Does anyone have a rough idea on how long it would take someone who is not that flexible to learn the splits?
103474
I suggest stretching everyday.  You will need to do wall splits.  In cheerleading we used to do this before every practice...lay on the floor with your butt up against a wall, this will support your legs concentrating on the stretch.  let your legs fall to the sides as far as they will go and hold it as long as you can stand it up to 10 min.  The weight of your legs will create resistance.  Every time you do this you should notice a liitle more flexibility.  I would say it would take a couple of months doing this everyday to be able to do the splits.
467431
WHAT i DiD (AND MY COACH TOLD ME TO DO) WAS HOLD THE SPLITS FOR TEN MiNUTES EVERYDAY, AND YOU WiLL HAVE THE SPLiTS IN A WEEK\npeace&&love♥\nOCwahine
261243
splits as in a gymnast...\nA lot of stretching..\nYour need to stretch your hamstrings... \nOr just get someone to push you down.
936098
It depends on how many moves you are actually making \nif you are doing more than 3 a week than you should consider slowing down due to waiver waits
985594
You have to stretch for 10 minutes EVERY MORNING AND EVERY NIGHT for a month or more depending on your muscles.  The runners stretch, where you have one leg at a 90 degree angle and the other one stretched out straight behind you  and hold.  Then, lower your bent leg to be straight and SUPPORT yourself with your hands.  You should be in a straight forward split.  Lower yourself to comfortability and stay there for about 10-15 seconds.  Do the other leg.  Do other stretches too for your legs, make sure to get all them.
912692
you can't do it quickly....every night just go as far as you can....eventually you'll get more flexable and be able to do one.
307205
You don't learn to do a split.  You are either that flexible or you aren't.  You can become more flexible, by stretching.  It took me a marking period to get my split.  I was on restriction for bad grades and confined to my room.  I didn't have anything to do but read and stretch.  Please don't rush it, that's how groin injuries happen, which is one of the most painful things you'll ever experience.  Keep stretching.  Sit on the floor, with your legs spread as wide as you can.  Bend over each leg, and over the middle, slowly.  Also, butterfly stretches are good.  Sit with your feet sole to sole and pull them back towards you as far as they will go.  DON'T BOUNCE, BOUNCING CAUSES INJURIES.  Good Luck
1098896
Yoga (the ashtanga/power version), pilates, doing a cardio activity that targets those muscles (boxing or rowing for upper body, a kick-intensive martial art like TKD for lower body)\nSwimming (but this is very time-intensive, since you'll need at least an hour a day hardcore to really note the difference quickly.\nHorseback riding for the legs.\nIt's still going to hurt, and it won't be as quick as lifting :-)
209377
About 2 to 3 years, there is a lot to learn.  Its like asking how long does it take to be a good chess player, there is a lot more to the game than just knowing how the pieces move.  Same with tennis, knowing how to counter differetn styles of play, identifying weaknesses in your opponent, being able to exploit those weaknesses, being able to make adjustments when an opponent is playing well. Shot selection, footwork, strategy, conditioning, mental toughness...all of those are required to become just a pretty good tennis player.  It takes several more years to become good.  However if you are asking how long it takes to become pretty good as a recreational player practicing 3 times a week, (Being able to sustain rallies consistently) I would say about 1 year.
998357
Simply put, no. It's not hard to learn. It is hard, however, to perfect. It only takes as long as it takes for you to learn to adapt your body to the movements. So increasing your general physical condition and balance are KEY!!!\n\nBut it's worth it. LOADS of fun!
750909
if your a beginner you really should start on the machines to build up your strength first. at least for 2-3weeks.
284065
That depends on him. It could be from 1 min to over 1 hr. If there is a problem he could do exercises to help
917134
Some people are naturally more flexible than others. Its just the reality that you may not be able to do them as well as the other girls.\n\nIf it really bothers you, enroll in gymnastics -- your trainer will help you increases flexibility and teach you the proper ways to do splits, flips, stretches and such.
579164
last year at this time i couldnt even touch my toes! no joke, now i can do the splits, and of course touch my toes no prob! it only took about 3-4 months of stretching everyday to get me in my splits. the key is to stick with it everyday. im sure you know the "lunge" stretches to strecth out your groin before doing the splits, so i do those and then go down as far as you can. \n\nwhat i do everynight is a couple different groin stretches first on my right, then on my left, then one back on my right then i go down and hold it for 30 secs to a min, then i come up, do a groin stretch on my left and go down on that side for 30 secs to a min. then i go down on each side 2 more times for the same amount of time. \n\nits a good stretch. also, to stretch it even more, while in the splits put your elbows on the ground if you can (on opposing sides of the front leg) and if you can do that see if you can lay yourself down on top of the leg. it stretches even more!\n\nwell happy stretching, and remember, practice makes perfect!
888675
If you want more ways to do them, we used to do the middle splits in acrobatics by lying on the ground on our backs with our butts and legs against the wall, then spreading our legs and trying to get a 180 degree angle. Gravity helped us out a lot. If that didn't work, our instructor would push down on both legs. It hurt, but it was a good type of hurt. It helped our flexibilities a lot. \n\nAlso, another way we did this in China was to be between two balance beams (or chairs, or anything off the ground that is stable) and do a split on the balance beams. With all your weight pressing down your body, it really helps flexibility. The problem with this exercise though, is that you really have to have the splits down already, and be able to do oversplits too. Otherwise, it won't really work. But once you get the splits, it shoudl be no problem for you. Good luck!
164611
We cannot really help much here with your case. You have to go to a fitness class first learning the basics and correct forms of each movement.\n\nOne more word: patience. (I am into this for years and never stop)
838814
Wow, okay, you waited till the last minute... um, you need to do some hardcore stretching whenever you can, you'll start to get really tight. So, 2-3 days before tryouts you need to stop stretching so much and maybe just try to do the splits 1-5 times per day. GOOD LUCK!