L-sit Progression

Template

Parts Exercises Sets Reps/Duration Rest Time
Warm-Up Light Mobility - Joint # 1 - 2 5 - 30 none - 2 min
Warm-Up Set/s 1 - 2 1 - 8 / 1+ secs 2 - 5 min
Main Exercise L-sit Progression 2 - 3 3 - 8 / 5+ secs 3 - 6 mins
Accessories Limiting Factors 1 - 2 5 - 20 / 5 secs - 1 min 1 - 3 mins

Workout Sample 1

Parts Exercises Sets Reps/Duration Rest Time
Warm-Up Light Mobility Drill 1 10 - 20 none - 2 min
Warm-Up Set 1 1 - 8 2 - 5 mins
Primary Seated Pike Compressions 2 3 - 8 3 - 6 mins
Accessories Scapular Dips 1 5 - 15 2 - 3 mins

Workout Sample 2

Parts Exercises Sets Reps/Duration Rest Time
Warm-Up Light Mobility Drill 1 10 - 20 none - 2 min
Warm-Up Set 1 1 - 8 2 - 5 mins
Main Exercise Tuck L-sit 2 5+ secs 3 - 6 mins
Accessories Seated Pike Compressions 1 5 - 12 2 - 3 mins

Routine Information:

Description:

The L-sit is a great and yet basic isometric calisthenics exercise. It requires a good deal of core compression and hip flexion strength, enough pushing strength to lift yourself, and some degree of leg extension strength and hamstring flexibility. While it requires some degree of hamstring flexibility, you should focus on your compression strength instead of flexibility, contrary to common belief.

Workouts 1 and 2:

Workout 1 - designed to initiate L-sit training from the ground up.

Workout 2 - a more challenging routine for individuals nearing the achievement of a full L-sit.

Warm-Up:

To properly warm up for the L-sit, you simply need to warm up the muscles around the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, and knee joints by moving them around with intent or doing some named mobility movements. Then, do some warm-up sets for the main exercise. For example:

Light Mobility Drill: Shoulder Circles -> Shoulder Corkscrews -> Elbow Circles -> Wrist Rotations -> Hip Circles for a round or two with enough reps for you to feel them working.

Warm-Up Set/s: You can either do your main exercises or do some other relatively easy core exercise and do some reps or duration far from failure to use and warm up the same muscle groups.

Just make sure that whatever you do is just enough to work and warm up your muscles, not tire them, so you can perform your best in your working sets.

L-sit Variation Selection:

Choose a core exercise that has a similar movement pattern to that of the L-sit that you can do near failure within the specified rep range or duration. These can be core compression exercises like Reverse Crunches and Hanging Knee Raises

You simply have to choose or modify an exercise for you to be able to do that within the specified rep range to build both strength and muscle mass on the main muscle groups involved.

Accessories:

Determine what your limiting factors are in your L-sit training, and then choose exercises for those limitations. These typically include core compression strength (and hip flexion strength), leg extension strength, scapular control (depression and protraction), wrist mobility, and other lagging muscle group/s like the triceps.

In case of severe lack of hamstring flexibility, train your hamstrings with resistance exercises like doing standing single-leg curls while wearing an ankle weight. The hamstring tightness is due to weakness so it is better to strengthen it than just stretch it regularly.

Proximity to Failure:

This routine is strength-specific for achieving your first L-sit hold, so managing fatigue is highly important to get a reasonably high frequency of training for it. While limiting your proximity to failure in like 1 - 2 RIR is better, it's still good to go until task failure (0 RIR), considering you likely won't know what that feels like just yet, to avoid undertraining.

With this, you should compensate for it by ensuring other training variables are optimized for recovery, like nutrition, sleep, stress management, and overall training volume. But then, after getting the hang of the feeling of going until failure, it's better to stay in 1 - 2 RIR and use going until failure sparingly.

Training Frequency:

For strength training, it's best to limit fatigue as much as possible so you can get a relatively high training frequency. It can be every other day or 2-3 times a week. This makes it possible for you to get in as much practice as possible to maximize neural and physiological (structural) adaptations.

Progression:

When you find it relatively easy to do, instead of increasing the volume and risking being under-recovered, considering you do it with a high frequency of 3+ times a week, make it harder by simply choosing a more challenging variation or exercise that you can manage properly.

Once you've unlocked a solid floor full L-sit, great work! From there, you can start experimenting with the L-sit and combining it with other exercises for added fun and benefits. You can also choose to work towards harder variations of the L-sit, such as the V-sit, which simply involves decreasing the angle from your body and feet, and ultimately, the Manna.

Short Guide: Customize it depending on your goals and needs

Exercise Selection

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In choosing exercises, it's crucial to align your selection with your specific fitness goals, current fitness level, and individual preferences. Consider principles such as specificity and the ease of applying progressive overload. The more specific your exercises are to your goals, the better. Additionally, pay attention to your body's response to different exercises and adjust your selection to accommodate your strengths and limitations/weaknesses.

For strength training with weights, it's best to use the specific exercise you want to get strong in. For example, if you want to get strong at deadlifts, then do deadlifts. When it comes to training for a particular movement or bodyweight skill, use an immediate regression of that movement that you can do or an easier exercise that has a similar element or pattern. You can also break down a movement into different components and train them separately.

In hypertrophy training, opt for simple exercises with a high capacity to load the desired muscle group. While most compound exercises are effective for building muscle, consider other exercises that offer a higher degree of capacity to load a specific muscle group and more efficient when it comes to energy expenditure whenever possible. For instance, while deadlifts are good for gaining strength and muscle, other exercises may be more suitable for focused mass building in areas like the lats and quads.