How to not get stuck in your middle splits

In this video I meet up with flexibility and mobility expert @Matthewismith to learn how we can progress faster in our middle split/side split training.
Matthew uses a different approach to the side split where different stretch positions are assessed to optimise your middle split training. There may for example be other stretches that can benefit your side split training more than practicing the side split itself.
If you're interested in learning more from Matthew, check out his Mobility and Flexibility Toolkit here:
www.matthewismith.com/a/21475...

[@Matthewismith]

Was epic training & filming with you buddy! I'm glad we managed to build a game plan for your hip impingement issues 🤙

[@k9lew_]

you're great

[@Matthewismith]

Thanks@@k9lew_!

[@polgzz]

​​@@Matthewismith in my case the tailors pose is what I find the most limited, but at the same time is where I feel an impingement the most. I can't stand any weight nor really actively pull my knees down without "pain" on one of my hips. I've tried tilting my pelvis back or forward but neither makes it feel good... It seems like I need to get the feet of the hip side that hurts to cross the "middle" line of my body with at least a few centimeters more than my ankle... to stop feeling the impingement; which stops being a tailors pose and doesn't enable to use both legs at the same time... any ideas?

[@Matthewismith]

​@@polgzztry the exercise at 13:00. It should relieve the impingement from tailors pose for most people.

[@Kaalokalawaia]

This is fantastic. The first time I've seen anyone actually explain the mechanics, which is exactly what I wanted.

[@dns15r]

OMG i have been trying to do splits for almost 2 years and couldn't figure out why everyone else could roll their hips forward so easily I thought it was just me, this video exactly pin point the issue and the fix for it

[@Idontwanttohaveaname-ov4ic]

Everyone's starting position is my goal. I can just about get to 90 degrees.

[@ZenGrammy]

Incredible! I am 72 and have never been able to get all the way down. I am now almost there! You may wonder why I bother at my age but after watching this video I became inspired. Will let you know if I get there. Thank you. 🙏🩵

[@elinannestad5320]

I do not wonder at all! I'm with you.

[@onhhn]

If you are 72 u can't comment like 27 year-old guy

[@ZenGrammy]

@@onhhn - I did not comment like a 27 year old guy. I commented like a 72 years of age woman. I don’t know who you think you are to tell anyone how he or she is allowed to comment. On second thought, you are free to say anything you want to whomever you choose. ✌️🌸

[@tristencorrado]

This is incredible. You are a badass woman!

[@ZenGrammy]

@@tristencorrado - Thank you.🌹 My motivation is to be healthy and vibrant for my two sons and my two grandsons. 💖🥰

[@stevenwelp7165]

Coherent linear instructions guys, thank you!

[@seeNEMatik]

Hands down the best video on middle splits! Huge thanks!

[@Khroniclas]

This has to be the single most helpful video I've ever seen on learning to do the sidesplit. Wow.

[@user-mo1ui3wk2p]

Thank you so much for your great explanations!!❤

[@AdrianOnBars]

The active vs passive test at 8:47 is gold! I’m not surprised though with Sondre’s results 😅

[@thirteenthirtyseven4730]

13:14 I heard: “There is no ‘one size splits all’”. 🤣

[@DucMinh322]

"Seated Goodmorning" and "Tailors pose" are things that I saw in Ben Patrick's ATG, but didn't fully understand them. Now everything is cleared. Thank you so much for the video.

[@aljoscha6897]

I feel the same haah

[@JezoesPatrosa]

😅

[@Takigavin]

Not sure why I never expected this collab, it just makes so much sense! Love to see it!

[@moment37]

So great to see specific explanations, exercises and advice broken down so clearly. Very very helpful 🙏🏾

[@VikramJoshi-xi8ej]

Incredible! I will probably need to watch this view several times but it gets to the science and the physiology & kinesiology in a way I have never seen done before for middle spits, a weakness I have been struggling with. Thank you very much!

[@User_ML907]

This collaboration with two guys I follow is awsome and helpful. I know that Sondre's strength and flexibility is very high but he is humble. I did his program and am very pleased with the progress.

[@caitlincolquhoun8120]

Excellent video. By far the best one I’ve seen in regards to side splits. I never understood the rounded back position for pancake before but it makes so much more sense now. Thank you!!

[@beeankha]

Amazing! Seeing the passive vs active was so informative!

