The Problem with Front Lever

[@SaturnoMovement]

This is gold man. Thanks a lot for putting this together. This video will live for a last time and will help millions. So refreshing to watch so much work and passion in a single video. Cheers! - Gabo

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Wow Gabo it's so surprising to see you here. Im glad you enjoyed, its such a nice thing to see people like you are watching 🙏🏻 Cheers

[@SaturnoMovement]

@@FrinksmovementTV till the very end brother :) actually I was surprised no one has ever made such a video about front lever touching on points that goes beyond the usual information, but the answer is clear: effort and passion are required for this to happen. Respect to your work! KZbin just recommend me the press to handstand one hehe exited to see what’s that about and it will probably reveal why presses are so easy for me 😂 the same why this clearly revealed why front lever is so damn hard for me 😂 keep it up mate! - Gabo

[@FrinksmovementTV]

@@SaturnoMovement Thank you so so much. Im so glad you discovered the videos, and decided to take your time to click an watch 🙏🏻 Sent you a message on IG btw.

[@zanewalsh1812]

@@SaturnoMovement you guys are 🕉️🕊️🥰🤟🏼💫 As one of the consumers, I am so blessed to have your experience and expertise available for support 🙏🏼💞

[@BodyweightWarrior]

Great video boss

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Great to see you here Tom. Glad you enjoyed ;)

[@mvh2834]

@@FrinksmovementTV so you’re boss

[@burhansalaria]

Tom love you bro💕💕💕

[@fabioesini9092]

Yes, great videp

[@Sh-gc8td]

Ey bOss i habe a seizure

[@hogabajoga]

How to get a front lever: Step 1: Neglect Legs Step 2: Train neck and be Mike Tyson

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Pretty much... 😂

[@AvB.83]

Step 0: Be small

[@hogabajoga]

@@AvB.83 I wish but my package weighs me down

[@saihinadir]

@@hogabajoga Some of us have to pay a heavy price to get that Front Lever. You know what there is left for you to do brother...

[@hogabajoga]

@@saihinadir I agree. I must tape it to my neck

[@AbnormalBeings]

Great video! From my personal experience and from training others people who learn the front lever quickly are those that are lighter & shorter (5 feet 2-5 as an example) where as heavier/taller people (5 feet 9+) take a longer time (years even) to learn the full front lever. Makes sense. Taller you are, Longer the lever, harder the hold

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thanks for sharing! Appreciate your comment man ;) Keep up your stuff!

[@ThomasStuijfzand]

I think it is also genetics. Me for example. I am almost 90KG and 184 and have 1 minute front lever. And I got 20+ seconds in a couple of months. I see people train with far better weight and genetics then me train harder and more often and don’t have the FL. And I can maybe do 3 seconds full planche and I train it for 5+ years. And I have a friend who could do maltese in a couple of months. Some people are PUSH gifted and some people are PULL gifted!

[@barschbubi]

@@ThomasStuijfzand i just watched ur front lever vid. In my opinion you bending the hips and protracting too much. If you would hold it with perfect form your 1 minute hold would probably go down to about 5 sec.

[@ThomasStuijfzand]

@@barschbubi yoo its from 1 year ago. Summer 2019. I think I can do 40 - 45 sec PERFECT form, and then the last 15 sec a little bent

[@xoledas8909]

@@ThomasStuijfzand Genetic is one of the main reason for your height. This video doesn't say that it's impossible above 180cm or 80kg, just that it is more rare to find people with these metrics that have a full front lever. I am like you 184, and after 3 years of training I have like 10 seconds of good form maximum. Height and weight plays an important role here but there is also work and training

[@luiska49]

Most people watching this probably wouldn't even notice the amount of quality put into it. Producing such informative and good looking documentary with only 2120 subscribers is unbelievable! Keep up the good work my friend!!!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

I actually produced it having

[@luiska49]

@@FrinksmovementTV Would love to see more of that!!! Subscribed

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thanks!!

[@StancoYT]

2.1k 3 days ago and now 4.7k Looking good 🔥

[@3enjamin]

way to 6K now, you're on recommendation front page KZbin for me, although haven't watched any vid on channel before. Alg works in your favor now.

[@Hamza97]

This was a fantastically well made video. Well done brother and thank you for sharing

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thanks for watching!!

[@Betach8]

Hi hamza

[@elad2054]

Hamzaa

[@cali_shubh]

The masculinity king also watches cali videos great to see that❤

[@Calisthenics_Enjoyer]

Is hamza learning the front lever?

[@panah2892]

We need a planche version of this

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Got it in my Ideas notebook ;)

[@panah2892]

@@FrinksmovementTV 🥵🔥

[@Ex0dus111]

So true, the planche is still a mystery to me.

[@jared9402]

YES that would be awesome!

[@bboyraviel2911]

@@Ex0dus111 why?

