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Back in the dark days when I was first getting into calisthenics, I remember attempting a simple front lever progression and almost busting a nut.
I won’t lie, I managed around 5 seconds of a tuck front lever before admitting defeat. And proceeded to sob uncontrollably in the corner of the room for the rest of my workout.
Anyway…
This progression isn’t something I struggle with much now. But back then, it made me realize how weak I was when it came to progressive calisthenics.
And it turns out I’m not alone.
See the problem with the front lever, is that a lot of people don’t put the time into strengthening the major muscles needed to pull off the exercise successfully.
I mean, there’s nothing wrong with practicing the front lever itself because it’s an essential part of the process.
But when you’re looking for something that’s going to speed the whole thing up, then there’s a few other pieces of the puzzle you need to get right.
So in today’s slightly epic blog post. I’m going to be walking you through my step-by-step guide to performing a front lever like the bulletproof badass I know you are.
There’ll be tears, tantrums, and a few aches and pains to keep things interesting. But by the time you’re done, there will also be an awesome front lever to show for your hard work.
So let’s get rolling…
WATCH VIDEO: Learn How To QUICKLY Master The Front Lever, Muscle-Up, Planche, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
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Table of Contents
How Long Does The Front Lever Take To Learn
This is like asking how long a piece of string is because, honestly, it’s going to depend a lot on where you’re currently at in terms of relative strength.
You need to remember that this is quite an advanced exercise. So if you’re a calisthenics newbie, then it’s pretty it can take a good 6 months before getting anywhere close…
…Possible more.
However, if you’ve already got the basics down and you can hammer out at least ten pullups with damn near perfect form. Then getting your first full front lever could be pretty short and sweet.
Now, the main components of the front lever require just 3 things.
And if you can get strong on each of these, then it won’t be long before you’ve got the front lever nailed.
Anyway, they are…
Muscle Engagement:
This involves engaging the muscles in your back, lats, and the back of the shoulders (posterior deltoids).
Core Strength:
This includes using a series of both dynamic and isometric exercises to strengthen your core.
Straight Arm Strength:
This is the ability to keep your arms straight during the front lever.
I’ll be talking more specifically about each of these as you work your way through this post.
This way, you’ll have a solid understanding of the different elements you’ll need to focus on while advancing through the progressions.
Muscle Engagement And Scapula Retraction
So the first thing you need to do before you even attempt a front lever is to make sure your form is in check. And when I say form, I mean you’re both engaging and strengthening all the right muscles that a front lever requires.
The best way to do this is to practice scapula retraction.
Basically, scapula retraction is where you squeeze your shoulder blades together to engage the muscles in the back.
Like this…
This is the initial movement you should be doing with any type of pulling exercise because it places more emphasis on the back, lats, and posterior delts. And these are the exact muscles you need to strengthen if you want to progress.
But the problem a lot of calisthenics newbies make is that they don’t do this correctly. And ultimately end up getting pissed off somewhere down the line and giving up altogether.
Now, to get this right, there are 2 specific exercises you need to focus on.
These are…
- Scapula Pulls
- And Scapula Rows
As the name suggests, a scapula pull involves retracting the scapula from the deadhang position of a pullup…
…While scapula rows practice the same thing from a horizontal rowing position (inverted row).
Now, when you perform these exercises, it’s important to keep your arms straight.
If you don’t, you’ll likely be using unnecessary muscles to assist with the movement, which will hurt your progress in the long run.
If you need a video demonstration of the whole thing, along with a few fundamental workouts to get you started. Then I recommend checking out this front lever tutorial for beginners for a little more insight.
The Ultimate List Of Front Lever Progressions
Once you’ve learned how to retract your scapula and engage the right muscles. You can now have a go at attempting the first progression, which is a front lever tuck.
The tuck version of the front lever is the easiest progression because most of your weight is closer to your body.
This places a lot less stress on your shoulders and core muscles, which is why it’s a great place to start getting to grips with the exercise.
