What’s the best pathway to an L Sit?

13 replies

• glittering_acadia319·Aug 26, 8:46 PM

  Do support hold l-sit raises without holding the list for an extended period of time. Do them for high repetitions (40+)

• bright_energy_7417_2·Aug 27, 5:09 AM

  I'm working on compression too. I'm doing pretty much the same as you, but with sotting double leg lifts and holds and sitting pancake good mornings after a hip flexor stretch in addition. I also do the mat work daily. What about other related work? I have daily glute bridges and hollow body holds as pelvic tilt is needed to keep that tall spine in pike.

• ydrutah·Aug 27, 5:55 AM

  Leg raises/ hanging L sit on a bar can also help (though there's way less compression)

• curioussoul0710·Aug 27, 6:09 AM

  Seated pike compressions and v-ups helped me way more than tuck holds. Also try one-leg L sits, alternating legs, to bridge the gap. Compression strength is the bottleneck for most people.

• original_position6_2·Aug 27, 6:28 AM

  Press your feet into a wall while you do the L-sit. Bend knees let butt lower a bit then push feet into wall and straighten knees. The bend and straighten helps with compression

• creamelectrical6331·Aug 27, 5:20 PM

  40+ reps seems like a lot, do you mean across multiple sets or in a single set?

• easy_pride7452_3·Aug 27, 5:55 PM

  ngl L-sit progress got less mysterious for me when I stopped treating tuck-to-full as one huge jump. Try adding one-leg L-sits with the other knee tucked, then switch sides, plus seated double-leg lifts even if the range is tiny. Also watch the pelvis. If your lower back is yelling the second your legs straighten, practice posterior tilt/hollow position separately so the hip flexors aren't trying to solve everything alone.

• glittering_acadia3_2·Aug 28, 10:46 AM

  You’d work up to that. For example I do 6 sets, like: 60 reps, 55 reps, 50 reps, 40 reps, 40 reps, 40 reps.

• easy_pride7452_4·Aug 28, 12:34 PM

  ngl, if straightening the legs makes your low back complain, I’d treat pelvic position as the limiter before adding harder holds. Keep the tuck, posteriorly tilt a tiny bit, then do one-leg-out switches where the rule is “back stays quiet or the set ends.” Seated pike lifts are great here too, but make them brutally small and clean. Hands by knees, press down, lift heels for short pulses, then slowly move the hands closer to the ankles over weeks. Boring drill, weirdly effective.

• horrordish2477·Aug 28, 12:54 PM

  i've found that building up my core strength, especially in my lower abs, has really helped me with holding steady in various positions.

• handstandsmcgoo·Sep 2, 2:05 PM

  Do standing single leg raise That'll help you build both strength and flexibility

• spirited_revenue__11·Sep 5, 6:58 AM

  The jump from tuck to L-sit is usually active compression and hip-flexor strength, not just abs. Keep tuck support holds, but add one-leg L-sit holds and seated pike compression lifts, then use bent-knee raises if straight-leg hanging raises bother your low back. Progression should be cleaner seconds and less foot support over time. I'd track the progression in an app like GymSet. Do not force the full L-sit if it turns into a rounded painful position.

• zagrlime_3·Sep 5, 7:11 AM

  Thanks this helps a lot!