L Sit
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The L Sit is known as a stellar bodyweight core exercise, and for good reason. It's tough, requiring a good amount of core strength to even start doing. However, it has a host of other benefits as well. It's great for building arm strength, shoulder strength, and hip mobility. Not to mention it's a pretty cool looking skill.
As previously stated though, it's tough and requires a good level of fitness to even start training. Don't worry though if you're not there yet. There are plenty of ways to make the L Sit easier and progress your way up to it. You can check out the variations section for progression exercises.
The Basics
The L Sit is an isometric core exercise that is primarily used to improve ab strength and increase your ability to compress your hip angle. It also requires a good deal of shoulder and arm strength as well hip mobility. Since it's an isometric exercise, you'll be tracking how long you can hold it rather than reps.
The Basics
The l sit is primarily used as a strength exercise. It is more generally classified as a core movement.
Form
Set Up
- Sit on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you and toes pointed
- Place your palms on the ground with your fingers pointing forwards
- Prepare by engaging your core, hip flexors, and bringing your shoulderblades down
The Hold
- Push yourself off the ground with your hands
- Keep your legs straight and compressed towards your torso
- Keep your shoulderblades down
- Keep your weight balanced more towards the heel of your hand
Common Mistakes
Losing Tightness in the Shoulders
Be sure to keep your shoulderblades held down. Letting them rise up puts your arms in a less advantageous position to hold you high enough off the ground.
Leaning Forward
Leaning forward puts in you a less stable position. Try to keep yourself leaned slightly back, so that your back and triceps are fully engaged. This slight back lean also sets up good habits for progressing to a V Sit.
Additional Info
Doing Your First L Sit
Doing an L Sit requires a fair amount of work for most people. Fortunately, there are progression exercises that can build the requisite strength and mobility. There are two general skills, other than core strength, that may need to be trained.
The first is scapular depression, that is, being able hold yourself up high enough on your arms to keep yourself off the floor. For some, this may be a strength issue, for others it may be mobility. Either way, training with parallettes or rings can get you started and as you get stronger and/or more mobile, transition to training on the ground.
The second is hip mobility. To be able to do an L Sit, you need to be able to keep your legs straight and be bent about 90 degrees at the waist. This is a hard ask for many inflexible people. To improve this, start working on stretching your hamstrings and strengthening your hip flexors.
Making It Harder
Even though it's already a challenging move, there are many ways to progress your L Sit. You can certainly just hold it for longer, but you can also make it more difficult by trying to work towards a V Sit.
No Equipment Needed
The L Sit requires absolutely no equipment other than the ground. It's a great way to get a good core workout in anywhere.
