Can any one out there give me some good stretches to do so I can be able to do a split?
Thanks

Wouldn't ballet training help you ?

Maybe, I don't know. I'm very close to doing the one leg forward, one leg back splits (both ways) and never had all that much training or routine stretching. I have had a pretty good natural flexibility though so that certainly helps. You can of course just try to do the split. By attempting it regularly, you should eventually be able to increase your flexibility and get lower down into the split. Stick with it long enough and hopefully you'll get all the way down into it. If you've got decent flexibility to start with this might be the simplest way to go. And it's probably the most straightforward answer, too -- want to do a split? Just keep trying to do one, you'll get it eventually. As for other stretches that might help, I'm not sure. I guess you'd want to do things that do some work on the hips and upper legs, more on the inside/groin region than the outside, I'd think. I think those are the primary areas that would possibly restrict your ability to do a split. But there must be others who know more about this than I do. Maybe they can give you some more suggestions. I hope this is of some help though.

--
James Marshall
marshall@astro.umd.edu
http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall

I find that just sitting on the floor in front of the T.V. and relaxing and doing your stretching helps a lot. Don't bounce! Stretch 'till it feels a little uncomfortable but not so much to where it HURTS. Do it nearly every day. It also is good to have your muscles warm. Personally, I spend 10 minutes in the hot tub first, but 10 minutes of Samba works too!

Someone I know who attends circus school worked for a year to develop the ability to do a split. She basically would warm up, stretch the areas that Dronak suggests, and then would try to do a split. She'd get a tiny bit lower every month, until finally she was actually doing one.

My Pilates teacher is trying to get me to learn to do splits. We stretch the front of the hips, the groin area, and the backs of the legs first. For me the tightest area is just above the knee in the backs of the legs. It's going to be a while, probably a rather long while, before I'm able to do them.