Expert tips on safely learning the splits

Flexibility experts advise a slow, consistent approach to achieving the splits, with mastery potentially taking 18 months to three years.

• Emmet Louis, a flexibility coach, said a split should be learned over 18 months to three years, not the 30 days often promised online.
• Ramoni Overton, a yoga instructor, recommended warming up with stretches such as seated butterfly and lunges before attempting splits.
• David Behm, a kinesiology researcher, said to hold a stretch at the initial point of discomfort for 30 to 60 seconds, and to avoid severe pain.
• Behm noted that not everyone can achieve the splits due to skeletal structure and ligament stiffness, and that splits offer no unique health benefit beyond sufficient range of motion.