flexibility.
One Dance UK's guide for dance teachers says stability and strength should come first for hypermobile dancers.
Choose classes that build strength and control in the middle of your range, avoid hanging at the end of your range (locked knees or elbows, deep splits and backbends, long passive yin holds), and tell the teacher. Stretch only areas that feel genuinely tight, to a mild pull. The strength poses below are the useful part, and our hypermobility guide has a full routine. Our Pilates for hypermobility guide covers the one sizeable Pilates trial and how to adapt a class.
Across 25 trials (26,610 people), stretching didn't lower injury rates, while strength training cut them to under a third. In 1,538 army recruits, stretching before exercise didn't change injuries, and an expert panel doesn't recommend stretching to prevent injuries in general.
Across 108 trials, slow-lowering hamstring exercises cut hamstring injuries by 57% to 70%, while stretching improved flexibility. Across 78 studies, age and a previous injury, not flexibility, were the strongest risk factors.
Slow breathing 1 minute and sun salutation A 2 slow rounds (our yoga for legs class); leg swings 10 each leg (our splits stretching routine); hip circles 3 slow circles each way with each leg, holding a wall (our yoga for mobility class).
Low lunge 45 seconds each side (our yoga for tight hips class); half-kneeling hip flexor stretch 2 × 45 seconds each side, contract-relax hamstring stretch 3 rounds each leg and pyramid 2 × 30 seconds each side on blocks (our splits stretching routine); strap hamstring stretch 45 seconds each side, stopping at a mild pull (our yoga for dancers class); standing splits 2 holds of 3 to 5 breaths each side, hands on blocks (our editorial starting point). Lizard: "Hold 30 to 60 seconds, about 5 to 10 slow breaths, each side, 2 rounds (our editorial starting point). The ACSM suggests about 60 seconds of stretching in all per exercise, on at least 2 days a week." (the move page's dose).
3D demoLow lunge (Anjaneyasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoHalf-kneeling hip flexor stretchBeginner · No equipment
3D demoLizard pose (Utthan Pristhasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoPyramid pose (Parsvottanasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoSupine hamstring stretch with a strapBeginner · No equipment
3D demoContract-relax hamstring stretch (PNF)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoStanding splits (Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana)Advanced · No equipment2 × 30 seconds each side, hands on blocks, back knee down to start, sliding only as far as you can hold with steady breathing and building to 60 seconds (our splits stretching routine). The move's own page opens: "Hold 30 to 60 seconds at a strong but painless stretch, 2 or 3 times each side, on 3 or 4 days a week (our editorial starting point)." (from the move page's dose); aim for a clear pull you can breathe through, as our training guide says.
Goddess 3 holds of 3 breaths (our yoga for dancers class); bound angle 60 seconds, knees falling open (our yoga for tight hips class); frog rocks 2 × 10, wide-angle seated fold 2 × 60 seconds and the middle split 2 × 30 seconds on blocks or a chair (our splits stretching routine); wide-legged standing fold 45 seconds, hands on blocks or a chair (our editorial starting point). The middle split's own page says to "expect progress over months to years" (from the move page's dose).
3D demoGoddess pose (Utkata Konasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBound angle pose (Baddha Konasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoFrog rockIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoWide-legged standing forward fold (Prasarita Padottanasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoWide-angle seated forward fold (Upavistha Konasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoMiddle splits (side splits)Expert · No equipmentStanding hand-to-big-toe 3 breaths each side and warrior III 3 breaths each side, twice, hands on a chair (our yoga for dancers class); high lunge 5 breaths each side (our yoga for hip flexors class); Cossack squats and Copenhagen planks 2 × 5 each side and Nordic curls 2 × 3 to 5 lowers (our splits stretching routine). Active pancake lift-off: "4 sets of 5 lifts, holding 3 to 5 seconds each (our editorial starting point)." (the move page's dose).
3D demoStanding hand-to-big-toe pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoWarrior III (Virabhadrasana III)Advanced · No equipment
3D demoHigh lunge (crescent lunge, Ashta Chandrasana)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoCossack squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoCopenhagen plankAdvanced · A bench or box
3D demoActive pancake lift-offAdvanced · No equipment
3D demoNordic curlAdvanced · An anchor pointLeave them out: they add risk without adding range.
Minutes in the full split haven't been shown to add more range than shorter holds, and very flexible people should skip them.
Neither split needs it, and US health advice is for beginners to avoid the lotus position.
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Leave the splits until our hamstring injury or groin strain guide says so (our suggestion). The contract-relax stretch's page says it's not for a hamstring that is currently strained, standing splits' page says to leave it while a hamstring is healing, and the wide-angle fold's page says to widen over months, not in one session.
