Front Lever Progression Workout

Front Lever Progression – one amongst the foremost powerful exercises out there for strong lats and phenomenal core strength.

The front lever exercise can be really tough for beginners. But don’t be discouraged! We’ve created a step-by-step plan to help you build up to it. Once you finish this program, you’ll be able to do a full front lever. You can then include it in your workouts as a static hold or do it regularly as part of your calisthenics routine.

We’ve compiled all the basic information, progressions, tutorials, and useful tips to help you achieve your first full front lever, even if you’re starting from scratch. We’ve gathered the most effective steps, so you don’t have to search for them on your own!

What is Front Lever?

The Front lever is a static hold exercise that focus more on upper body muscles.  This front lever progression guide starts off with some relatively simple exercises before moving on to the ultimate step.

The Front Lever is a dynamic exercise composed of various static movements as you progress through the steps. By the end of the progression, your ability to control your own body weight will be impressive, leading to significant improvement in the muscular shape of your upper body.

It can be defined as –

The Front Lever is a type of training skill which looks easily attainable, but many out there find themselves struggling with the just basic exercises. It is a skill that one should strive to attain in order to strengthen up core and upper-body muscles especially lats. You can perform front lever on the rings or bars, but making a skill like this will take some time.

Imagine like you’re holding the bar together with your hands, floating within the air with body parallel to the ground.

As you’ll be able to guess, this movement needs loads of core strength, however it you are doing it properly, you’ve got to use your lats as your primary muscles. Gym lifters utilize weights and machines, but here you’ll depend only on your own body and grip strength.

The resistance in front lever is far higher than the other common calisthenics & gymnastic exercises. The front lever is a complicated move, that takes months to attain, and making an attempt to rush will make things worse. Sure, you’ll be able to train all day long, swing and do plenty of stuff like that, however that’s not going to make a big jump in your front lever progression.

Science Behind Front lever

In a front lever one have to balance the total force formed by gravitational force. It is not just gravitational force, actually you need to balance the entire torque generated by your body. Think about actual form of the front lever. The net force you need to generate in-order to sustain proper form will be your height x your bodyweight.

• Net torque or force you need to generate (unit: newton meter) = bodyweight (kg) x Your Height (meter)

So, when it come to front lever things become so easier for short and thin guys.

Why the Front Lever is so tough?

I’ve never seen a person who’s carrying extra weight do this move before! But it’s definitely not impossible. It’s not just about your weight, it’s also about how tall you are that makes it harder. When you’re taller, it puts more pressure on your muscles. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying. If you’re determined and put in the effort, you can definitely do it. Remember, anything is possible with hard work.

In comparison the front lever is much harder than the back lever, at least in my experience. It’s not just about holding your body out parallel to the ground, but also about using your lats and entire core muscles to keep yourself into place. In the front lever the lats are at a much more disadvantageous position than in the back lever, making it significantly tougher.

How Long will It take to Learn The Front Lever?

It depend on your present training and strength level, where you’re in your training, how strong and flexible you’re already. Even if you have good strength it’ll take minimum one to two months.

Front lever need a lot of core and shoulder strength which needs a lot of dedicated training and joint conditioning.

If you’ve been training for a while and your isometric exercises are strong, you might progress more quickly. However, if you haven’t mastered exercises like leg raises and German hangs, it might take you longer to achieve the front lever.

Don’t expect to master this skill in the first few sessions; it’s a challenging exercise that requires hard work and dedication. However, like all difficult skills, the satisfaction of achieving it is incredibly rewarding.

Front Lever Form

Palms

The palms of the hands must be downwards. And you should be actively trying to push in this direction during the exercise. This will engage the upper body muscles. It also helps to squeeze the bar or rings with your hand to generate more tension in upper body and subsequently create a stronger lever. 

Arms

Make sure your arms are about shoulder-width apart. When using a bar, it’s as simple as positioning your hands at the right width. On rings, you should keep your arms close to your sides. In both cases, focus on flexing your entire upper body and keeping your arms close to your sides. It’s similar to the back lever. If your arms move too far from your body, it will be much harder to maintain tension.

Shoulder and Upper Torso

Flex the back and the chest, and you should keep the shoulders in a natural position. You don’t have to pull your shoulder blades back or push your shoulders forward in an unnatural way. As mentioned earlier, you should actively push downward with your hands, which will create the right tension in your upper body

Midsection/ Hips/ Legs

Maintain a tight midsection, squeeze your glutes, and engage your leg muscles. Ensure that the front of your body is in a straight line. One common challenge with this skill is keeping your hips fully extended. Avoid bending at the waist, as it’s not the correct form for the front lever. I found that pointing your toes and visualizing stretching your body out is a helpful cue to keep yourself in the right alignment, much like in gymnastics. When in doubt, consider taking a picture or asking someone to check your form

Note: This step by step front lever progression sequence is designed for absolute beginners. If you have some level of experience and you can do some of the exercises listed here, skip those initial easier exercises and start from the harder one in the hierarchy.

