L-Sit

How to Perform the L-Sit

Sit on the floor between two parallettes, dip bars, or place your hands flat on the ground beside your hips.
Grip the handles or press your palms firmly into the floor with fingers pointing forward.
Straighten your arms completely and press down to lift your body off the ground.
Extend both legs out in front of you until they are parallel to the floor, keeping them straight and together.
Engage your core and hip flexors to maintain the horizontal leg position.
Keep your shoulders depressed and away from your ears throughout the hold.
Hold the position for the prescribed time, breathing steadily.
Lower yourself back down in a controlled manner to complete the set.

Bending the knees to make the hold easier

Keep legs fully extended; if too difficult, start with a tucked L-sit and gradually straighten the legs over time.

Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears

Actively depress and retract your shoulders to maintain a strong, stable base.

Rounding the lower back

Engage your core and think about tilting your pelvis slightly posteriorly to maintain a neutral spine.

✓Develops exceptional core strength and stability without spinal flexion.
✓Builds straight-arm pressing strength in the triceps and shoulders.
✓Improves body awareness and control, which transfers to gymnastics and calisthenics movements.

●Start with a tuck L-sit (knees bent) and progress to one leg extended, then both legs extended.
●Using parallettes or dip bars provides more clearance and makes the exercise more accessible.
●Practice compression work (seated leg lifts) to build the hip flexor strength needed for this hold.

Strength

4-5 sets of 10-20 second holds

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 20-30 second holds

Endurance

2-3 sets of 30-60 second holds

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