[@YeraiStreetWorkout]

This is the best vídeo about front lever that I have ever seen, congratulations and thank you for the effort

[@tjnerox5268]

muy bueno el video, la verdad que si yerai, yo por ahora levanto un 50% de mi peso en una rep, peso 62kg y levanto 30kg en una rep, y por ahora no tengo el front, aun asi tengo advanced tuck por 12 segundos, tienes alguna recomendacion yerai?

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻 Appreciate the fact big yt people like you watch

[@muertomoridodesaparecido]

what's up messiah?

[@polar0552]

No entiendo nada del vídeo pq no se inglés xd , ayuda

[@eliasguzman5370]

@@polar0552 Activa los subtitulos

[@alec1020]

11:25 so could i theoretically just grow a really big afro and soak it in water to achieve the front lever

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Yeah I can totally see that as an option. But you gotta train your neck for that, so please progressively overload

[@tahiel]

Well done YT for recommend me this.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Haha, its very nice to see this type of comment ;)

[@alenajzeli6401]

I'm glad It recommended it to me aswell ! :D

[@rumiexistence]

the problem with front lever: You can't do it.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

;((

[@thetiavinator1737]

Damn ! I think the KZbin algorithm had a stroke of genius in recommending this channel to me ! +1 Subscriber directly

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Wow thats so freaking nice. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@ThaSideWeed]

Saaame. This was right after 2 rows that had the same video on each row. And here I was thinking my recommendations were broken.

[@dmolinaro]

Amazing work homie. This what the bodyweight community needs: no cookie cutter, non scientifically supported answers, but actual well thought out stuff. Absolutely loved the ending and how actually the question is left unanswered (obv on purpose), there's no "hidden technique/rep scheme/drill". The sooner people stop trying to hack their training, the sooner they will realize where the actual answer lies: in the training, in the repetition of what needs to be done and in the patience required to keep on doing it for a long ass time.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you Davide. For your contribution, for everything. Im really glad its your voice that opens up the video. As im saying, always like to learn from you!

[@acestrike40]

But arent bodyweight movements related to science?

[@jamiedenneboom8482]

One of the best underrated channels I've EVER seen. Insaneuously good information

[@Spar7anProjec7]

My 165cm tall ex-gymnast friend with short limbs : "you just need to try tbh. Planche and FL are not that difficult, you should achieve them pretty fast if you keep training hard enough" Me, 195cm tall with chimpanzee arms and legs that cover 2/3 of my body : "I really have this ardent desire to punch you". Jokes aside, great video and great channel, I'm learning and having fun at the same time while watching your educational videos.

[@matusmorong2716]

i feel you man i am 195cm too

[@CaptainCalisthenics]

lol nice. I wasted 2 years on FL with no progress- if you want, see the vid on my channel to avoid my mistakes

[@mutasimeltayeb]

"2/3 of my body" man u just made my day, can't stop laughing

[@BOodidarma]

Just try bouldering, youll be really good if you can learn to use your feet.

[@dearjonas7442]

@@BOodidarma yeah man just wanted to write that. Me at 170 cm feel so frustrated when my tall friend tells me "yeah man I just tried it. Felt like i skipped a few steps but lol."

[@piotrrkacperr4262]

Deep insight, great editing, valuable content, handsome boi...oh wait a sec... Anyway, GREAT JOB, humanity needs more YT channels like yours!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

I could not agree more on a handsome boi part... oh wait a sec. I meant valuable content. Thank you Piotr!

[@kickmonlee3390]

For me I was stuck at advanced tuck front lever until I actually started doing some advanced tuck pulls and straddle front level holds for time. It took a few months but today i just got a good 5 second front lever on my rings! I still need much more training though

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Man! Congrats for today!

[@dandogamer]

Skip the tuck front lever it doesnt help. Do decline front levers instead. This way of thinking is also being found out by other cali guys for planche with amazing results!

[@dandogamer]

Former average guy does a very nice scientific breakdown of this. If you are taller you basically need to increase your strength/flexibility to tilt the pivot point in your favour

[@alinaqawe2424]

​@@dandogamer are you saying to just do the negative instead of tucking?

[@AshtonFitness]

This channel is going to blow up, I know it for sure. This is some real high-quality content. There's nothing like this in the calisthenics community, so it's great to see such in-depth content! Also, as a content creator myself, I really appreciate how much work and editing went into this. The editing alone is mind-blowing, it must've taken AGES. Well done man!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Wow thank you soo much for this comment!!!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Just checked out your channel and i remind myself i actually came through one of your videos in the past already. Thank you once again Ashton!

