Front Lever - The best bodyweight exercise for back and core strength

The front lever is a cool skill and a great way to strengthen your back and core. In fact, it is one of the best bodyweight exercises for back. As with several of the movements we talk about here, though, it is cool - but not at all easy.

While some might be able to perform this movement within a year, others might spend years working on the front lever. How your front lever journey works out may be more or less difficult depending on your unique situation and body type, which we will get into in this article.

As well, I will go over what I call the Front Lever Lost Progressions. Similar to what we did with the planche,  we will go over how to create half-steps between the front lever progressions - to break down the large jumps between front lever progressions that leave many stagnating in their progress. I will also be going through some specific exercises you should focus on that will expedite your front lever and overall calisthenics progress. Let’s go! 

So, “what is the best bodyweight exercise for back?” you ask..

“The front lever is at least amongst them and arguably the coolest and most fun way to get a strong core and upper back.”

As with the planche, your body and its dimensions will have an effect on how easy/difficult it is for you to master the front lever. Know, however, that there is no body type that can’t do the front lever - there are simply some factors which may make it easier or harder for one to learn, everything else being equal. Also, no matter how long it will take you to learn the front lever, it will remain one of the best bodyweight exercise for back muscles. So, regardless if you achieve the front lever within one yea, or 10, it will still be a great way of building back muscles using only your bodyweight as resistance.

What makes the front lever difficult?

The body factors which will have an effect on how difficult it is for you to learn the front lever are: 

1. Body weight

2. Ape factor (how long your arms/compared to your height)

3. How heavy your lower body is 

Your body weight affects how easy/difficult learning the front lever will be in a very intuitive way: the heavier you are, the more difficult it will be for you. 

The second factor which may help/hinder you right off the bat is your ape factor. Your ape factor is how long your arms are compared to your height. 

For example, my ape factor is:  175cm arm span/ 179 cm height = .977 ape factor., or -4cm ape index as it is also referred to.

The reason the length of your arms compared to your body will have an effect on how difficult it is for you to perform the front lever is that:  the shorter your arms are, the more of an angle there needs to be between your arms and your torso when you perform the front lever. 

Imagine for a second your arms are approaching infinity length,  (Cue Raffi: I’ve got the wholeeee world, in my hands) your arms would be able to be almost at a 90 degree angle with your torso, and this would make the front lever much easier. A steepened angle will mainly have 2 effects - 1) A muscle is weaker as it gets contracted and 2) the torque in the shoulder (which is mostly born by the back muscles) will increase as the horizontal distance from your shoulder to your center of gravity increases. We could dive deep into the mechanics of this of course, but this is hardly the topic of this post.

The third factor which will affect how easy it is for you to do the front lever is how heavy your lower body is. The heavier your lower body, the lower your center of gravity will be, and the more difficult the front lever will be to learn. The front lever is easier when your center of gravity is higher - to illustrate this principle, you can try to have someone jump around your shoulders when you are trying the front lever, and see how much easier it gets. Despite your body weight being doubled (if your friend is the same weight as you), the front lever gets considerably easier, due to the center of gravity moving upwards on your body and the angle of your arms decreasing.

So - yes, your body will have an effect on the ease with which you learn the front lever. However, you shouldn’t let any of this discourage you. Know that with consistency and a solid plan, nothing will stop you. These are just things to bear in mind. 

The Lost Front Lever Progressions

Typically, if you watch a tutorial on front lever progressions, you will be told to go through a list of progressions that looks something like this: 

1. Tuck front lever

2. Advanced tuck front lever 

3. One leg front lever 

4. Straddle front lever 

5. Half lay front lever 

6. Full front lever 

You’ll be told to learn each of these progressions until you can hold it for 30 seconds, and then move on to the next. The problem is, the increase in difficulty between these progressions is far too large!!  This is where something I call The Lost Front Lever Progressions comes into play. 

