L-sit hang
Hang from the bar and hold your straight legs out level with your hips. A brutal core hold with a grip test attached.
TrainsCore
NeedsPull-up bar
The movement
2 stages
Quiet hang
01 Quiet hang
Hang still with straight arms and the shoulder blades pulled down.
02 Legs to horizontal
Raise the straight legs until the toes sit level with the hips, and hold.
How to do it
Setup
- Grip the bar with your palms facing away, hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Hang with straight arms and pull your shoulder blades slightly down, away from your ears.
Execution
- Raise your straight legs together until they point out level with your hips.
- Hold them there, knees locked and toes pulled toward you.
- Lower with control when the position starts to break, and step down.
Getting it right
Form cues
- Knees locked, legs glued together, toes level with your hips.
- Push your feet away from you as you hold, so the legs stay long.
Common mistakes
- Letting the knees bend, which shifts the work from the core to the hip.
- Legs drifting downward a degree at a time while the clock keeps running.
- Swinging up into position instead of raising the legs under control.
Worth knowing
- The hold ends when your legs drop or your grip goes, and both go suddenly. Count only the seconds with the legs level, and step down before the swing starts.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
The hanging L-sit is a hollow hold turned vertical and made honest. Holding straight legs at horizontal forces your abs, hip flexors and quads to work at their weakest angle while your lats and grip keep the rest of you still. There is no floor supporting your back, so there is nowhere for the position to hide.
Seconds at full height are the only currency. Ten strict seconds with locked knees and level legs beat thirty with the legs sagging toward the floor, because the muscles only get the stimulus in the position you are pretending to hold. When the legs start to drop, the set is over no matter what the timer says.
Build up through bent knees. Hold a hanging tuck with your thighs level, then straighten the legs a little more each week as the hold gets calm. It also earns its keep as a finisher after pull-up work, when your grip is warm and two or three short holds are all you need.