[@mathewkeal2425]

Man what a combo. Two legends. Great content and super helpful. Working hard on the Tailor and pancake with some passive middle splits at the moment. Glad to know I'm on the right path ❤

[@100nzymes]

Fantastic, educational training video, thanks heaps!!

[@hellfrozen9971]

I used to think that middle splits are a must for straddle planche,so I mastered it before doing the straddle planche,and it definetly does help,but I increased my flexibility a lot for that purpose as well and I still continue evolving at flexibility

[@firstnongrata]

Amazing. When it comes to flexibility I struggle so much more with the pancake than other basis exercises. This video is really insightful and everything is explained so well!

[@martaperezdelope]

Fantastic content and advice!

[@AkeaiBativagone]

I really love this❤,it means so much when an expert share their secret techniques,to help us who struggle for this level of flexibility.Thank you all, very very much.

[@deformitygurubashi]

You guys are fantastisk! Cheers from Brazil 💪🏼

[@paramnesias9198]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@eagleeyemind4800]

Amazing insight in this tutorial, thank you so much for uploading Sondre!

[@realengineeringknowledge]

You're both best trainer ❤

[@user-jo8vb8jz6u]

Good training indeed, I started training last year and it took me about 5 months to be able to do a full split, it was easier for left and right split but I really had to be patient to get the middle split,

[@adv.bsashoka]

thanks to all of you that is very helpful to understand that

[@ssliger11]

Amazing, thank you.

[@TheUltimateFridge]

Nice, I will definitely test this out. I was always pretty close to a full side split, but with no system or theory behind it and ... surprise, I've been stuck a few centimeter above the ground for months.

[@heltok]

Great video! Thanks!

[@sipofsara]

wow thank you this was extremely insightful!

[@sergeysema3466]

Amazing! Thanks a lot for the video, guys!

[@srStinnky]

Nice video! I've been trying to get into Matthew's program but I haven't been able to afford it, this bits can help me a lot!

[@fieldsofgold775]

Good video. Thanks 👋

[@Sondre_Berg]

If you want to learn more from Matthew, you can check out his flexibility platform: www.matthewismith.com/a/2147523210/L6amAJJR

[@maxs_hidden]

Great video!

[@coachcastle666]

Excellent video thank you

[@cheeks7050]

Amazing content

[@k9lew_]

amazing stuff

[@MOEURNWORKOUT89]

thank you❤❤🎉🎉

[@juliakazantseva9750]

thank you so much for the video, so much to think about, so much to do! I've subscribed to Matthew's page. separate thanks for (and it will sound strange) for sweat. usually while filming most of the beautiful trainings people tend to not show the sweat. and when i do my training after watching those videos and drown in sweat i start to wonder - is there something wrong with me? is my body doing what it supposed to be doing or am i some sort of freak? when i saw that you had a bit of perspiration after the stratching it helped me to realize that "bloggers also sweat, everything is ok". it means a lot. thank you, Sondre.

[@Ingridsartonwood]

really helpful! Thank you :)

[@A.I7I.M]

So wonderful! Amazing! I hope I will make it when trying these methods and without any potential injuries.🙂 Split is like my dream.😃😃 I need it to 'fully kick', any kick with the full 'range of motion' [ ROM ]. Wish me luck!!!😃🙂 And Greetings from Egypt!👊🔥🇪🇬🇪🇬

[@AndreS_22246]

Great job 👍👍👍

[@lvblul247]

Very informative

[@edwardlambert5671]

For me the biggest thing is being warm (I will say that doing the tailor’s pose without any weight was actually a great warm up, pressing the knees down then bringing them up) once I’m warm my passive and active become pretty good, I almost have the full split, but if I don’t warm up my body doesn’t want to do the splits at all.

[@paulwilliams6827]

You are amazing 💪🏾💥

[@TrueBagPipeRock]

Yean, Novak changed my views on that. It is very needed. I would have ton a ton of yoga and ballet as a foundation and built off of that if I had a do-over. Acro and other stuff after that.

[@renee4835]

Great video!! Any tips for pain on the inside of the knees during pancake? I can get my head to floor with my feet a few feet apart but when I stretch my legs wider, I feel a pain on the inner part of my knees and can’t get my head down very far at all

[@victormanuelpolanco922]

I already got a comfortable pancake stretch and am trying to evolve from there to the middle split. Pretty close to the floor already yet lots of work remains to be made and in the end range that matters most. Not a problem for me as I love flexibility and mobility training and I couldn't be getting a bigger blast out of this fascinating self- discovery journey.

