“The L-Sit takes a serious amount of strength and mobility to perform. But it’s worth your training time because it builds your abs, hip flexors, and shoulders like few other exercises on the planet.” – Men’s Health Fitness Director B.J. Gaddour
What is an L-sit? It’s nothing new, it’s an exercise that has been practiced for decades. Make your legs horizontal and make sure your torso is vertical, forming the L-shape and you’re good to go. There are a number of L-sit positions you can get into, whether you’re using parallel bars, gymnastics rings, a pair of benches or the floor.
Watch this video on how to perform an L-Sit
Using Parallel Bars to Perform the L-Sit Exercise
If you’re performing the L-sit on parallel bars, you’re going to want to stand between the bars, then grab them with the palms of your hands facing down. You simply push your torso up and lift your legs in front of you making sure they’re parallel with the floor. You’ll hold that position for about 3 minutes. That’s usually an acceptable long-term goal for the more serious exercisers.
Doing the L-Sit Exercise at Home
If you’re not one for parallel bars to perform the L-sit, you can always just use your living room floor. You can place a pair of push-up handles on either side of you and sit between them, with your legs stretched out in front of you. Grasp the handles as you did the bars and lift your legs for about 3 minutes. Or, if you don’t have any push-up handles, you can simply place your palms on the floor, with your fingertips pointed forward.
You can hang from a pull-up bar, raising your legs high and holding them straight together, if you are not able to hold the L-sit position. Keep this going until you can lift them into a horizontal position.
L-sit Combo Exercise Routine
Fitness Tips: Progression of the L-Sit. Perform the L-sit with one leg at a time until you’re strong enough to raise both legs at the same time. Another alternative is to begin by raising your thighs so they’re parallel with the floor (creating a 90-degree angle with your knees bent), then work your way up until you can straighten your legs.
It’s important to remember that the advanced L-sit is not an exercise designed for beginners. Speak with a physician before you try any new exercise routine you’re unfamiliar with, particularly when you’re attempting a challenging exercise such as the L-sit. Doing some light (full body) cardio activity for about 10 minutes will serve as a nice warm up, then stretch your muscles dynamically. Try stretches such as arm swings, trunk rotations, leg kicks, and lunges.
Stephen
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