Learning To Do The Splits at 47 | Natalie Jill

Hey, guys. Okay, this is really random, but some of you know I've been working on my splits. I shared that I was, at 47 years old, gonna learn how to do the splits. Of course, Brooks comes in to watch this part. I decided I'm gonna learn how to do splits. I am the most unflexible person on the planet, and I'm 47 years old. Hey, get out. You're in my way. So I shared. I publicly announced this, that I was gonna learn to do the splits and without having any flexibility. Like, what did I say two weeks ago I was gonna do it?

Something like that. But it's an outstanding spectator sport.

Dork. Okay. Anyways, I said I was gonna learn to do the splits. I have no clue what I'm doing. I did not watch any videos or train. But I was gonna show you guys what I'm doing. I think I've made some progress.

She has made lots of progress.

Disclaimer. I have no idea what I'm doing here. Like, seriously no idea.

And she knows a little bit more than. Well, like, she's not stretching her arm.

So. Okay. And. But I've been consistent. Well, here's what happened. I decided I was gonna do it. I declared I was gonna do it publicly. I shared with everybody I was gonna do it on Facebook. I told all my friends, told everybody I was gonna do it. And I've been consistent. I practice every day except for one in, like, almost three weeks. Three weeks. It's been three weeks. Not two and a half. Three. Okay, so I'm gonna show you what I'm doing. So what I. Here's the tools. You need two blocks like this, and you need some sort of.

And you need a massage chair.

No, that's not part of this.

That's for me to sit in while she does the splits.

You need some sort of, like, foam roller or something else. You need a wall, and you need a wall. So I'm going to show you what I'm doing. Ready? This is really quite amusing. So what I do is. The first thing I do is I sit on one knee. Can you see this? And I put one leg out in front, and I use this to hold. And I just sort of stretch my hamstring. And I'll do this. My whole routine is about 30 minutes. And typically, I'll do it while I'm talking on the phone or while Brooks is making fun of me, but I do it while I'm doing.

Never make fun of somebody.

And lately I've been doing it while I read sometimes. So the key is just to do these stretches. I think I'm just basing this off of my own personal experience here. Not because I actually know, but I'm stretching out the hamstrings. So I use these blocks to sort of help. And I do it one leg at a time like this. And I'll tell you, it's a lot easier if you practice it after you've worked out or after you get out of the shower so things are warm. Not right now, when you just got back from running errands and it was cold out. Probably not the ideal. Then I'll switch legs, and I'll just do it here. See, that one's tighter than the other. And I hold these on to help. And then the key is you want to place this under the nether region. The nether region. Like, I'm literally gonna sit on it.

Not to be confused with the Netherlands.

Not to be confused with the Netherlands. Okay. So I literally place it. Like, I'm gonna sit right like that. Watch what I'm doing here. So I'm in a splits position, but I can't go down any lower. And then I hold these blocks. Hey, get out of there. Get out of there. And I will sit like this. And what it's doing is it's stretching my hip flexor, stretching my hamstring. And I just sit there like this. But I use these for balance. And actually, I've gotten further along than I was before. This is progress. This is progress, you guys. I couldn't even get this far before, but I'll do each of these positions. I'll sit here like this for, like, five minutes or so. Crazy. And I'm not gonna lie. It doesn't exactly feel good. It doesn't feel good, but it's just about stretching and practicing how to put it back so you can see a little more. So I'll hold it here like that. And then I'm really careful not to arch my back because that will start hurting. So I don't do that. So I'll do both legs literally like this. And you'll notice, like, one leg can be more flexible than the other, but I'm just sitting like this. And then the goal is you'll keep lowering this so the block will get lower. Eventually, I would just hold myself up on the ground, but I'm holding it like that. Then the key one, the key exercise I've been doing. You guys are going to laugh at this, because this is where Brooks thinks it's very amusing. It's what I've been doing against the wall. But wait, before I show you that, I'm going to show you one more stretch. I do. I do sort of a pigeon stretch. So I'll put this here, and I'll lay down like that and stretch out this hip flexor. This is another one I do just like that. And then I do this. This one actually feels good. It looks funky, but I'll put my knees like flops. Can you see flops? Frogs. So I'll do this with my knees like this. And I'll stretch out my hips like that. And it's just these little rocks. And that's what helps get them looser. But then the key exercise. This one actually feels really good. It's going to look really funky. I'm not going to lie. You're going to move him so I can show them. Wait, I gotta move here. Brooks will narrate from here. You'll have to make sure that these flops.

Hey, sit, buddy.

