Straight arm front lever

[Larry]

So i started training front lever about a year ago but have not been training it frequently. I can now hold it with only bent arms for like 10 seconds and i know it's not how it's supposed to be. When i try to straighten my arms with one leg bent it's really uncomfortable and i have this weird pain in my elbows. Does it mean i'm doing it wrong?

[Orlando Hernandez Celli]

Yo have to prepare your connective tissue for that kind of stress. In man yof the forum posts they recommend following the Foundations series. If there is pain you should lay back and start with a  less intense progression. Again here enters the foundation series which gives you the progressions and associated mobility drills which help you not only in obtaining the FL but also other cool elements (plus it also helps with the adaptation of your connective tissues to such demands).

[Léo Aïtoulha]

It means that your connective tissue - more specifically your distal biceps tendon (elbow joint) - is not ready yet for this variation Unnecessary additional pressure on your elbows could indicate a lack of core strength.

I highly recommend that you acquire Foundation One which will allow you to learn Front Lever properly, one of the seven fundamental GST exercises covered in Foundation One.

Otherwise, key points for Front Lever :

• Your arms should be straight when attempting Front Lever variations
• Posterior pelvic tilt (PPT) is required
• Your scapula should be depressed and slightly protracted when attempting Front Lever variations. There is no retraction in Front Lever
• It is a HUGE mistake to begin with Tuck Front Lever. There are plenty of exercises that should be mastered first before this variation in order to develop the required core strength to perform Front Lever variations correctly
• Hollow Body Hold and Body Levers are your friends

[Ivan Pavlovic]

• Your scapula should be depressed and slightly protracted when attempting Front Lever variations. There is no retraction in Front Lever

Protracted ? I have read at many places on this forum that scapula should be slightly retracted to get a hollow body in fl. Where did you get/seen this information ?

 

[Joshua Slocum]

Protracted ? I have read at many places on this forum that scapula should be slightly retracted to get a hollow body in fl. Where did you get/seen this information ?

 

Shoulder position should be neutral or slightly protracted. However, in order to maintain that position against the pull of gravity, you have to pull as if you were retracting. If you're in full retraction, front levers become quite a bit harder

[Brian Li]

Neutral scapula position means that there is an equal amount protraction and retraction, but you have to retract against the force of gravity to get to neutral position.

[Coach Sommer]

... If you're in full retraction, front levers become quite a bit harder . ...

In full retraction (shoulder blades touching), the front lever does not just become quite bit harder ... it becomes impossible.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Léo Aïtoulha]

A little tip that could help to understand front lever scapula position :

 

When you are doing rows, this is your position at the bottom :

 

 

As you can see, there is no retraction. The scapula is depressed and neutral/slightly protracted.

Just see front lever as an advanced variation of the bottom position of row. The scapula position remains the same, which means that your scapula is depressed and neutral/slightly protracted in front lever.

 

Now when you are doing rows this is your position at the top :

 

 

As you can see this time there is some retraction. Higher ROM = higher degree of retraction. If you understand the logic, you have already understood that when you are doing front lever rows, your scapula should be depressed and retracted at the top. But at the bottom, your scapula should be depressed and neutral/slightly protracted.

 

Finally, here is a proper form front lever (GB picture) :

 

[Brian Li]

You have to retract a little to get neutral scapulae since gravity is forcing you to protract. Even Joshua stated this. What coach meant is to not retract past neutral. And yes I agree that the scapula position should be slightly protracted or neutral for FL, but you still have to actively retract a little otherwise you will be fully protracted.

[Coach Sommer]

B1214N is correct.  Which is why I used the term 'fully' retracted.

 

A better way of describing it is to refer to widening the scaps.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Scott Pelton-Stroud]

@OP, Bent arm and straight arm training are fundamentally different. You should not try to achieve a straight arm FL by gradually straightening your arms from a bent arm position. (It yields little progress and often causes injury) You should go back several progressions to where training with straight arms does not cause any pain. Might as well start with the tuck FL, prove you can do that with straight arms for several sets completely pain-free, and then move on to adv tuck, straddle/half-lay, etc.

 

Good luck and train smart!