Basic Split Leaps

1. STRENGTHENING HIP FLEXORS

‘THE LEG LIFT’

Sitting on big box – legs at 90o over the side of the box

• Slow double leg extension to horizontal + lift pulses

• Slow single leg extension to horizontal + lift pulses

Sitting on floor, legs in tight pike. Hands next to knees.

• Slow single leg lift hold + pulses each leg

• Slow double leg lift hold + pulses each leg

2. STRETCHES FOR SPLITS

• Hamstring stretches

• Hip flexors

• Lower back extension and rotation

3. UNDERSTANDING SQUARE HIPS

Front leg raised on hip height surface

• Above horizontal hold each leg

• Above horizontal pulses each leg

• Horizontal hold, slight squat on support leg to extension on toes

Arabesque lunge with back leg supported on box

• Static hold with back foot supported

• Arabesque slow pulses up and down

• Arabesque hold with small pistol squats on support leg

• Arabesque + front leg hop + freeze (knee alignment)

Static Splits

• Front splits on both legs flat on the floor

• Over-split on both legs aim for flat

Dynamic Splits

• Split kicks on wall-bars --> tuck knees in, kick back leg fast as both legs aim for split

• Hanging on high bar --> hang straight, fast kick legs to splits + add weights to increase difficulty

4. SPLIT JUMPS

• Standing split jumps on floor, trampoline, beat-board, any springy surface

• Between boxes – hands on boxes, fast split legs in and out --> this drill can also be done slowly, to understand hip squareness and allows coaches and gymnasts to understand the movement pattern at a more practical level

• Split jump off low box – sideways --> allows gymnast more time to ‘snap’ legs back together and ensure gymnasts have strong ankles and good alignment

• Split jumps with elastics --> tie a loose elastic around both ankles and attempt split jump. This is VERY beneficial for ‘snap-back’ in the split.

• Split jumps with ankle weights

• Rebound split jumps – add to a series. Eg – rebound straight jump to split, rebound split to straight jump, rebound split to split on other leg

5. LEAP INITIATION

• Single leg hops

• Single leg hops to different heights

• Calf raises and ankle rebounds

6. LETS PUT IT ALL TOGETHER…

• Step, split leap on floor

• Step, split leap to height (encourages leap to gain height)

• Step, split leap on beam