First Rep

Bodywork

Killer bodyweight workout

Leverage Your Gains

ased on a difculty scale of 110, calisthenics trainer Hit Richards rates the front lever as a solid 9 or 10. This advanced exercise takes you from a dead hang to a horizontal position underneath a pull-up bar, hammering your shoulders and core muscles.

Hit Richards is the original bar athlete and founder of Calisthenics Kingz, a group that promotes bodyweightbased exercise (Facebook. com/CalisthenicsKing).

Bodyweight-training expert Hit Richards of Calisthenics Kingz walks you through the front lever, a move thatll blast your delts and chisel your core BY MICHAL KAPRAL

A lever is not an easy move to do, Richards says. You have to keep your entire core tight, including the lower back and glutes. And 10 or 15 seconds sounds like a short time, but when youre holding a lever, its long!

LEVER TRAINING EXERCISE

Hyperextensions for the lower back

When you get into the straight lever position, its like a handstand you need to hold that equilibrium by tensing up your whole body.

You need a strong lower back to successfully perform a lever, so Richards recommends doing hyperextensions on monkey bars or a dip bar. Hook the back of your heels on one bar and rest your pelvis on another bar. Gently rest your fingertips on the side of your head (dont pull) and raise your upper body just past parallel, hinging only at the hips. Pause slightly at the top to engage the lower back, and then hinge back down to below parallel. Do 34 sets of 10 reps with 6090 seconds of rest between sets. You can also use a weight vest to increase the tension.

ADVANCED MOVE
Underhand Lever
STEP By STEP

The Front Lever

1 Start by hanging from a pull-up bar with your arms fully extended, using a standard overhand, shoulder-width or close grip. 2 Tighten your core and glute muscles, point your toes and keep your legs together and straight. 3 Begin to rotate your body backward by pushing your shoulders back, but keep your arms locked and legs straight. Dont flare your elbows. 4 Stop the backward rotation when you hit the extended straight lever point, and feel the intense contraction in your abs. 5 Try to hold this position. After a few seconds itll feel like you have to tighten all the muscles in your body to hold that perfect form. 6 Slowly rotate forward out of the straight lever and back to a dead hang, keeping your arms fully extended throughout.

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GREgORY JAMES

The front lever is already an advanced move, but if you want to take it to another level, Richards says you can try to do one with an underhand grip, which makes it much harder. If you want to give your biceps a workout, you can also try pulling yourself up a bit by bending your elbows when you hit the straight lever position.