[@AshtonFitness]

@@FrinksmovementTV You're welcome! And hahaha I thought you might have come across my channel! I was getting nervous at the beginning when you said "there are dozens of myths on KZbin" because then you started pulling up all the thumbnails of popular front lever tutorials and I wasn't sure if mine would come up hahaha. There is SO MUCH nonsense out there when it comes to front lever tutorials, it's actually ridiculous. There are big influencers out there who have made front lever tutorials without being able to front lever, and it's insane. The really annoying thing about making a claim like that is that it's almost impossible to prove. However, if you've been training the front lever (and calisthenics in general) for a long time, you can tell whether someone has either genuinely held a front lever, or simply performed a front lever raise and screenshot the "front lever" at the top of the raise. There are big calisthenics/fitness influencers who have done this for the thumbnails of their videos. But I know you know all of this already :). I could tell from the choice of thumbnails you used when you were talking about this issue, and the way you spoke about the front lever really showed you'd done your KZbin research around the topic. The most annoying thing about these tutorials is that they spread misinformation that can injure beginners. I learned this the hard way myself after following front lever tutorials that claimed I could learn it "In 4 weeks", or that I could learn it "fast". I would injure myself repeatedly because I was trying to rush the progressions to learn it as quickly as possible. In the end, it took 3 years for me to learn lol. So thank you for contributing some high quality content to the calisthenics community. I feel like there's space for it and people really appreciate it. And again, well done on the editing - the amount of editing in this video is insane, and it's all so good.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Once again thank you Ashton! Its an honour 🙏🏻 Keep doing your stuff ;)

[@DanielKaganov]

Immediately subscribed! I’m a med student here in the states and also love Calisthenics. I love your detailed explanations, anatomy descriptions, and use of data and surveys so awesome to see you apply all of this to body weight training. Now let me just master the front lever hahaha

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@harshchhachhia8482]

1)Genetics : You forgot the importance of fibre type distribution. One with more type 2 fibres in back muscles are gonna find it easier. This also explains why even some tall guys are able to do full FL while some short guys can't. 2)Specificity : Training straight arm strength will improve straight arm scapular strength and bent arm strength will fade away after a limited period of time. 3) Some people are pull gifted : Some people are good at pulling strength overall while some at pushing, this is genetic. That's why for some planche is easier and for others too hard while FL being easier. These points explains why there is so much discrepancy in the survey. Consider them as well. But I am afraid any survey can predict these accurately. And at last, the MOST important thing - we don't know how they train, they should learn something from this channel and train more effectively. Thanks for reading. 😊

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you for stating your opinion! Specificity was actually touched upon at the end ;)

[@FrinksmovementTV]

frinksmovement.com/coaching/ - book consultation / apply for coaching / programming frinksmovement.com/contact/ - questions regarding coaching, cooperation/business, videos www.gornation.com - 10% Discount on Calisthenics Clothing & Equipment with the code "frinks" EDIT: Hey I just want to say the response to the video is just crazy to me, so many views, likes, shares etc.. So some of you pointed out the survey design in the video is poorly made and it probably is as i look now so - now its actually corrected forms.gle/PP5D8sNstHLsW7tL8 Im gonna implement all things to make the next surveys better and more reliable. Probably will ask someone with data analysis background for help. As always I upload rarely, but when i do I try to really provide value. I leave the comment below like it used to be, just wanted to say couple of words ;) Big thanks to everyone

[@justaguyfromreddit]

So interesting because ( I am 180cm so not that small ) and I achieved 20 sec Full front lever with good form from a bad straddle in just of 3 weeks of grease the groove method! Guess I’m made for front levering ahaha

[@justaguyfromreddit]

Awesome editing btw

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you! Yeah its such a multifactorial thing it seems!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you so much Paul!

[@mocromo2010]

first vid I watched from you and this is awesome man! keep pumping these out and you'll blow up in no time

[@emersonguest2143]

Thanks for the analysis, nice stuff. I'm a tallish heavyweight, doing 5s full front lever at 92kg and 183cm. I don't do weighted pullups but it took me about 2 years to get the FL. I found that working on scapular depression exercises was most important. Slow hanging tuck to tuck hold repetitions, 15s adv tuck holds focusing on scapular depression, etc.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you so much! And thank you for sharing ;)

[@petrosmarkantonakis6882]

Depression and retraction?

[@marioparra9337]

Dude, this is one of the best videos I've seen, period. We need more content like this in the calisthenics community. Thanks a lot for your work. Peace!

[@artemis7642]

Not one of the best... It is "The best" video on calisthenics

[@iamdavidwparker]

How in the world did 102 people dislike this? This was AMAZING! Best video I've seen explaining the mechanics of front lever!

[@phineasg7709]

We need more people performing quality small scale research in their fields of interest.

[@skadiman282]

I love when people puts a lot of effort into something and provides quality content. Really loved the video, soon im going to start training FL and thanks to this, i can make my routine more focused on weigthed pulls. Thank you again, really liked the detailed information.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Awesome, thank you! That is my goal!

