WAG How flexible are you/is your DD? Does she stretch at home?

[proudmomof3]

My older DD is L8, 16 soon and is pretty flexible.
Usually after practice or after a short warm-up at home, she stretches her legs for 15 mins or so and then holds the maximum oversplits she can get. She first puts her front leg on a 10 inch eraised surface and holds it for a minute. Then she puts the back leg on and holds it for another minute. Then she puts her front and back leg on a 10 inch eraised surface and holds that for 2x1 minute.
Then middle splits - which she doesn't have all the way down; she is missing maybe 5 inches - for 2x1 minute. She then does a wide and a narrow pancake stretch, puts her feet on an 10 inch surface and gets all the way to the ground with her belly.
She also holds a bridge 5x10 secs armpits past vertical and she does very light stretches for her back, as many of the girls her age have problems with the lower back!
This takes her about 40 minutes in total.

Of course, when you are not warmed up, it is harder to get into the splits. But for DD it is very hard. Although she can do the splits if we are like in a mall or so, because she has walked around a little, but she gets really flexible and can get out the max if she does some stretches before. And before some minutes of bridge stretches, they look horrible! So when I want to tell someone how flexible she is - do I say the "warmed-up" flexibility or the one without preparation?
I know you always should warm up but I guess you get my point...
How flexible are you/is your DD? What Level and age is she? Does she stretch at home?

 

[mobeans]

My dd just turned 8 and she is extremely flexible, naturally . I've ways said flexibility is her "strength" in gymnastics. On the other hand she really needs to work hard on power! She really doesn't do anything at home other than run through her routines in meet season or walk on her hands everywhere

 

[cbifoja]

DD is a 10YO L8 who is as flexible as rebar.

It took five years of pretty consistent gymnastics training to get all three splits and if she doesn't work them at home frequently, she loses her middles. Then she gets irritated with that and works on them at home until she gets them back.

Flexibility will always be her gymnast albatross.

 

[Becauseisaid]

Well, I don't want to brag, but I can reach the middle of my back to scratch it.

 

[gymbeam]

impressive, christy!!! lmbo

 

[MILgymFAM]

DD is 13, xcel probably silver (Undecided level still) and pretty naturally flexible. I would say you tell the warmed up flexibility. My DD stretches at home only on days she doesn't have gym, when she conditions. At home, she does oversplits on both sides and the middle, and pancakes, as well as straddles. She only holds them about 1-2 minutes each though. She was surprised at her new gym to find they don't do oversplits and will probably start doing them every day at home, though- she enjoys them.

 

[djemme]

My dd L9 11 yrs. is naturally flexible ... they call her a rubber band at gym; however, consistent stretching helps her to get the most from her flexibility.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

My daughter has to work hard for her flexibility. She does stretch at home, but some of that is to keep her SLJ and Severs from flaring up, and some for her splits.

 

[kitkat]

My dd is pretty flexible. I would't say ultra flexible. She only does stretches, splits, etc while she is on vacation. Otherwise 6 days a week is enough

 

[Flipomaniak]

Our coaches have told girls to stretch at home before. I did sometimes when I was younger but more when I had been sick, on vacation, etc. I feel that 40 minutes is too long as she probably already spends hours in the gym...

 

[rjb123]

DD (8) is very flexible. She is fairly strong (VERY strong lower, and less so on upper, but that has improved rapidly) Anyway, she has always been very flexible, as was I as a child, and my grandmother. None of us were/ are hypermobile, but maybe on the edge? Anyway, even her coaches get a little shocked at how bendy she is- plus she LOVES it - while other girls are hurting and begging them to stop at 70% of her max she generally is laughing and chatting and asking them to go a little more! Bleh! We always joke in our house that if DD had been born in a different time or place she would have ended up in a carnival side show!
Oh, she doesn't really "work" on it at home, but she is always contorting herself into bizarre shapes to freak me out.

 

[Amusibus]

My 8 year old gymnast is both naturally strong and flexible (coach said this). She was doing splits at 18 months! I mean, not on purpose or with proper technique or anything. She would sit in a straddle to play, then for instance, lean over to reach a toy and end up in a full center split. She is still flexible and maintains it without much effort. She hardly ever stretches at home.

I can also still get nearly into all 3 splits, and from a stand with my legs together and straight, can place both palms flat on the floor with my elbows bent. I do nothing to maintain this - my exercise routine consists of housework and chasing kids with an occasional jump on the trampoline. My mom, age 67, is the same way in certain directions. She has horribly arthritic knees and ankles, and can't bend her knees beyond 90 degrees, but has no problem touching her toes and beyond from a stand. So at least in my family it seems like flexibility is very genetic.

 

[UpsideDown]

DD is fairly flexible. She has about a ten inch oversplit on her left leg, and two inches on her right. Not sure about center.... I don't think she has been measured. I would guess two or three inches.

As a toddler she used to fall into splits and play in straddle.

That being said, she had to work to get her splits into proper gymnast form/ alignment when she was younger.

She only occasionally stretches at home, for fun.

Oh and she has hyper mobile elbows, fingers, and a little bit in her knees.

I have zero flexibility compared to her. She does take after gymnast family members who are flexible and strong.

I don't know if it is any different, but back walk overs are easy for her, but when she bridges up and stretches she is less flexible then some other girls.

She is a 9 yr old level 4.

 

[myliljunebugs]

DD has very little natural flexibility. Now that she is on team she wants to start stretching and practicing splits daily. With only 2 classes a week she has splits to the floor on one leg and about 3 inches off the floor on the other and on middle. She is hoping for oversplits with daily stretching. She is 9 yrs and level 3.

 

[stxrdusty]

I'm a level 9 and 18. I'm not very flexible at all. I have both right and left splits and nearly my middles, but I'm not over-split very much if at all. My shoulders are honestly the least flexible of anyone ever no matter what I do. I use to have back issues and due to my poor shoulder flexibility I don't do back stretching. I'd rather be tight and stiff, and not hurt myself, than flexible and have back problems again. I have poor flexibility in general (ankles and wrists) due to genetically short tendons and ligaments, so there isn't much I can do after a certain point. I do not stretch at home.

 

[raenndrops]

YG - 9 -3/4 years old is not very flexible. She has her splits sometimes and other times, they are on vacation. She will be competing Xcel Gold this year (after 3 years of Old L4/ New L3). She has gotten back into stretching her splits at home and now her good leg splits are back from vacation and her bad leg splits are an inch closer.

OG - 12-3/4 years old is slightly more flexible than her little sister. She does a little stretching at home. She USUALLY has her good leg splits all the way down after stretching and her bad leg splits are within 2 inches of being all the way down. She doesn't do bridges anymore because of back pain.

ME - 42-2/3 years old. I have always been pretty flexible. I have my good leg splits all the way down (shhhhh, don't tell the coaches, but often I do this without stretching). It is something I do at the gym to SHOCK the team girls (and one of the rec coaches who doesn't have hers all the way down). It also impresses the 6'6" tall dad who didn't really believe his daughter when she went home and told him I could do it - til he saw it with his own eyes the next day . My bad leg splits are nowhere close, but with no cartilage in either knee, even if I could get them down, I wouldn't be able to get back out... I can only get up on the one knee .