Front Splits Progression: 18-Min Full Flexibility Flow

That's fine. Eventually you'll get to a point where you're kind of grabbing the foot and you're working with that or whatever works. And you're working with that or whatever works. Good, bring both feet down to the mat, lift your hips, stretch out the front of the hips here, keep lifting and tensing the glutes.

Good. Lower the hips, then we'll come up to all fours, just to some cat and cows. So really focusing on the hip movement, tilting the hips away, looking up, tilting the hips under, looking down, inhaling, looking up, exhaling, looking down and moving forwards and back here. Always feels great.

Move from side to side, just whatever's tight. I'm sure something's tight from jujitsu, from maybe tapping too late or holding on to something for too long. We all do it. We all say we don't, but we all do it.

Good. Then we'll lower our fronts all the way down to the mat, shrug the shoulders back and lift the chest and lower, lift again and lower. Push yourself up to all fours, sit the hips back onto the heels, then forwards again, lower down. This time, hands back next to your hips, shrug the shoulders back and lift the chest and lower, lift your heels this time, lower, one more and lower.

Good. Let's push ourselves all the way to the top of a press up and then back into down dog. Just for two or three breaths here, lifting the hips up nice and high and dropping the hamstrings down, dropping the heels down, not the hamstrings. That would be impressive.

If you feel like your back is rounding here, bend the knees more and lift the hips more. That's fine. When you get there, you can think about tilting the hips slightly up towards the ceiling and you feel more of a hamstring stretch. Good.

Let's walk on the spot here. Drop one heel, bend the opposite knee and switch and switch nice and slow. Take a baby step forward with your right foot, then a baby step forward with your left and we'll just start creeping our feet up towards our hands into a forward fold. Then we get to the forward fold, bend your knees slightly, let your head hang down.

Just let everything drape down towards the mat. Then hands under your knees on your shins, lift your chest, your back comes parallel with the mat and keep tilting your hips so you can feel that stretch in the hamstrings. Take a breath here. Take another inhale here.

Exhale, fold. Inhale, half lift again, so what we just did. Exhale, fold. Let's do one more.

Inhale, exhale, fold, bend the knees a little more, hands down into plank, step back to plank. Take a breath, lower everything down, shrug back, lift the chest and lower. One more of them and lower. Then this time lift all the way up to the top of a press up, then back into down dog.

Breathe in here for three breaths. Okay, keep your weight on your left foot here. Let's bend the right knee so the right heel comes towards the hips, then keep driving that right knee up towards the ceiling and then start to open your hips out to the right so that knee lifts up and back. I'm looking under my right armpit, breathing here, I can really feel it in the front of my right hip here and all down my side and I'm driving my hands into the mat.

Good, let's come back down. On the way I'm coming forward to plank with that right foot up, my right knee's coming to my elbow, then my right foot comes outside my right hand. Take a breath here, keep that back leg nice and straight, nice and strong. Drop the back knee now, lift the chest, then back with the hips, then forwards, and back with the hips, then forwards, and one more then back.

One more forwards, tuck the back toes, then step back to plank, keep the right foot off the mat for an extra challenge, then back to plank. Then step back to plank, keep the right foot off the mat for an extra challenge, lower yourself all the way down, then lift all the way up and back into down dog. Keep breathing. Good, weight on your right foot now, bend the left knee, left knee out towards the ceiling, then open out to the left side, keep bending that left knee, looking under your left armpit, forwards to plank, left knee to left elbow, left foot steps outside the hand, and here nice and strong back leg, lower the hips, drop the back knee, and forwards and back.

If yours doesn't look like mine, it doesn't really matter, what matters is that we're getting a stretch in those areas. Last one, tuck the back toes, step back, lower down, then lift all the way up and back into down dog. Taking a breath here, if you need to, when we get here, you can drop your knees, open your knees out and come down for a little rest, for a few breaths, that's fine too, anytime we're in down dog, that's always invited, just if it's a bit too much or we're knackered, that's fine. Okay, so let's come forwards, and now I'm going to bring my right knee into my chest as I drive my chest through my back, my right foot is going to step between my hands, then I bring everything forwards into a forward fold, take an inhale here and half lift, then a fold, one more of them, and fold, one more of them, and fold, one more, and then fold all the way down, stepping back into plank, lower down, lifting up, and back into down dog.

Okay, this time let's bend the right knee, heel to hips, open out, and now as I come forwards, my right foot is coming between my hands, step that through, and then here, staying on the feet, staying on the feet, take an inhale forwards, exhale back, inhale forwards, exhale back, one more, and back. Okay, let's drop the left knee now, forwards, and back, and forwards, and back. And now is where I want you to start separating your knee and your heel apart, just working towards your front splits, thinking about tilting the hips, more of a hamstring stretch or hip stretch, just seeing how we feel today in wherever we are. In wherever we are.

It's important we find those tight areas, and it's really important that we give those tight areas the respect they need, so that we can slowly, over time, open out into our front splits more, because those tight areas are where we don't want to rush, because obviously the work we've been doing has highlighted them to us, so just like jiu-jitsu, those bad areas, maybe you've been working on your sweeps or your submissions from guard, they're going to improve over time, but it's going to take a little while, so just give it time, give it patience, and you'll get there eventually. And then wherever you get to today's fine, let's just take five cool breaths there, see what opens out as we just slow that breath right down. Good, let's come out of that however you're comfortable. And then meet back in plank, and then come back to down dog, take a breath, come forward to plank, left foot between the hands, leaning forwards into a forward fold, half lift, and fold, half lift again, and fold, let's do one more, and then we're going down to plank, lower yourself all the way down, lift yourself up, and back into down dog.

Okay, let's bend the left knee open out to the left, looking under that armpit, and then forward to the plank, left foot going on the inside this time, and then keeping the back knee off the mat, and let's go forwards and back for three, two, one, good, drop the back knee, and you know what to do now, so forwards and back a few times. It's all time in, it's all reps into the pose, all that time you're investing is going to help you improve. Some days or weeks it might not feel like it, but you're definitely getting there, it just might take a little bit longer in some areas than others. Keep going forwards and back, not rushing it.

And then when you get to somewhere you're comfortable, again we'll just take like four or five breaths there, just breathing into that. And then really slowly coming up, easing your way out of that however you're comfortable, and we'll finish in pigeon, very shallow pigeon, take three, come up to your hands, so my right knee is in front, so I'm going to walk my left hand over my right knee, and I'm just going to take a very light twist here, then coming back over to the left, a little bit of a twist there, then ease off that, let's go pigeon on the left side, or the opposite side to what you just did, for three, then back up, walking over to your left, then walking over to your right, and then come out of that and we'll finish cross-legged. Well done guys, it's all worked towards the splits, it's all worked on the hamstrings and hips, and that's going to help you improve, it's going to help your GGS game improve as well, just from improved mobility, flexibility and movement on the mats. Good job guys, keep coming back and practicing these split videos, and you're going to improve over time.

Cheers for watching.