To do it, simply grab your pullup bar at shoulder-width apart and get yourself into a tuck position keeping your knees close to your chest.
Remember to retract your scapula to correctly engage the back muscles and do your best to keep your arms straight. Preferably with your elbows locked out.
Then it’s simply a case of holding the position for as long as possible.
You should shoot for anywhere from 30-60 seconds before moving on to the next progression.
Now, I won’t go into great detail on every single progression because frankly, the process is pretty much the same.
The only difference is the amount of stress placed on your shoulders and core increases as you begin to straighten your legs.
So, to keep things simple, here’s a rundown of the positions you’ll need as you get stronger.
- Tuck Front Lever (knees close to chest)
- Advanced Tuck Lever (thighs vertical)
- One Leg Lever (One leg tucked with the other straight. Remember to alternate for maximum effect)
- Front Lever Straddle (Both legs straight but keep your feet wide apart)
- Full Front Lever (Both legs straight with feet together)
Again, make sure you can hold each one for at least 30 seconds before moving on to the next progression.
I won’t lie, progress can sometimes be painfully slow. So I recommend adding in a few supporting exercises to help things along.
This includes but isn’t limited to…
Front Lever Negatives
If you don’t know what a negative is, it’s basically the lowering phase of an exercise.
And it can be an awesome addition to your progression because it kind of gives you an idea of how the muscles should engage during a full front lever.
If you do it the way I’m about to show you, that is.
So here’s what you need to do to pull this off successfully…
Step #1:
First, get yourself into a regular tuck front lever.
Step #2:
Once you’re in position, slowly extend your legs until you reach a point where you can’t hold the exercise for more than a few seconds.
Step #3:
After that, all you have to do is lower your legs in a slow and controlled manner while keeping your core engaged.
Step #4:
If you can, continue to straighten your legs as you lower yourself to keep the tension on your core.
When done right, you should feel a massive contraction in your abs during the entire lowering phase of the exercise. And this should help you build a strong foundation to work off, so I suggest making them a regular part of your workout.
Progressive Front Lever Rise
Essentially this is the opposite of the negative front lever. But it’s a nice little addition if you want to spice things up a little.
To do it, grab the bar shoulder-width apart and retract your scapula as you normally would.
Keeping your legs straight and your scapula fully retracted, lever yourself upward until you can’t go any higher without sacrificing form.
Hold for a brief second, and then lower yourself back down in a slow and controlled manner before repeating the exercise for as many reps as you can handle.
Over time, you’ll start to notice yourself getting that little bit higher until you reach a point where you can successfully hold a front lever for a second or two.
Weighted Calisthenics
Another thing you can do is add weighted calisthenics to your workout.
Personally, I find adding weight to my pullups and inverted rows hugely beneficial. Because it helps prepare your muscles for the additional load when performing a front lever.
And when the load is heavy enough, the extra weight actually forces you to engage your core. So you should see some natural carryover in core strength as well.
The critical thing to remember here is to start slow and maintain your form.
If you do, I predict you’ll see huge increases in your strength sooner rather than later.
WATCH VIDEO: Learn How To QUICKLY Master The Front Lever, Muscle-Up, Planche, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
(Video Will Open In A New Window)
Core Training And Isometrics
Moving swiftly on, I want to specifically talk about increasing your overall core strength.
Now, there’s more than one way to do this, and to be fair, the front lever progression should get your well on your way to a solid core.
But to up the stakes and really hammer your core into submission, there are 3 specific exercises you can do to give yourself an advantage.
This includes…
- L-sits
- Planks
- Ab Wheel Rollouts
The great thing about these exercises is that their progressions are similar to the front lever.
Think about it, to make the front lever harder, all you’re really doing is adjusting the leverage and distributing your weight to further engage specific muscles.
And it’s exactly the same with each of the above.
L-Sit Progression
Take the L-sit, for instance…
In its most basic form, the full L-sit requires a massive amount of core strength because your weight is distributed in such a way that it demands the core to work harder.
