La L-sit is an isometric exercise that became popular in calisthenics, thanks to the possibility it offers to train the abdominal muscles and the core in general.
In this article we will discover the muscles involved, the advantages of this exercise and the various progressions to get to master the L-sit technique flawlessly.
What is L-sit?
La L-sit, also called "team on the ground" is an exercise which, while having the aim of training the core, actually trains a fair part of the upper and lower muscles of the body.
The movement, in fact, is performed in support of the hind limbs, which therefore have the task of lifting the entire weight of the body.
Learning this isometric technique can be very useful for making basic exercises more complex, such as pull-ups, the dip and the vertical.
How is an L-sit performed?
This exercise It takes place free body and will put your stability to the test force and flexibility; you can perform the L-sit at the parallels, at the dip station, on the floor or at the rings.
Let's see an example of parallel execution:
- Place the parallel bars shoulder-width apart on the floor
- Position yourself between the parallels, sit on the ground and place your hands on the parallels
- Extend your arms and with the help of your shoulders, lift your butt off the ground
- Lift your legs keeping them straight parallel to the ground; body and legs must form a 90 ° angle, L-shaped
- Maintain the position for the required time.
Muscles involved
Performing this exercise seems simple, but it requires great strength and mobility of the whole body; it is in fact considered to all intents and purposes a multi-articulatory exercise.
The muscles involved in the L-sit are in fact many:
- Upper limbs: all the extensor muscles of the elbow and forearm are involved
- Mesial limbs: large dorsal, pectoral, abdominal muscles (especially rectus abdominis and oblique bundles) and hip flexors are involved
- Lower limbs: rectus femur and quadriceps femoris are involved.
Errors to avoid
There are multiple mistakes that can be made when performing an L-sit:
- Bend your knees: the legs must remain straight and parallel to the ground; if you can't hold them in this position you have to train the progressions because you don't have the necessary strength and stability yet
- Curving the spine: the back must be straight perpendicular to the ground; if you find it difficult to keep it in this position, you have to work on the mobility of the spine
- Keep the shoulders raised close to the face: the shoulders must be pressed down throughout the exercise.
Exercises and progressions for the L-sit
The first step to get to a correct execution of an L-sit is to develop good mobility of the posterior kinetic chain.
You can do muscle extensibility tests to see if you have more difficulty in your upper or lower body.
Learning the L-sit necessarily passes from the developing the hip flexor muscles and the main exercise to help you is the book closure.
Other useful exercises are certainly the dips for the upper part and the hanging knee raise for the lower one. You can then start performing the L-sit movement with some facilitations such as with the legs on the ground and lifting only the upper part of the body or with the knees bent inwards.
And you, are you able to do a perfect L-sit? Let us know in the comments!
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