personal
Hello. My name is Vyacheslav Komakha, a stretching coach with more than ten years of practice. In the studio and online I have seen hundreds of students try for months or years to sit the splits, through savage pain, disappointment, and injury. They blamed genetics, naturally stiff ligaments, or lack of effort. In most cases the real reason sat higher than the feet and knees. The invisible enemy of flexibility is anterior pelvic tilt (or marked lumbar hyperlordosis). That postural shift blocks the hip joints and keeps key muscles in constant defensive spasm. Safe, effective stretching is impossible without understanding your own biomechanics. Today we will look at how pelvic position steals the result and what to do about it.
The pelvis is the body’s central foundation, splitting load between spine and legs. Ideally it sits neutral. Picture a bucket filled to the brim. Neutral, the bucket stands level and water stays in.
With anterior pelvic tilt the bucket tips forward and water pours over the front rim. To keep from falling forward, the lower back arches more. That is hyperlordosis — excess inward curve of the lumbar spine. Visually: pelvis pushed back (“duck butt”) and a belly that sticks forward even without extra fat.
The shift comes from muscle imbalance — lower crossed syndrome. Some groups shorten and spasm; others lengthen and weaken:
Coming to training with that posture and trying to sit the splits is building a house on a tilted foundation. The nervous system treats it as a threat to the spine and joints and goes into full defense.
The hamstrings attach to the ischial tuberosities. When the pelvis tips forward, those bones move up and back. The hamstrings are already near end range before you start any stretch.
You are just standing, and the back of the thigh is already stretched almost to its limit. A forward fold or front splits then asks for still more length. The stretch reflex fires. The brain thinks the muscle will tear and orders emergency contraction. You feel a burning pain, the muscle turns to stone, and you cannot drop. You can stretch for years; until the pelvis returns to neutral the hamstrings will not let go, because they are stabilizing the pelvis against further tilt.
A good front split needs extension of the back hip. That extension needs the hip flexors — first of all iliopsoas — to let go.
In hyperlordosis that muscle is chronically short and hard. It physically will not let the thigh go back. Trying to drop lower, you compensate with even more break in the lower back. Instead of stretching the thigh you compress lumbar discs. The joint is blocked, there is no range, and lower-back pain after training becomes a constant companion.
Middle splits need abduction. With anterior pelvic tilt the spatial orientation of the socket changes. The neck of the femur hits the rim of the acetabulum too early — a bony block. You feel not an inner-thigh stretch but a dull, unpleasant pain deep in the joint. Forcing that block is a direct path to arthrosis and labral damage.
To get stretching off a dead stop, work as a system. Do not just pull whatever feels stiff. Retrain the nervous system, relax the overworked, strengthen the weak.
Before stretching, clear trigger points and excess tone.
Classic lunges are often done wrong: people arch the lower back and worsen hyperlordosis. Stretch the flexors with the pelvis fixed.
Kneel on one knee (pad the knee). Both knees at 90 degrees. Key move: tuck the pelvis back as if tucking a tail (glutes on, abs on). The lower back must go flat. Holding that pelvis, ease the whole body a few centimeters forward. You should feel a deep pull on the front of the back thigh. Hold 45–60 seconds, breathe softly. Repeat both sides.
Teach the brain which muscles hold the pelvis neutral in walking, running, and training.
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor. Before lifting the pelvis, press the lower back into the mat and close the gap (posterior pelvic tilt). Keeping that abdominal tension, squeeze the glutes and lift until knees, hips, and shoulders line up. Do not arch the lower back at the top. Hold 2 seconds, lower slowly. 3 sets of 15–20. You should feel glutes, not lower back.
Lie on your back, lift bent legs to 90/90, arms straight to the ceiling. Press the lower back into the floor and never lose that. Slowly take the right arm back and straighten the left leg forward without touching the floor. Return and switch. If the lower back lifts, reduce the leg range. 3 sets of 10 each side.
Change the technique. Forget chasing centimeters to the floor. Watch bones and joints.
In hamstring work (one-leg folds sitting or standing) never round the thoracic spine or over-arch the lower back. Keep the back long and draw the low abdomen in slightly. Fold only at the hips. The fold may be small; you should feel a quality pull in the muscle belly, not under the knee or at the sit bone.
In the front splits control the back thigh. It should face the floor, not turn out. Tuck the tail, straighten the spine by opening the hip, not by breaking the lumbar spine. Use yoga blocks under the hands to unload the back and keep the torso vertical without extra strain.
A light, pain-free splits is not mindless violence and savage pain. It is balanced posture, joint mobility, and nervous-system control. Correcting anterior pelvic tilt opens the path to the splits, eases chronic lower-back pain, and makes movement cleaner.
Every body is different. What works for one person can harm another, especially with marked hyperlordosis. Forcing stiff muscles often sprains ligaments and injures joints that then take months to treat. If you want the process done professionally, gently, and effectively, do it under an experienced coach.
Start with a personal online training session
Book a training sessionSecure payment via Stripe
Start with a personal online session
Book a training sessionSecure payment via Stripe