But suppose you were to take this same exercise and regress it by tucking your knees closer to your body. You’d essentially be taking some of the stress away from your core so you could hold the position for longer.
This is something that can help massively when building up enough core strength because like the front lever, it’s an exercise that requires your body to work as a complete unit.
Plank Progression
It’s exactly the same for the plank as well.
See, when most people perform a plank, what most people do is place their elbows on the floor directly below their chest and hold the position for as long as they can.
But if you were to position your elbows further in front of you. This would again adjust the amount of leverage needed to maintain position and make the exercises more demanding on the core.
I published a post a while back that goes into detail on different plank variations and progressions. So if this is something you’d be interested in learning more about, then here’s the link to the post…
Related: Super Intense Plank Variations For Chiseled Abs
Ab Wheel Rollouts
The last core exercise I want to briefly touch on is ab wheel rollouts.
Again, this exercise works exactly the same way as the previous two exercises by creating more leverage the further you roll out.
Now usually, you’d start the exercise from a kneeling position and roll the wheel out as far as possible. But as you progress, you could even go as far as performing rollouts from a standing position to really feel the burn.
Trust me, this requires a massive amount of core strength and stability. So I recommend being able to perform at least 15 solid reps of kneeling ab wheel rollouts before considering giving this a go.
Improving Your Front Lever With Straight Arm Strength
Now, if you really want to front lever like a pro, then straight arm strength is a must.
To be fair, a front lever with slightly bent arms is still a huge accomplishment. But because you’re bending your elbows, you end up getting a little assistance from the biceps, which takes a little away from the exercise.
If this doesn’t bother you, then, by all means, keep your elbows slightly bent.
But if you’re the kind of guy (or gal) who loves a challenge, then there are a few straight arm exercises you can do to kick your front lever up a notch.
Without going into too much detail, you basically want to perform a series of straight arm dumbbell exercises to get used to dealing with heavier loads with your elbows locked out.
A few go-to exercises include…
- Lateral raises
- Front raises
- Chest flyes
Remember to start off light and again, keep the movement slow and controlled. This way, you’ll be creating enough time under tension to really feel the benefit.
Here’s a quick tip…
Whenever you do straight arm lateral raises. It’s better to have the pits of your elbows facing forward rather than towards your body.
This makes sure you won’t bend at the elbows as you push the weight away from your body.
Taking Your Front Lever Progression To The Next Level
Now, before you head off and start smashing your next front lever workout, let me just say this…
Everything I’ve talked about in this post is based on my own personal experiences.
I’m not some calisthenics guru with all the answers, and to be honest, there’s probably way more information you can pick up by following a tried and tested calisthenics program.
So if you’re still a little unsure of the next steps to take. Or you just want the full package when it comes to learning some of the most advanced calisthenics exercises known to man.
Then here’s something that will take your body, strength, and fitness to an entirely new level.
It’s called Bar Brothers The System
Basically, it’s a no BS calisthenics program that walks you through the process of performing both basic and advanced calisthenics exercises.
This includes the muscle-up, pistol squat, and of course, the front and back lever, among many others.
I won’t lie, it’s a pretty intense program. So if you’re not willing to step up and put the work in, or you’re just plain lazy, then I’d recommend giving it a miss.
But if you’re the type of person that’s hell-bent on getting the best out of yourself and you want to see real results fast…
…Then this is BY FAR, the best program you could invest in to massively improve every aspect of your strength and fitness. Period!
Now, I won’t keep banging on about how awesome it is because it’s not really my style.
Instead, I’ll simply invite you to hit the video link below to take a look for yourself…
WATCH VIDEO: Learn How To QUICKLY Master The Front Lever, Muscle-Up, Planche, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
(Video Will Open In A New Window)
Anyway…
Hopefully, you’ve learned at least one thing of value that you can go away and implement to start seeing real progress with your front lever.
But if you’ve got any thoughts or comments or just want to share what’s personally been working for you, feel free to drop a comment below…