The Lost Progressions are a simple, yet powerful concept to integrate into your front lever training. Put simply, The Lost Progressions are intermediate steps between each of the main progressions above. 

Think of the 6 progressions above as a set of stairs, and at the 6th stair you are able to perform the full front lever. The problem with those 6 stairs is that you need a ladder to walk from one stair to the next - the steps are too high to climb comfortably! 

How do we put steps between each main progression to make it easier? The answer is: do not jump from one progression to the next completely, but rather perform the next progression up one-legged. For example, instead of going from the tuck front lever to the advanced tuck front lever, go from the tuck front lever to the one-legged advanced tuck front lever. Doing the next progression up one-legged will build your strength up more smoothly and allow you to perform each main progression better than if you were to simply jump straight to it. Remember, when doing these intermediate, one-legged progressions, to alternate sides and build your strength/endurance evenly. 

Front lever progression with resistance band (rubber bands)

Another way to build your strength more gradually is to include resistance bands in your training. Remember, though, that there is a right and wrong way to use resistance bands.

For the front lever, the best way to use resistance bands is to put them around your center of gravity. Do not, for example, wrap the resistance bands around your feet, as those provide assistance from a direction that is not relevant. Bands can be used for any progression, however try not to use super thick bands as that would be too much help. 

The best front lever progression

If someone where to ask me:

“What is the best front lever exercise?”

The answer would be a definite:

“The open half lay front lever”

This is why…

One progression which I would particularly like to emphasize is the Open Half Lay Front Lever. If there were a single ‘best’ / most helpful progression, I would say this is that progression. It is the easiest progression where you are able to straighten both your hips, which is where most people struggle.

Especially when moving to the Straddle Front Lever, many people struggle with straightening both hips, and end up having a pike in their hips while performing the Straddle Front Lever. The Open Half Lay Front Lever is a great way to build awareness in your hips in a much easier position than the Full Front Lever. 

Dynamic repetitions

Dynamic repetitions are another thing I recommend for building strength and for adding into your workouts. One thing I see many people doing with dynamic repetitions is starting from a hanging position. The problem with this is that we are using momentum and swinging through the most crucial part of that exercise - the middle part, where we are briefly in the position which we are working towards.

I would recommend the opposite: starting from an inverted position and lowering to the relevant position. While doing dynamic repetitions, instead of going all the way down, you try to stop in the hardest position, and then pull yourself back up again. 

Front Lever Core Strength 

The front lever requires a certain amount of core strength. Having an excess amount of strength in the core can make it easier to focus on the harder part of the front lever, which is activating the back properly. 

So, in addition to your front lever practice, there are a few core exercises you can do to help build your core strength and thus make your front lever progress easier. One exercise I recommend is the dragon flag, and its variations: 

As well, ab rollout exercises can be beneficial. Like with the dragon flag, where you can work through progressively difficult variations of it, it is important to choose exercises that you can make more and more difficult. This way your core strength will continue to get better and better. Doing the same 10 minute ab routine after your lift will not progress your core strength. You need to actively apply more and more stress to your core to get it stronger and stronger. 

Front lever workouts and programs

Taking all of this into account, you now are armed with a couple of different methods of slicing up the big chunks of work required to progress through your front lever. As well, you’ve got a strategy for building your core strength and for performing your dynamic repetitions in a more effective way. You know now that resistance bands and performing the next progression up one-legged may be more helpful. Do you want more, though? Do you want me to tell you exactly what exercises to do, in exactly what order, and exactly what day of the week? Do you want every detail laid out for you? Here’s a screen grab from my training.

As you can see, for the Front Lever alone, I have two specific 60 minute workouts, as well as two full modules designed for you to follow step by step - or jump in somewhere along the way depending on where you’re at - and to progress as quickly as possible to achieve a front lever. No detail is spared. If you truly want to learn the Front Lever, this is something you should really consider looking into. There are discounts available depending on where you’re from and how badly you need it. 

All that being said, I wish you the best on your front lever training! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment here.

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