by James - This article may contain affiliate links.
Seeing all those stretchable bodies that do the splits on Instagram makes everybody desire a flexible body like them.
However, reaching such a level of flexibility requires effort and patience. If you’re new to the subject, you may wonder is it bad to do the splits every day and how long does it take to master splits?
It’s not bad to do the splits every day, but like any workout, your muscles need adequate rest to recover and heal tiny tears due to stretching. Therefore, it’s recommended to do the splits every other day, so your muscles remain healthy while keeping your stretching consistency.
This article will delve deep into the splits and see how often you should do them to remain healthy and reap its benefits without hurting yourself.
We’ll also give you a realistic picture of how long it takes to see the first results and explain why you should avoid forcing yourself into the splits.
Contents
Doing the Splits Everyday ?♀️
People hurry to reach that point and take fancy photos for their Instagram accounts when it comes to doing splits.
Therefore, they try stretching every single day to increase their flexibility as soon as possible. But is it really good?
It depends on your flexibility and fitness level, so it’s ok if you’re comfortable doing the splits every day.
However, it’s recommended to have rest days and allow your body to recover and heal the tears in muscle fibers.
Most trainers won’t tell you to start with trying to do splits and give you some muscle-specific stretches to prime your body toward your goal.
Over the next few months, you’ll gradually increase the regularity and duration of your stretching sessions until you can do the splits.
But it will take you another couple of months to do the splits without pain.
So, everyday practice of splits can be too much for you because, just like any other kind of workout, your muscles will tear and need time to recover and heal.
However, you can do it every day once you reach the right flexibility levels to do the splits without any pain or getting strain.
How Long Does It Take to Master the Splits??
Doing the splits isn’t a thing you can do promptly and requires lots of stretching to gain the flexibility it needs.
So, you have to be patient and follow your instructor’s advice to safely and gradually ease your body into doing splits. However, you may ask how long it takes.
Doing the splits won’t happen overnight, or after a week, two weeks, or even a month. Splits require much flexibility that doesn’t come in a short time. After a month of regular stretching, you may see some progress, but that’s not enough, and it will take you a few months.
According to Grayson Wickham, physical therapist and founder of Movement Vault, challenging yourself to do the splits over a month or two isn’t so rational because you may push yourself too far and hurt your body.
He compares muscles to naturally elastic rubber bands, but if we stretch them too much while they’re not, our muscles can tear, and we may injure ourselves.
As all fitness experts agree, it’ll probably take a few months of regular practice and stretching, but you’ll see some progress toward your goal over a month.
Meanwhile, you should carefully pay attention to your body’s response to the stretches, especially during the first week.
If you have any discomfort or pinching feeling in the stretch position, you should stop and try again later.
You can also slightly alter the stretch angle to feel better while performing it.
Note: Tiny tears will appear in your muscles when you stretch to do the splits, just like strength training.
So, it’s recommended to start your stretching routine with several basic stretches as a warm-up; this will significantly reduce your muscle soreness after each session.
Listen to Your Body
Reaching the flexibility level to do the splits differs for everybody, and no one can tell you how long it takes.
The Tiktokers, Instagrammers, or YouTubers who say you can do the splits in one week, two weeks, or even a month with their particular routine are only selling you a false idea.
It’s a personal journey. People have different levels of flexibility and mobility, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how long it takes for them to achieve the splits.
One may have been active and doing a wide range of workouts during their life, while another may have spent a sedentary life.
As Emmanuella Ndukwe-Obiukwu says about her personal experience with splits, it took her six months to get her first front splits.
And another two months to remain in her split position without discomfort or pain urged her to get out of her position quickly.
Factors That Affect Your Progress Toward Flexibility?♀️
Now that you know everybody’s got a distinctive body with a different level of flexibility, you may wonder what factors contribute to these differences.
Well, here are some of them:
Genetics
You may be surprised to hear that flexibility runs in some families.
So even if you’re genetically stiff, you’ll have a more challenging journey to get there, but don’t give up!
Lifestyle
Having a sedentary life and sitting all day long will make your journey more challenging than those with an active lifestyle.
Still, you can improve your flexibility by adding short stretching sessions to your days.
Training Background
It’s not surprising that people who have prior stretching experience will regain their flexibility faster than those who start from zero.
Muscles have memory and help your nervous system relax faster and get deeper into your stretches.
Hydration & Nutrition
Besides, eating healthy, anti-inflammatory foods help your connective tissues remain healthy and flexible.
Consistency
Without consistency in performing your stretches, you won’t get too far in your journey.
It’s recommended to begin with two or three sessions a week, each for about 30 minutes.
Then gradually adjust the regularity and duration of the session as you wish.
You can also consider using a leg stretcher which is valuable equipment for stretching and increasing flexibility.
Check out our top three door leg stretcher bands to help you achieve splits faster:
Alternatively, go for these leg stretcher machines to help you get into form faster and improve overall flexibility.
What Happens if You Force the Splits??
After a week or two of starting to stretch for doing the splits, you may get disappointed and be tempted to ask a friend to give you a hand by forcing you down to the floor to do the splits.
But do you know what happens when you force the splits?
If you force the splits, you’ll probably hurt yourself and may even injure your muscles. Several muscles like hip flexors and hamstrings plus joints, tendons, and ligaments will be engaged to perform a split, and overstretching when your body isn’t ready can lead to severe injuries.
If you try to force a split, you’ll experience considerable pain, which is the body’s alarm to tell you it’s way beyond its capacity and is not ready for such extreme stretches.
Besides your joints, tendons, and ligaments, several muscles are involved during splits, and overstretching can severely damage them.
Such injuries can range from mild muscle strains and sprains to severe tearing of soft tissues or joint problems, which are hard to recover from.
Here is a great video on how to do the splits safely:
Bottom Line ?
Doing stretches like the splits can benefit your muscle and joint health.
Still, it’s not generally recommended to do it every day unless you have great flexibility and mobility.
Otherwise, you should give your body time to relax and heal its torn muscle fibers from stretching.
Also, see our posts on stretching machine effectiveness before you go.