Front Lever Progression Exercises

1. Hanging knee raises
2. Hanging leg raise
3. Inverted row
4. Feet elevated inverted row
5. Tuck front lever
6. Advanced tuck front lever
7. Tuck with one leg in and one leg out (optional)
8. Advanced tuck with one leg in and one leg out
9. Straddle front lever
10. Half Lay Front Lever
11. Full front lever

1. Hanging Knee Raises

Hang from a pull-up bar or gymnastic rings together with your body straight, using an overhead grip. Bend your knees and use your lower abs to lift your legs till your thighs become parallel with the ground.

Focus on controlling the lowering phase, it must be very slow and under control. Aim for high-rep sets to completely fatigue the core muscles.

2. Hanging Leg Raise

This exercise is quite similar to the previous one, with the key difference being that this time you need to keep your legs straight instead of bending at the knees. Raise them until your toes touch the bar or your fingers.

Perform the movement in a slow and controlled manner. Focus on engaging only your abdominals and avoiding any momentum. Once you can comfortably do more than 8 or 10 reps, you can move on to the next exercise.

3. Inverted Row

The inverted row is the exercise that closely resembles the front lever. It’s a more accessible version because your bodyweight is supported by your feet, but the motion plane is quite similar.

In addition to this exercise you should also practice weighted pullup variations and chin-ups.

To perform the inverted row, start with an overhand grip at shoulder width and your feet on the ground. Keep your elbows close to your body and pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Hold that position for a moment with your shoulder blades together, and then lower yourself back to the starting position.

Once you can complete twenty reps in each set, you can progress to the next exercise.

4. Feet Elevated Inverted Row

The feet-elevated inverted row is a similar exercise to the previous one, but this time, you place your feet on an elevated surface to make the movement more challenging and put your body in a more horizontal position. Keep working on this exercise until you can complete fifteen reps in each set.

To increase the difficulty, try doing the exercise with one leg unsupported in the same plane and aim to touch your lower chest to the bar.

5. Tuck Front Lever

To do the tuck front lever, start by hanging from a bar. Then, bring your legs up and hug your knees close to your chest. It’s really important to keep your body in a tight, rounded shape and maintain a little curve in your back the whole time. Once you can hold this position for about 20 to 30 seconds move on to the next one.

1. Negative tuck levers: Start by getting yourself upside down from the bars or rings and lower yourself down through the position.
2. Tuck lever hold: While practicing the tuck negatives, focus on developing the strength to control and hold the position. Continue training until you can maintain the hold with your hips and shoulders aligned parallel to the ground.
3. Tuck lever rise: In this stage of training, you can stop the negative lowering and practice by pulling up into the tuck lever from a vertical position.
4. Tuck lever pull-ups: Pull yourself up to the bar or rings while in the tuck position.

6. Advanced Tuck Front Lever

Starting from the tuck position, gradually straighten your back while slightly opening your legs until they are perpendicular to your body. It’s like you’re trying to push the bar down to your hips, and you should keep your arms straight throughout the entire movement. Your objective is to hold this position for fifteen to twenty seconds.

7. Advanced Tuck with One Leg In and One Leg Out

From the advanced tuck position, extend on leg till it’s parallel to the ground and keep the opposite perpendicular to your body or tucked to your chest. Don’t forget to switch legs so as to stay yourself far away from muscular and strength imbalances. Reach 15 – 20 second hold and then progress to next stage.

Note: If this stage feels challenging, you can practice by initially doing the tuck with one leg in and one leg out, and then apply the same progression to the advanced tuck position.

8. Straddle Front Lever

This is essentially a partial front lever, but with your legs wide apart and fully extended, which makes the hold a bit more manageable. Once you feel confident with this variation, focus on bringing your legs together as you continue your journey toward mastering the full front lever.  Keep it up, you’re making great progress.

Note: for attain proper form and ease up the difficulty practice dragonflys and dragonfly negatives.

9. Half Lay Front Lever

In this step, you do a front lever with your legs slightly bent. Many people skip this move and go straight to the full front lever. But I think it’s a good idea to practice the half lay front lever for at least a week. This exercise helps you get the right form for the front lever and also gets your joints ready for the full front lever.

10. The Full Front Lever

If you’ve followed all the exercises mentioned above consistently and focused on your front lever progression, along with proper rest and a balanced diet, you’re well on your way to achieving a full front lever.

Don’t miss:

Calisthenics Workout Plan for Beginners
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Back Lever Progression Workout
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