Which is Harder? What are some of the benefits of both? Which Takes longer to achieve? I also heard back lever has alot of carryover to weightlifting and planche.
Front levers vs Back levers.
Started by Tavis G, July 9, 2012 · 15 Replies · 14,049 Views
Tavis G said:Which is Harder? What are some of the benefits of both? Which Takes longer to achieve? I also heard back lever has alot of carryover to weightlifting and planche.
People usually consider the front lever to be the harder of the two. This is the usually the case unless you come in with really strong pulling strength, which would lend itself towards front lever.
I don't see how the back lever carries over more towards weightlifting, but yes it has some carryover to planche due to the elbow preparation and straight body practice.
Front levers are generally harder than back levers for most people. Front lever takes a lot of pulling strength and ab strength while a back lever takes a lot of strength in the anterior pushing muscles like front delts and pecs and some pulling strength from the lats and lower back strength too.
There is a decent amount of transfer from the back lever to the planche since it uses mostly the same muscles. Where did you hear that a back lever has a lot of carryover to weightlifting? What is the carryover? I'm curious to hear. I'm pretty sure it has some decent carryover to barbell pressing exercises since it works the front delts and pecs, but I'm not sure how well the carryover is.
Deadlifts, squats. Almost anything because you are in a static position like the plank and it wont bend if you are doing heavy lifts with a really strong back/ abs. But how do you train for the back lever? How and what muscles do you activate?
I'm starting to think you might be a troll. Back levers are covered in detail in the book and specifics can be found very easily by searching this forum.
As for helping with weightlifting it might help midline stability, but the carry over isn't all that big. At least in my experience.
No offense brother, but you need to learn to use the forums by yourself. Sit back and search through here and you will find the answers you need. With one search I pulled up this topic for you, http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7112. It probably would have even be nicer for you to post directly in that thread so the information is in one local area.
I actually keep forgetting the search bar is there. 
But anyway thanks for reminding me! 
No problem 
and even easier than the insite search is Google. Just type in "site:gymnasticbodies.com _______" and you fill in the blank with terms you want it to find. For example, I found the link I provided in my last post by typing into Google, "site:gymnasticbodies.com back lever muscles". You don't use the quotes.
front lever is harder and it needs more time to achieve it but i suggest you learn both of them and learn the back lever first
Front lever takes a lot of pulling strength and ab strength
back lever takes a lot of strength in the anterior pushing muscles like front delts and pecs and some pulling strength from the lats and lower back strength too
Hi everyone, I know this topic is quite old, but I'm struggling with the back lever right now.. I know it's one of the easiest static hold out there but can't help it. I've been training in calisthenics for a bit more than one year now. I can do a 60sec L-Seat on parallel bars, 25 chin-ups and 30 dips (full range of motion). I'm 5"10 170 lbs lean, and I recently discovered this amazing forum. My problem is that I can hold a 10 sec single leg front lever easily (i've been training only one week for it), but I'm stuck on the tuck back lever, I can't even reach a flat tuck back lever which is supposed to be easier than the front lever. So what's my problem ? Some people told me it was almost the same muscles involved. Is it because I have stronger abs than lower back (which I never train except by doing push-ups) ? Or because I only do dips, push-ups, and chin-ups, my upper-body has weak points in the zones used for the back lever ?
P.S. : Sorry for my grammar, I'm on my way to learn gymnastics basic skills and english on this forum haha (I'm from Belgium by the way).
Don't let yourself get discouraged, especially after only a week of training. Just because a movement is easier than another for most people doesn't guarantee it will be for you too. Keep training the BL, and see how it progresses. Sometimes, even if you have the physical strength for a move, it will take you a while to develop the neuromuscular coordination to pull it off.
Actually my recommendation is to NOT train the back lever until you have mastered rope climbs, german hangs and other back lever related mobility. Prematurely training back levers can lead to bicep and elbow strains in adults.
Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer
Coach Sommer said:Actually my recommendation is to NOT train the back lever until you have mastered rope climbs, german hangs and other back lever related mobility. Prematurely training back levers can lead to bicep and elbow strains in adults.
Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer
That is great advice!!!
I completely tore my distal bicep tendon 2 years ago doing back levers and required surgery. I'm 6' 1", 215 lbs, roughly 17% bodyfat (bodpod tested), and 41 years old. The stress/strain on my biceps and elbows was intense. Too much at the time.
Today, I've "mastered" the rope climb, can do German hangs, etc and feel I'm ready for the back lever again.
r2473 said:That is great advice!!!
I completely tore my distal bicep tendon 2 years ago doing back levers and required surgery. I'm 6' 1", 215 lbs, roughly 17% bodyfat (bodpod tested), and 41 years old. The stress/strain on my biceps and elbows was intense. Too much at the time.
Today, I've "mastered" the rope climb, can do German hangs, etc and feel I'm ready for the back lever again.
Mastered rope climb. Could you post a video. Rope mastery is quite difficult.
Daniel Burnham said:Mastered rope climb. Could you post a video. Rope mastery is quite difficult.
I don't consider Rope mastery hard to achieve. I could climb a rope since someone showed me one years and years ago with no feet. I would do cirques for fun. Was it difficult for you to conquer or something?
Also not to forget the OP. In foundation FL has over 20 steps. In R1 BL has 5. I essentially walked in the gym with no gymnastic training and did a muscleup and a back lever. I definitely consider FL harder to learn but equal on the strength chart. I think my poor flexibility helped my BL.
RyanC said:I essentially walked in the gym with no gymnastic training and did a muscleup and a back lever. I definitely consider FL harder to learn but equal on the strength chart. I think my poor flexibility helped my BL ...
That very ease in performance for strong beginners is exactly what increases the risk factor for premature back lever training as beginners' strength usually far exceeds their mobility. This is why I recommend that beginners steer clear of back lever training until their preparatory deficits have been resolved.
See r2473's post above for a real world example of the potential consequences when a large gap exists between strength and mobility.
Yours in Fitness,
Coach Sommer