Our editorial plan, built on our training splits guide, the expert panel's advice of daily stretching for the biggest ranges, the trials on strength in the stretch and on keeping range. It's a starting point, not a prescription.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Front splits (Hanumanasana)
Start with our yoga for the splits class: a warm-up, the front split, strength in the stretch, then the middle split, with blocks. The training splits routine adds strength moves outside yoga; the flexibility, hip, hamstring and hip flexor classes work one area at a time; the dancers and martial arts classes build active range; the hypermobility class is for very flexible joints.
A 30-minute yoga class towards the front and middle splits: a warm-up, hip flexor and hamstring stretches, standing strength in long positions, then the inner thighs.
30 minBeginner19 movesWallFront-split and middle-split days: hip flexor, hamstring and inner-thigh stretches, then strength in the stretched position. Alternate them 3 to 4 times a week.
25 minIntermediate16 movesWall, anchor pointA 25-minute yoga sequence for the hamstrings, hips, inner thighs, spine and shoulders, holding each pose for 30 to 60 seconds, as in the stretching trials.
25 minBeginner12 movesNo equipmentA hip-opening yoga sequence: low lunge, lizard, goddess, pigeon, bound angle and happy baby.
25 minBeginner10 movesWallA 12-minute routine to loosen tight hamstrings with strap stretches, PNF, folds and hinges.
12 minBeginner7 movesNo equipmentA 25-minute yoga class for tight or weak hip flexors: lunges and warriors to stretch the front of the hip, then poses and leg lifts to strengthen it.
25 minBeginner15 movesWall, firm cushionTwenty-five minutes of yoga for dancers: feet and ankles, turnout from the hips, balances you control yourself, trunk strength, then gentle stretches and rest.
25 minBeginner17 movesOther / check instructions, bench or boxTwenty-five minutes of yoga for martial artists: slow breathing, hip range you control, the kicking leg and one-leg balance, wrists and upper back, then rest.
25 minBeginner17 movesWallA 25-minute yoga class for hypermobile joints, HSD and hEDS: supported lying work, all-fours control, standing poses with soft joints, balance and a legs-up rest.
25 minBeginner15 movesBand, wallDon't attempt the splits, pigeon or deep hip bends unless your surgical team clears it. During recovery, the NHS says not to bend your hip more than 90 degrees (a right angle) and not to sit with your legs crossed.
Check deep hip bending and crossing your legs, as in figure four and pigeon, with your surgical team first, as each move's page advises.
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If you're hypermobile, don't use mobility work to push further: the NHS says "do not overextend your joints just because you can". See a GP if you think you have joint hypermobility syndrome: for example, your joints keep dislocating, or you keep getting sprains, strains, pain or stiffness.
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We found no evidence on the splits in pregnancy. Keep stretches comfortable and follow our pregnancy guide.
While bones are still growing, stop for a sudden pain at the sitting bone and get it checked the same day (our suggestion; the warning signs below have more).
These are the site's lines from our training splits, flexibility, hamstring strain and yoga guides, word for word, apart from lines marked as our suggestion. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 for 999, and use your doctor's urgent line or urgent care for NHS 111.
After an injury, if you heard a crack, the leg has changed shape or is pointing at an odd angle, it is numb, tingling or has pins and needles, or the skin has turned blue or grey or feels cold.
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A pop, sharp pain or sudden weakness high at the back of the thigh near the sitting bone, or a large bruise there, needs checking the same day: the tendon may have pulled away from the bone. Get help from NHS 111 if a strain is very painful, badly swollen or bruised, or hurts to walk or stand. Stretch-type strains can feel mild at first and still take months to heal.
Stop if you feel a sudden sharp pain, a snap or a pop at the back of the thigh during a stretch: it may be a hamstring strain. Our hamstring strain guide says when to get help.
Same day, for an X-ray (our suggestion): a teenager with sudden pain at the sitting bone after a sprint, a kick or the splits, often with a pop, especially if walking or sitting hurts. While the bones are still growing, the tendon can pull off a piece of bone.
Get help from NHS 111 if you think you've injured your hamstring and it's very painful, or the pain is getting worse; there's a large amount of swelling or bruising, or the swelling or bruising is getting worse; it hurts to walk or stand using the injured leg; your leg feels very stiff or is difficult to move; it's not feeling any better after treating it yourself; or you have a very high temperature or you feel very hot, but also cold and shivery, which could be signs of an infection.
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Sudden groin pain while stretching or kicking needs NHS 111 if it's very painful. See a GP about a lump in the groin. Our groin strain guide has more.
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A deep pinch or catching at the front of the hip in the middle split can come from the joint itself. Work above the pinch, and see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (our suggestion).
Burning, tingling, numbness or pins and needles down an arm or leg usually means a nerve is under tension, so ease off to a position without it. A pinch at the front of the hip or shoulder at the end of a pose is the joint, so work below it. See a GP or physiotherapist if either keeps happening (our suggestion).
If you have pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or anus, changes in your bladder or bowels or in how sex feels, or back pain that started after a serious accident.