[@LilTechCricket]

I know, me too! I've always loved stretching since my ballet days, so my flexibility is freakish for most people. But I cant help to keep wanting to reach new limits! The active vs. passive split really got me thinking about strength.

[@hilcar5812]

Excelente explicación. Uno piensa que en ocaciones es un mismo ejercicio para todos. Y vemos en las explicaciones de su video y con muestras explicativas que es de otra manera más simple y cientifica a lo que se refiere a las herramientas para trabajar los musculos y poder lograr un estiramiento sano en las piernas. Mis Saludos y Respeto. Hilario Carmona Desde Venezuela. Gracias. *****

[@stefanfranke9326]

good to see that even such a great calisthenics master like u isnt the flexible one :) ...

[@DanielleA2023]

Nerve health is the single more critical contributor

[@ralucagaravelos9883]

Matthew might have gave will to try better on my passive side splits! 💭💭though good on splits can't elevate my feets and go deeper so I strongly believe that my side splits fail are due to the abductors🙄Love good teachers, Bali makes people glow also

[@andrewcas8153]

Other than specific influencer regimes, what would be your recommendation to increase flexibility, yoga etc ?

[@mattiemaurin]

Really love the examples and explanations. What if bone jamming isn't the problem? Even sitting in a relatively narrow pancake, it feels like the gracilis inside the knee/inner thigh area feels strained like it'll tear. What can be done about that?

[@walwby]

Where are the 12x14x16 wooden boxes from?

[@troycarpenter3675]

Impressive

[@mattmazzola]

Great video about how to assess and improve flexibility. I like how @Matthewiswmith can explain the technical details and show how those influence practice for optimal improvement. I was surprised Matthew didn't mention femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA). I had read that it has a much wider range than you would expect. With some people closer to 100 deg and others closer to 130 deg. I think this is correlated with ancestry (e.g. Asians larger angle than Caucasians) I thought this would influence bone jamming. Perhaps my data isn't accurate and it's not as significant of issue as I thought, but I would be interested to hear Matthew's opinion on it.

[@Matthewismith]

There's lots more to talk about side splits than is in this video. I cover what you describe in the KZbin video "Mechanics of a Side Split" on my channel if you want to hear my thoughts on it 😊

[@Crystalplanet2007]

Any recommendations when having a injury like a "groin stretch"?

[@nessiemupfeki]

Why is it important to be able to do this split functionally?

[@herc1305]

I can fully pancake and nowhere near middle split. I saw a guy at my gym that can fully middle split and couldn't even go much past "halfway" down for pancake. It blew my mind. Only recently beginning to understand about really going with anterior pelvic tilt and rotating my legs/hips. Hopefully because I can pancake....chest/belly on floor, I can middles split and am not there yet because I am approaching it wrong.

[@Rob42125]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@maxmagerstadt]

Nirvana, Bali .. 🤩

[@janus1823]

cool

[@alexis7-]

i want to do it so bad but my sciatic nerve is hurting a lot lately, i'm gonna go to a doctor to see what is happening....

[@pendi256]

rn im at 150° ish in middle split

[@live-to-ride]

I'm surprised that the frog pose (yin yoga) wasn't included in the training.

[@Hobbychemiefreak]

How does it make sense that your active hold is deeper than your passive hold? Direct comparison at 12:00.

[@Sondre_Berg]

My educated guess would be that they are actually equal. However, in the active hold I get much more help from gravity since my whole bodyweight is pulling me down 😊 And because I have a rather high level of strength in the end range, I am still able to sustain the hold at that range

[@kitty3527]

خیلی درد داره

[@user-xi1zx1vo1k]

🌿🌱🌿⚡

[@veps5]

💪🏼🌞👍🏻

[@LORCAN_1]

Где бы в России найти такого тренера?)

[@Plug042]

Damnnn

[@wurstsalatohnegurke]

Why?

[@rajatarts2837]

Dolph ziglar doing split 😅

[@sonia_vlog]

Nice i am 55 years young😂 i can do half

[@BigMama-qk9fm]

Is Matt a Kiwi ?

[@FallouGueye-zo6sb]

Ok😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@johnnyjohn-johnson7738]

Am I the only one who looked at the thumbnail and thought "wow, what a big girl!"? I think it must be because of his high arched feet and his hair having an immaculately low set hairline in a ponytail.

[@janus1823]

cool