“Eve’s Lunge”
Revisited THE FRONT SPLITS, or Hanumanasana as they are known in Yoga, are definitely an impressive pose to be able to perform, and often used as an expression of one’s flexibility. On the other hand, in today’s functional training climate some will argue that they are not necessary as a daily life movement ability, at least not for most people, and therefore not worth spending much training time on. (Of course one could use the same argument against pushing around tractor tires, so common in functional gyms!) While the functional argument may have some merit, even working towards the front splits will assist in your movement performance. A recent study with Rugby Union players’ demonstrated improvement in flexibility in hip flexor and extensor muscles transferred directly to improved stride length and running mechanics. In our workshops, we often use the front splits to analyze the relationship between agonist/antagonist muscle pairs, their effects on pelvic rotation and posture, and to demonstrate physiological reflex arcs. In the Pilates Method there is a long history of front split exercises, particularly on the reformer.
B
B1
A Photograph A above illustrates what is known as “Eve’s lunge.” Note that Eve’s back leg is externally rotated, a variation of the front splits in which the hip adductors of the rear leg are stretched more than the hip flexors. In our Innovations in Pilates work, we emphasize both versions. As is so often the case, exercise analysis is not a black and white issue of “which one is wrong or right?” The more useful question to ask would be “what type of adaptation are you trying to bring about?” In photograph B and B1, you can see Joe Pilates and one of his clients practicing the front splits in his studio while holding a specially designed rail for support.
Before we start let’s look at the muscle-tendon unit— the muscle and its tendon — to see what lengthens in the pose. The muscle-tendon (MTU) unit is composed of several elements. These include the contractile structures (sarcomeres) and the fascial elements that surround the muscle fibers and tendons. Although these elements are often presented separately in articles on the science of stretching, in reality they are inextricably linked to one another. The back leg/hip joint is extending.