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Other/Mixed "the most epic of splits"

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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23rdwave

23rdwave

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Should I pair this with tgu's or base jumping?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FIvfx5J10
 
Saw that.  If it's real, then it's pretty epic.  Van Damme was my inspiration to start studying Taekwondo in 1989.  Nice to see he's still got it.
 
This is the third or fourth mention of this I've seen lately - check out his foot position, and you'll see how smart he is in addition to being very strong and very flexible.

-S-
 
Wow!  It looks real, and the trucks are driving backwards.

I "invented" splits in the cable crossover machine, then realized later I was subliminally stealing from Van Damme:  http://youtu.be/vwtciyrCN00

His abs coach is strangely familiar.  You gotta love the pre-CGI eighties, when action heroes did their own stunts.

Steve has got me fired up to really own the splits instead of just doing them passively on the floor.
 
Here's a spoof:

http://youtu.be/EMlpiey20b8

I was stretching this morning and couldn't get that Enya song out of my head.
 
Steve, I bet folks serious about flexibility would love to hear you expand on the foot position. 

 

 

 
 
Agree with Pavel, please, do tell!! I am always looking for anything I can get when it comes to flexibility!!
 
Pavel said:
Steve, I bet folks serious about flexibility would love to hear you expand on the foot position.
Click to expand...

It's hard to see his feet when the split is at its maximum, but the thing that impressed me the most was that his feet weren't point completely out to the sides.  It looks like he still has some of the bottom of his foot on the platforms on the trucks' mirrors.  The fact that there are platforms there is one example of smart planning, but the fact that he is able to keep pressure on the bottom of his feet make it into a different kind of split.

It goes without saying that I have not attempted anything like this, which means I have no standing at all to say anything about this amazing feat of strength and flexibility, but I have done enough splits to know being able to push out on the bottoms of your feet against resistance (in this case the platforms) makes it different than being in contact only with your calves and not your feet, and my suspicion is that this is, in fact, easier overall.

If I may be so bold as to offer some general observations about side splits, suspended and otherwise:

One of the secrets to performing a suspended split is, in fact, manufacturing for yourself that push through the bottoms of your feet even when there is nothing to push against.

Often overlooked is the strength aspect of splits.  It's not only about learning to relax in the position, it's also about being able to produce force - to, if you will, demonstrate to yourself your own strength so that your mind will allow your muscles to relax in that position.  The knowledge that you are able to use your muscles, even if only to flex them hard, in any position can be a key component of progress in extending one's range in any plane of movement.

The push through the bottoms of your feet will, at the very least, help you separate the pelvis, but it will also help you keep the necessary tension throughout the legs and hips when your butt is in mid-air.  Even if you're working on a side split sitting on the floor, it will help - push hard against the bottoms of your feet, and cycle the hard pushes with exhalation and relaxing without giving up your position.  Practice using your legs and hips like you would at the top of a deadlift:  zip up your thighs and knee caps, flex your ankles hard - since your feet aren't pushing against the ground you need to manufacture that yourself - and use your glutes to drive your pelvis forward to increase the straight-line-ness of your leg position.

(For anyone reading along, I have a web page with all of Pavel's flexibility resources plus a few others including Jon Engum's "Flexible Steel," here:  http://www.kbnj.com/flexguide.htm)

Pavel, I hope you will add/amplify/correct as needed.
 -S-
 
Thank you very much, sir.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, and Happy New Year, too!

-S-
 
Thank you Steve, great insights. Someday I will be able to drop into a side split, but man the last few inches are still a pain in my rear! Thanks for sharing.

 

Jon
 
Steve, you're plenty qualified to comment, as you've competed at the (Rob) Van Dam lift.  I don't expect to take it quite that far, but I can plop down on the floor and hit 180 anytime or with a quick warmup at most.

What I notice watching Van Damme again:  he keeps his feet planted as long as possible, but he also keeps his quads flexed, knees locked, and spills forward with his pelvis.  There is a sweet spot where the stress is on the adductors, and they can take it.  This is in Pavel's book.

I have seen videos of people doing splits with somewhat soft knees.  It just looks wrong and I cringe with sympathy for their MCLs.

Very true about the strength aspect of stretching.  Of course, Pavel already wrote about that too -- see the "Power Stretching" pages in Power to the People.  What helped me was attaching my ankles to a high pulley.  That way I could train my adductors like any other muscle, concentric/eccentric sets and reps.  I found this video of a flexibility mutant.  At minute 7:00 he shows how to use the cable crossover machine.  It looks like a circus trick, but pumping your adductors is really not so different than doing biceps or pecs:

http://youtu.be/4GSwiqmSyMU
 
I was discussing this with someone earlier today, and I thought I'd resurrect this thread, and provide a link to a video of me performing the Van Dam lift. NB: It's a different Van Dam that this lift is named after than the Volvo commercial, but the basic idea is the same.



If you Google my name plus "van dam lift" you'll find other threads on our forum here, and other videos as well.

-S-
 
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