Back lever

I would like to ask you about the proper form of the back lever. I made a video doing it and i found that my position was like this (photo is from crossfit .com)

As you can see his shoulder are forward and chest in, so the neck and head tends to go down. Shoud it be with chest out and expanded so the shoulder is neutral or backward?

I know the proper form is looking forward but in that position i find it very hard.

Thanks

Hi serotonin,

I'm not an expert, but I believe that it should ideally (on rings, at least) be performed with the palms facing down instead of up - For me I notice this really opens up my shoulders, requires a little more flexibility ...and is a bit harder! I also believe that there should be a slight arch overall, instead of a slight hollow?

Here is an image from DrillsAndSkills.com:

Does that help?

George.

Thank for your response, in fact i do the lever on rings and with palms facing floor as you indicate, so perhaps that picture wasn't the best example. Ive chosen it because of the shoulder position.

Yes, with that hand position is harder on biceps and elbow. But although i can arch a little bit my low back i tend to put my shoulder forward. I'll try to slight arch. Perhaps i still need some strength to master the skill.

How long should i go for? i mean i can do 2 seconds but if i want to stay longer i feel the need of breath, exhaling, so all the inside pressure of the core dissipates.

Hi again,

If your max effort is 2 seconds (and you shouldn't really be holding your breath) you might be better training an easier progression. I believe that the recommendation was to train at 50% of your max effort ...and the minimum effective time per set was 5 seconds. So therefore, you should be able to manage a position for around 10 seconds before training it.

It might well be, that you don't quite have the strength/flexibility to hold the position properly? Maybe you should be working on single-leg/straddle back-lever and German Hang (skin the cat) for short while, and keep testing your full back-lever from time to time?

Best,

George.

I always breathe on back levers or I feel like my face is going to pop. You should be able to keep tight while still breathing. I find the back lever especially builds up the old blood pressure very quickly.

Paul.

With any of the strength holds or simply handstand hold typically one has to learn how to breathe through it. Especially when going for more than a few seconds.

Back levers can either have the palm up or palm down. Palm down correlates more with other strength moves like Cross, Maltese, Azarian. It also is a bit easier on the elbow.

I first teach the palm up back lever as it starts from a skin the cat. I rarely if ever teach them on a bar, but I might if I don't have enough rings. Rings allow you to bring that tricep into the lat better than a bar IMO.

As for arch or hollow in the back lever...I'd say they begin being held with an arch and that should straighten out. This is similar that a straight or hollow maltese is better than an arched one. It's also a bit more difficult.

From the long german hang, it will probably be necessary to arch into the back lever, but towards mastery this can be flattened out.

ideally there should be no arch or hollow, i think. just like a handstand should have no arch or hollow to be perfect. of course, the difference in difficulty from simply un-hollowing your shoulders is quite a lot.