Okay, so you gotta show what I'm doing. I gotta bring it down over this way. This one looks funky. Here we go. Wait, let's get it against the wall, see if they can see me. You're gonna have to move it this way. Hang on. I'm gonna show you what I do right here. Okay, See here, Scott's gonna put.

Yeah, they'll be able to see.

Okay. Don't do anything crazy, Brooks. Brooks always gets in here and interrupts. He gets crazy.

I do.

So I'm gonna scooch my butt all the way against the wall here. I'm gonna literally scooch it against the wall just like this, all the way again. So now your back is totally flat, and I'll let the gravity push it down. Can they see this, Brooks? Yeah. So tell them what I'm doing so they can understand.

Well, she's doing the splits. Up against the wall.

My butt's against the wall and my legs. And I let the gravity sort of push it down like this. Well, now you can't. Facebook can't see.

They can. You can see the whole thing on there.

See, it's like that. Hi. Watch out. So I'll just do that. And the gravity starts moving. And what's happened is my feet have actually gotten further down in the last three weeks than they were before. So this is a really. This one feels actually good.

We're actually gonna stay on live until her feet touch the ground.

No, we're not gonna stay on live until my feet touch the ground. That is not what we're doing. So put it down. Anyways, you guys, I just wanted to show you that real quick. That's what I've been doing every day. I've been really committed to it and that's how I'm learning the splits. There's really no magic to it other than being consistent. Having a funny husband that likes to jump in and narrate.

I will say it hasn't helped me. Watching her has not helped my splits at all. So you actually have to do them.

You actually have to do them.

Just watching this video will not help you. But if you actually do it consistently, pretty good shot. It will.

The other thing, this is like our practice room. So not only am I practicing the spritz in here, but you'll notice a piano keyboard. And look at this. Check this out. See that little spot speaker over there? This is my relaxation room. But my husband has decided that he has a new hobby. He, who was the worst singer on the planet with no musical ability, has decided to teach himself to sing and to play guitar and keyboard, piano. So now my massage room and stretching room has turned into a musical facility.

But it never gets used for music when she's actually in here.

Why not? Because you're embarrassed?

No, because you don't.

Because I don't what?

Because I do it when you guys aren't here.

Where are we when you guys go out? Why don't you do it when we're here?

Because it's an open room and you don't.

And what's that have to do with anything?

Because sometimes when people are practicing, like, you know.

Well, I do my splits in front of you.

Yeah, but it doesn't make any noise aside from the muscle fibers going, I am stretching.

Oh, boy. Anyways, my point behind this video is they had been asking about the splits. So I wanted to show you guys what I was doing. I have no program I'm following. I'm just. I just decided I was going to do it just like he decided he was going to sing. And the whole key is like when you make a decision that you want to do something, you just got to practice. Even if you suck at it, you can eventually get better.

And for me, the music thing was I always had the story that I had athletic ability but no music ability. And I guess really what landed for me was seeing Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born, which is awesome. But if you really go look at that. It was the first time he directed. But it was like a four year process for him to get ready for that role. And so here's a guy that was 40 and basically taught himself well. He had instructors, but, you know, learned the guitar, learned how to sing. You know, spent two, two and a half years just on those things to get ready for that movie because he did all his own singing, all his own guitar and everything. He's had zero, had done zero musical anything up until that movie. So I was like, you know, I can just worry this. I'm not saying that I'm going to be on stage with Lady Gaga.

Well, you might be. You never know.

Who knows?

You never know. Well, I had no movie inspiration for the splits at all. I just decided that I was tired of seeing people doing the splits, and I thought it was cool. And every. Have you guys ever done this? It was like, I keep seeing people doing the splits, and I would say, I'd like to learn that, but then I would never actually practice. So I decided that I was going to actually practice. So let's see. Okay. Oh, there were some questions. Look at that. Hi, Kimberly. I see you. Hi, Leanne. Leanne's asking, what are your tips for someone who has no problem exercising but has the worst time with food? I got it, Leigh Ann. Okay, so with that, first of all, you don't have to be extreme on anything. So, like, if you are great at exercising and food's your issue, then exercise more and focus on. What I always share with food is focus on adding in more of the good, which makes less room for the bad. So instead of saying, like, I'm not going to have all these things I love say, like, how can I add in more of the good? Like, how can I drink in more water? Can I add in vegetables? Can I add in. In more good? And then that makes less room for the bad. Like we had just now. We went. We had dinner and we had. We went to the. May or may not have gone to See's candy right after, which is fine. We all had a piece of See's candy, but we all also had a healthy dinner that we filled up on first.

