A video from Colorado of a high school cheerleader being forced into the splits and held down by her teammates has gone viral.
Back in Washington State, coaches said that is definitely not the way to accomplish the splits.
"What is actually happening there is that she's resisting so much, even if she tries to relax she's still resisting a lot,” explained Tucker Frye. “She's building muscles into the opposite direction which is actually detrimental.”
Tucker Frye, from Spokane Gymnastics, has experience training in gymnastics, cheerleading and parkour.
“Because they were pulling so much their hips start to move around a little bit...you can see it messes with where her joints are aligned,” he explained. “If they got a hair off she could have dislocated her hip.”
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For Tucker, it is all about mechanics to prevent injuries. Stretch only until you feel a good stretch, not pain.
“They are all using gravity to do a passive stretch, rather than somebody actively pulling them,” he said.
Splits can take up to two years to perfect, and unsafe techniques like the one used in the video has long-term consequences.
"It could lead to big deductions later on if they are doing gymnastics or competitive cheerleading,” he said. "Everyone has her limit and she was definitely pushed past hers.”