u/urfavmadz09

kinda hard going into splits blind while maintaining a backbend, i have a lot to learn technique wise. but i am happy with the progress!

I recently got my needle after almost a year of consistent flexibility training. The hardest part for me was getting that second hand around the ankle or shin.

Here are the drills and tips that helped me the most:

For upper back mobility, I did wall stretches where my thighs and legs stayed glued to the wall. The bend came mostly from the upper back.

I also tried banded upper back stretches on my knees, on my stomach, and in other positions.

Puppy pose on yoga blocks gave me an extra stretch.

If you can do middle splits, there are lots of upper back stretches and backbends you can do in that position.

Strength training was important too. I focused on slow controlled core exercises I found on YouTube, along with lots of superman back exercises.

For shoulders, I worked on both strength and flexibility with dolphin push-ups, shoulder flossing with a band, and wall shoulder stretches.

Learning to rotate both shoulders properly helped a lot with the flip grip.

For hips, oversplits really helped because the needle needs extra hip mobility compared to a scorpion.

Adding backbends into my splits also made a big difference.

These are the things that worked best for me.

i have been working on core strength and balance for a bit, making sure to also stay consistent with back strengthening. some exercises i love are superman chest lifts, superman leg lifts, superman leg & chest lifts. + some others i can’t remember the name of. i also do things like dolphin pushups, + regular pushups, but instead of fast ones holding in the pushup longer to build endurance. i also like to do hollow holds, & tuck ups slow & controlled from the hollow hold position to build core strength. and ofc side core exercises like side plank hip dips, or other types of side plank exercises. and stretching my back consistently, ofc! i have been training flexibility/contortion for about almost 10 months now, so contortion elbow or handstand holds are more new to me.

i have been working on strengthening my back and opening my upper back and shoulders, which is exactly what this skill needs. i’ve been doing a lot of superman prone back exercises, including with ankle weights. i also do back stretches with a band, shoulder flossing with the band, wall stretches, and upper back stretches. i definitely still need to work on this skill a lot, so it’s not amazing yet, but i’m still really happy with the achievement.

I unlocked this yesterday while just messing around, then I started to figure it out, and the hardest part was balancing and grabbing my foot with my second hand, which took a few tries. This pose feels much more about strength and balance than flexibility. I’ve been doing a lot of active stretching holds along with back and hip flexor strengthening exercises, plus shoulder work like flossing, stretching on chairs and walls, and some strengthening exercises. I also focused on holding deep active lunges and practicing keeping my leg bent for as long as possible in a passive lunge without using my hands, which really helped strengthen the muscles needed for this pose, along with learning shoulder rotation drills. I still need to square my hips and straighten my back more, but this was my first time unlocking it.

i wanted to see if i could switch from different leg holds into pistol squats, to test my balance & strength. i always wanna try out new stuff with flexibility poses, but wanna make them cool. i have been doing lots of hip flexor and quad exercises like; reverse nordics, leg raises, & some core exercises like slow v-ups. i practiced the pistol squats holding onto a wall at first until i built the strength, and of course did balance drills. it was a little wobbly, but i’ll keep trying to practice it!

I was struggling with my backbends for a while, but switching up onto my fingertips made a huge difference because it shifted my weight properly and helped me go much deeper. I’ve started seeing progress in my depth, although my shoulders are still slightly behind and need more opening. What’s been helping me a lot are drills like shoulder flossing with a resistance band and puppy pose using a chair to deepen the stretch, and going up onto my fingertips in wheel and when standing up from it has been great for building strength and control. I’ve also been doing dolphin push-ups for shoulder strength and superman exercises to support my back, and even though it’s not perfect yet, I can definitely feel things improving.