Front Lever Raise Progressions

Progressions

1. 01

   Negative Tucked Front Lever Raise

   • Start in an inverted hang (upside down) with knees tucked tightly to your chest

   • With arms straight and elbows locked, slowly lower your body from the inverted position toward a horizontal tucked front lever

   • Control the descent over 2 seconds — resist gravity through lat and scapular engagement the entire way down

   • Reach the horizontal tucked position with your back parallel to the ground, then pull back up to the inverted hang

   • Keep knees pulled tight to the chest throughout — the tighter the tuck, the easier the leverage

   • Maintain depressed shoulder blades and a posterior pelvic tilt at all times

   • This is the entry-level progression — focus on mastering the slow, controlled negative before moving on

2. 02

   Tucked Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight, shoulder blades depressed, and knees tucked tightly to the chest

   • Pull through the lats with straight arms to raise your body from the hang to a horizontal tucked front lever position

   • Keep knees close to the chest throughout — the tighter the tuck, the shorter the lever arm and the easier the movement

   • At the horizontal position, your back should be parallel to the ground with hips level — hold briefly

   • Lower with control over 2 seconds back to the dead hang without losing the tuck

   • Focus on driving the movement from the lats and scapular depression — avoid bending the elbows

   • If you cannot reach horizontal without piking or bending the arms, work more on the negative tucked variation

3. 03

   Adv. Tucked Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight and shoulder blades depressed — tuck your knees but open the hip angle to about 90 degrees, extending the thighs away from the torso

   • Pull through the lats with straight arms to raise your body to horizontal — the extended hip angle creates a longer lever, making this significantly harder than the tucked version

   • At horizontal, your thighs should point downward at roughly 90 degrees from your torso rather than being tucked tight to the chest

   • Maintain a posterior pelvic tilt and tight core — the opened hip makes it tempting to arch the lower back

   • Hold briefly at horizontal, then lower with control over 2 seconds back to the dead hang

   • Keep elbows locked and drive the movement purely through the lats — no arm bending allowed

   • If you cannot maintain the hip angle without piking during the raise, return to the standard tucked version

4. 04

   One Leg Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight and shoulder blades depressed — extend one leg fully while tucking the other knee to your chest

   • Pull through the lats with straight arms to raise your body to horizontal — the extended leg creates a longer lever on one side, significantly increasing the load

   • At horizontal, the extended leg should be in line with your torso while the tucked knee stays close to the chest

   • Keep the hips level — the asymmetric leg position tends to make the body rotate; actively resist this by engaging the core

   • Maintain a posterior pelvic tilt and tight glutes on the extended leg to prevent the hip from sagging

   • Lower with control over 2 seconds back to the dead hang, maintaining the leg position throughout

   • Alternate which leg is extended each set to develop both sides evenly

5. 05

   Adv. One Leg Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight and shoulder blades depressed — extend one leg fully while the other leg is only slightly bent at the knee, nearly extended

   • Pull through the lats to raise your body to horizontal — the nearly extended second leg creates a much longer overall lever than the standard one-leg version

   • At horizontal, both legs should be nearly in line with the torso — only a slight knee bend on the non-working leg differentiates this from a full front lever raise

   • The increased lever demands significantly more lat and core strength — maintain aggressive posterior pelvic tilt to prevent hip sag

   • Keep the hips level and resist rotation caused by the slight asymmetry between legs

   • Lower with control over 2 seconds, maintaining the leg positions throughout the descent

   • This is the bridge to the pike straddle and straddle variations — if you cannot hold horizontal, return to the standard one-leg version

6. 06

   Pike Straddle Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight and shoulder blades depressed — spread your legs wide into a straddle with a slight knee bend (pike)

   • Pull through the lats with straight arms to raise your body to horizontal — the straddled legs with slight pike shorten the lever compared to a full straddle

   • At horizontal, your legs should be spread wide with a slight bend at the knees and hips — the wider the straddle, the shorter the effective lever

   • Maintain a strong posterior pelvic tilt — the pike straddle position tempts you to arch the lower back to compensate

   • Keep the shoulder blades firmly depressed and retracted throughout — do not let them elevate as you approach horizontal

   • Lower with control over 2 seconds back to the dead hang, maintaining the straddle position throughout

   • If you find yourself piking excessively at the hardest point (near horizontal), reduce the straddle width or return to the adv. one-leg version

7. 07

   Straddle Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight and shoulder blades depressed — spread your legs wide into a full straddle with knees and hips fully extended

   • Pull through the lats with straight arms to raise your body to horizontal — the fully extended straddle legs create a significant lever requiring strong lats and core

   • At horizontal, keep the legs wide, straight, and at the same height as your torso — point the toes for full leg engagement

   • Maintain an aggressive posterior pelvic tilt — the longer lever of straight legs strongly tempts the lower back to arch

   • Squeeze the glutes and quads to keep the legs locked straight — any knee bend reduces the training effect

   • Lower with control over 2 seconds back to the dead hang, maintaining the straddle throughout

   • Progressively narrow the straddle width over time as you build strength toward the full front lever raise

8. 08

   Almost Full Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight and shoulder blades depressed — keep legs together or only very slightly apart, fully extended

   • Pull through the lats with straight arms to raise your body to horizontal — the nearly full extension creates a lever close to the full front lever raise

   • At horizontal, your body should form a nearly straight line from shoulders to toes with legs only minimally apart

   • This progression demands near-maximum lat and core strength — maintain an aggressive posterior pelvic tilt to prevent any hip sag or lower back arch

   • Squeeze the glutes, quads, and point the toes to maintain full body tension from head to feet

   • Lower with control over 2 seconds, resisting gravity through the hardest portion near horizontal

   • Progressively bring the legs closer together as you build the strength for the full front lever raise

9. 09

   Front Lever Raise

   • Start from a dead hang with arms straight and shoulder blades depressed — legs together and fully extended

   • Pull through the lats with straight arms to raise your entire body to a perfectly horizontal position — this is the full front lever raise with maximum lever length

   • At horizontal, your body must form a perfectly straight line from shoulders through hips to pointed toes — no pike, no arch, no sag

   • This demands maximum total body tension — squeeze the glutes and quads hard, engage the core aggressively, maintain a strong posterior pelvic tilt

   • Hold the horizontal position briefly, then lower with control over 2 seconds back to the dead hang

   • The hardest portion is transitioning through the angle near horizontal — do not use any momentum or swing to power through this sticking point

   • If you cannot maintain a straight body line throughout the full range of motion, continue working on the almost full or straddle variations

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows during the raise
• Piking at the hips near horizontal
• Using swing or momentum to initiate the raise
• Losing scapular depression during the raise
• Rushing or dropping the lowering phase
• Arching the lower back