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See a GP if you think you or your child have joint hypermobility syndrome, for example joints that keep dislocating, ongoing joint or muscle pain and stiffness, repeated sprains and strains, tiredness even after rest, poor balance, or thin, stretchy skin.
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Call 999 if:
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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A joint pain that is sharp, gets worse during a session, lingers into the next day or changes how you move is a reason to use an easier version, and to see a GP or physiotherapist if it keeps happening (the rule in our plans). Muscle soreness for a day or two after something new is normal. In a hot class, stop if you feel dizzy, sick or unwell; our hot yoga guide lists the signs of heat illness.
You can say no to any hands-on adjustment, and a teacher registered with Yoga Alliance must get your explicit consent each time.
With glaucoma, or high blood pressure that isn't under control, skip headstands, shoulder stands and long head-down holds. With osteoporosis, swap deep forward folds for a flat-back hinge from the hips, and twist smoothly. In pregnancy, our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes. NCCIH advises beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands, the lotus position and forceful breathing.
Our yoga in pregnancy guide covers the changes; keep every stretch comfortable rather than deep (our suggestion).
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The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
If you have a heart, lung or joint condition, are pregnant or have recently been unwell, start gently and read our guide for your condition. Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new exercise is common and fades as you repeat it.
Our searches found no study that has timed the splits. One session adds range for under half an hour, and 4 to 6 weeks of hamstring stretching adds roughly 9 to 20 degrees. Only people who are nearly there are likely to get there in weeks (our training guide's reading).
Over weeks, gentle stretching gained about as much range as hard stretching, hard stretching built less usable range than gentle stretching or strength work in dancers, and slow forced stretching caused high hamstring strains that took dancers about a year to recover from.
Even professional dancers' hip bones meet at the end of a split, hip shape varies, and stretching doesn't change bone. The evidence is indirect, but a flat middle split isn't guaranteed.
People who start least flexible gain the most from stretching, and age didn't stop people gaining. Blocks and straps bring the poses to you.
Stretching programmes didn't lower sports injuries across 25 trials, while strength training cut them to under a third, and groin strains followed weak inner thighs, not tight ones.
In younger adults, holding longer than 30 seconds or stretching 3 times a day added nothing, and gains levelled off at about 10 minutes per muscle a week in one large analysis.
Claims that hot yoga beats other yoga are unproven, and the heat brings risks of its own; our hot yoga guide covers them.
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Hypermobile people already tolerate more stretch, the NHS says not to overextend your joints just because you can, and the Ehlers-Danlos Society warns that overstretching can make joints unstable.
Yes: lunges, lizard, pyramid pose and wide-legged folds stretch exactly what the splits need, and standing poses build strength in long positions. In one small trial, 16 weeks of yoga halved the gap between groin and floor in a front split, though that trial's figures are hard to trust.
No study has measured it. Our training guide's estimate is a few weeks to a few months if you're within a hand's width, many months to a year or more from a stiff start, and often longer for the middle split. Measure weekly and judge by months.
For the front split: low lunge, lizard, pyramid pose, a strap hamstring stretch and the split itself on blocks. For the middle split: goddess, bound angle, wide-legged folds and the seated straddle. Holding stretches and contract-relax stretches build the most lasting range.
Yes: the least flexible people gain the most from stretching, and blocks under your hands and hips let you practise at any height. Start with lunges and the half split, and warm up first.
About 30 to 60 seconds, 2 or 3 times, on most days: 30 seconds gained as much as 60 in younger adults, and 60 gained faster over 65. An expert panel suggests 2 to 3 sets of 30 to 120 seconds a day for the biggest ranges.
No. Over weeks, a clear pull you can breathe through gained about as much range as stretching hard. Slow, forced stretching with a straight knee can strain the hamstring near the sitting bone, which took dancers about a year to recover from.
Usually a mix of tight inner thighs, low tolerance to the stretch and, for some people, hip bones that stop the thigh going further, though that last part rests on indirect evidence. A pinch at the front of the hip is the joint, so stay short of it.
It's a calm way to add stretching time, but longer holds haven't been shown to add more range, and no trial has tested yin yoga for flexibility. If your joints are very flexible, skip long passive holds at the end of your range.
Many adults can get much closer: age didn't stop people gaining range in stretching trials. Expect slower progress than a child or a dancer, and know that a flat middle split isn't guaranteed.
Not for most people practising sensibly, but the end of a split is a bony limit, and professional dancers show more cartilage wear at the top of the hip socket. There are no data on people doing the splits for fun; never force past a pinch.
No: hypermobile people tolerate more stretch, and the NHS says not to overextend your joints just because you can. Build strength in your range instead; our yoga for hypermobility guide has a class.
It's the yoga name for the front split: one leg forward and one back, both straight, with the hips facing forward. Practise it on blocks, from a half split with the back knee down.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
