Front Lever Progression

The front lever progression is a series of static holds that teach you to hold your body horizontally beneath a bar or rings. It builds serious lat and core strength, while your scapular retractors, straight-arm biceps, and glutes work hard to keep your body rigid.

Hang from a pull-up bar or rings with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Keep your arms straight and active. Pull your shoulder blades down and back so your shoulders sit away from your ears. Start from a hollow-body hang with your legs together and toes pointed. This is an advanced skill, so make sure you can already do 10 to 12 clean pull-ups and hold a strong scapular retraction before you try it.

From your hang, lower or lift your body into your chosen stage - tuck, advanced tuck, single-leg extension, straddle, or full front lever. Keep your arms straight, shoulder blades pinned back and down, and your body tight like a plank. Do not let your hips sag below your shoulders. Hold the position for short holds, rest, and repeat to build up total time.

Breathe with slow, controlled breaths while keeping your midsection braced. To make it easier, pull your knees in toward your chest into a tuck, or loop a band over the bar and let it support your hips. To make it harder, extend your legs further or move to a straddle or full front lever only after you can hold your current stage cleanly for 10 to 15 seconds.

Fault: Your hips drop and your lower back arches, breaking the straight line from shoulders to feet. Fix: Pull your shoulder blades down and back harder, squeeze your glutes, and brace your core so your hips stay level with your shoulders.

Fault: You bend your arms to hold the position. Fix: Lock your elbows and think about pushing the bar down toward your hips with straight arms; this keeps the demand on your lats instead of loading the biceps tendon at the elbow.

Fault: You jump to the hardest stage before your body is ready. Fix: Stay at the stage you can hold with clean form for 10 to 15 seconds, accumulate hold time there, and only move to the next stage when that feels solid.