And we walked and we walked, even though she told me to park here, park here, park here. Parked far away and we took the stairs and we walked.

Yeah. Yeah. Jenna saying someone has an easy splits progression. Training. Yeah, you know, my hard head. I didn't want a training program. I just wanted to go for it. So I don't know what. I'm just going with what feels good right now with it. And, yeah, I don't know.

So I'm not Because people did splits before the Internet.

They definitely did splits before the Internet. So I'm not saying that their program's not good. Maybe it is, but I just wanted to try. And I'm actually getting lower, and it feels good. My hip flexors always used to feel tight, ever since my back surgery. So I'm. It's. It's like innately, it just feels good to stretch that out. Let's see.

Somebody asked if fruits are good or bad. Nothing's good or bad. They're just.

I eat a lot of fruits, you guys. If it once grew and it's natural, I'm all for it. I don't think that they're bad at all. I think they're good. Everything in moderation. Let's see. Okay, somebody's asking. Hi, Bella. I have a question. She's saying she's hard to work upper body when you're bigger on top. Got it. Well, Bella, you don't have to work chest necessarily, but you can still work overall. Like, your arms. You could do anything. Like, anything you're going to do with your arms isn't going to affect your chest. And just because you work chest is not necessarily going to make you bigger. It's just going to help get you toned. So it's very misleading about bulking and muscle. It takes a lot of work to put on size through weightlifting and through working out. You have to add a lot of calories in a lot of food, and you have to really train hard to put on size. So typically, women get worried about getting bigger from exercise, and that's not really that realistic if you're doing everything there. Let's see. Take a few more questions. Yes, yoga probably does help. Danette. That would be what a smart person would do to help with the splits. I have not been doing that. I have not been doing that. So, let's see. I didn't know you can learn to do the splits. Quintana. Quintana. Did I pronounce your name right? I don't know that you can or cannot, but we're gonna find out, because I'm working on it. I am working on it.

Anybody who's good at anything, like the guitar, nobody just learns how their fingers slide up and down a fretboard. Everybody work whatever it is. Like, there's just no, you know, even a kid, even though they're super flexible, they still have to work to really be able to do the split. So just everything requires work and doing it consistently.

And Dorothy says, I decided to learn how to do Handstand. You go, Dorothy, I love it. You declared it. I love it. Clear it on Instagram. Look, I just declared on Instagram again to you guys. You can declare too. You just declared it on my Instagram. So there you go, Dorothy. I'm holding you accountable. Anyways, that's all. I just wanted to show you guys a little glimpse into that. Hey, earlier today, earlier today, I did a different live. You can find it. If you're looking at me on Instagram, you can find that live. If you're on Facebook, you can scroll up and find it. But I did a whole live on creating a vision. So whether it's splits or singing or bigger things in your life, check that out. Because I had. I spent some time on there. And what else? What else? Oh, if you want to come hang out with me and Brooks us, You're fun. We're fun. We are fun. We're doing two small groups.

You can come do the splits in here with Natalie.

You can come to splits with me.

And I won't heckle you.

Yeah. We have two small group VIP weekends coming up in San Diego. And you can apply, you can see the price, you can see the dates. We're only taking 10 women at each of them. And I'm specifically looking for women in their 40s and 50s that want to age in reverse. Why 40s and 50s? Because I'm 47 and I am currently working towards aging in reverse. And that's my expertise. That's who I like to focus on. That's who I want to have fun with. Us. That's the cool girls. So if you are in your 40s or 50s and you are struggling with, like, feeling like it's too late, that you feel like, you know, you've missed the boat because you haven't. You haven't, and you're interested in aging reverse. You want to come hang out with us because we're fun. We're doing Two small group VIP weekends coming up. And if you go to NatalieJillFitness.com apply, you can see the dates, you can see the price, and you can apply. And we're going to be going through applications and figuring out.

And I don't do Snapchat anymore because they got rid of my one favorite filter.

Oh, somebody missing you on Snapchat?

No, I think it was probably you, but I'm just answering it.

Who said that on Snapchat?

It was Sonya. Ph.

I'm typing the link here. It's NatalieJofitness.com apply.

The ph is silent. So it's just. Sonia.

Hi, Sandra. No, I don't. I haven't been doing Snapchat. I've been doing Instagram stories a lot more. Just too many places to try to figure out, you know. Oh, she applied also. Quintana. I will take a look. Thank you. Yes. All right, so that's my splits thing. If you guys want to. If you missed the beginning, you can watch it. It'll be up on the live, and you can see it's not too riveting, but I wanted to show you what I was doing. Thanks, guys. Bye.