L-Sit Palms/Fingertips

[Onyx Dragon]

I've read the post by Coach on the L-Sit.

I can't do a L-Sit or N-Sit yet.

When I sat down on my butt on the ground and lifted up my legs wouldn't go.

My arms aren't short at all.

Do I just keep trying and eventually they'll raise.

Or is their an exercise to get that leverage?

Could it be flexibility? If so what stretches will help me?

When I lift up on my fingers my thumbs get a little fatigue it's not my fingers more just the thumbs. Is that natural?

[LJoll]

Try to lean forward a bit while keeping a straight back, so that your hands are next to your thighs, somewhere in between your butt and your knees.

[Onyx Dragon]

I can feel it in my abs.

But my legs won't lift or even tuck.

[cathal]

start of learning the L-sit on parallettes or pushup bars. this will give you more room to work with. begin with your legs tucked in and gradually extend them out over time.

[George Launchbury]

Hi Onyx Dragon,

Regards flexibility, Coach Sommer has posted a number of great 'essays' on hamstring/pike flexibility, and could be found by either searching, or viewing his profile and clicking 'Find all posts by Coach Sommer' on the right.

Regards hip flexor strength, have you tried doing seated leg raises/holds? If not you'll hate them ...if you have, you'll know why! I found this a deeply unsatisfying exercise to start with, but progress comes quickly.

Sit on the floor with your legs straight/together and, keeping your back as straight as possible, place your hands on the floor outside your legs somewhere between mid-thigh and knee (the further toward the feet, the harder it gets). Then (attempt to) lift your straight legs off the floor without leaning back. Either do slow reps, or ideally hold for time. Lower/stop before failure, and rest a minute or so between sets since you're working on strength at the moment, not endurance.

If this is too hard, you might try placing your hands with your elbows bent (and more of a stretch) and then straighten your arms to lift your feet, maintaining a fixed hip angle. I found this easier than lifting using the hip flexors: you can hold more than you can lift, and lower more than you can hold.

I would recommend starting all variations of this with your backside up against a wall, as whatever happens you don't want to be able to lean back past vertical. Leaning back makes it a different exercise.

Take it easy at first, as you will get some interesting PWO soreness initially.

Does that help?

George.

[Onyx Dragon]

Ok what would you suggest for sets and repetitionins or should I hold for a count?

Which one did you do?

When I did it my hands were right by my knees.

[George Launchbury]

Hi Onyx Dragon,

Since I was working toward a static move, I did most of mine as static holds. I just aimed for a total of 60 seconds per workout. Basically have your hands as far from your hips as you can manage, as long as you can work in sets of at least 5 seconds and your back is pretty much straight. If toward the end of the exercise you find you can't hold for 5 seconds per set ...it's time to stop.

Regards,

George.