[@SirWetBiscuit]

Incredible analysis, sir! Here's my anecdote: I'm about 178 cm, 86 kg. Weighted pullups have done nothing for me, even at max 72% bodyweight. This may just have to do with an enjoyment perspective, but focusing on one arm pullups and explosive pulling has had more carryover for me. I initially unlocked full FL at ~80 kg by doing focused straight arm and bent arm work. I then tried to gain weight and did weighted calisthenics. I think I'm past the point where adding weight purely to increase 1 RM benefits FL, and focusing too much on weighted pulls was more regressive. I've been focusing on planche for about 3 months now with minimal pulling work, but can do straddle FL again for ~6 sec. I attribute this to the amount of scapular stability work I've been doing, thus greatly increasing deltoid and trapezius strength. I've gotten much better at keeping my scapula depressed. Additionally, just getting my body reaclimated to an extended position via weighted hollow holds (Dragon flags helped a ton in the past) has helped tremendously. Not from a core strength perspective but just general body awareness. So my takeaway is: maintain a general level of fitness, but focusing on weighted calisthenics might not work for everyone looking for FL. Very high specificity + ironing put weak points seems to work best for me, plus I get more out of it than a less focused approach (i.e. weighted calisthenics)

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you so much for the positive words! Very interesting! The scapula work - but definitely dragon flags may be the game changer - like you said from the body awareness standpoint. Very glad you wrote it sir, thank you!

[@GeometryDashDyno]

This is incredible, thanks for your hard work and I’m hoping the algorithm pushes this video out to even more people. Excellent stuff man.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Wow, thank you so much!

[@CalistersOfficial]

I'm really happy that I got this recommended. Your explanation is very clear, and I can imagine how much time you put into making this quality content just by seeing the quality of this video. I'm pretty sure you will hit 100k very soon and Cheers to the calisthenics community all over the world 🍻

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you very much!

[@petier184]

this content is golden, very creative and unique I don't understand how you are not in the mainstream calisthenics should become much popular

[@eastsidaz141]

By far the best front lever video i've seen! It is all well covered in details, you did a great job 👍

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Man for real! Thats super nice of you thank you!

[@joaodobbin]

Amazing work. This type of content is what we need in the fitness community. I was just thinking how my FL game improved after I started doing weighted pull ups

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Nice man! And thank you so much for the positive words i truly appreciate it!

[@kris955i2]

As someone who has been stuck on front lever for almost 2 years, this was excellent. I already suspected my height was the biggest contribution to the lack of progress. Thanks for your time and effort with this video.

[@mysterygamerkid192]

How have u been progressing now?👀

[@kris955i2]

@@mysterygamerkid192 still not there……. I can Straddle for a 10 second hold

[@mysterygamerkid192]

@@kris955i2 that's still good can't do anything myself 😭

[@kris955i2]

@@mysterygamerkid192 keep at it, you’ll get there 👍

[@kris955i2]

@@matemindak384 6 ft 2 and no, still no full FL

[@davidjenson7773]

I’m 67 years old and learned lever last year at 66 years old in 3 weeks I’m 140 pounds 5’9 I think it’s videos like this that each teach us something new and important to have success. David jenson chicago

[@christosk2379]

man, this is by far the best video about calisthenics i have ever seen..ty and good job bro

[@TysonE]

18:36 was peak editing XD This must have taken a long time to make man, thanks for putting the work in!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Yeah, this particular segment took months alone. Thanks Tyson XD Cool to see you here. BWSS1 Fan here

[@raily9713]

Your channel has one of the most valuable content on youtube in terms of calisthenic and bodyweight ... Keep going mate. Greetings from Spain!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Greetings! And thank you, thats really nice of you!

[@JakubKowalski93]

MAGNUM OPUS! I will repeat it till the day I die: this is the best Calisthenics channel on KZbin. It is an honour that my voice was included in this masterpiece. Now let me add something to the discussion. You forgot about one very important thing that can influence how hard the front lever is - muscle insertions. I remeber hearing Mike Israetel saying that very small difference in muscle instertions between individuals can make a major difference in force production of a given muscle. We have classic low and high lat insertions that affect aesthetics to high degree but what if it also affect front lever significantly?

[@vasilen17BG]

I agree with you but like come on? yeah there would be a huge difference between a 180-190 cm, high lat insertion guy and 160 cm, ultra low insertion guy, lats almost connect to the glutes(those are the type of guys that get full fl by just doing bodyweight pull ups) but in the end, with same heights in mind, don't think it matters that much as your lats can only be attached so high- to a certain height(lets say mid back), unless you have some kinda genetic mutation where your lats attach even higher than that.

[@cooperhewes]

Good point. I had a similar thought about insertions. Different biceps insertions could cause differences in weighted pull-up strength while not having an effect on front lever strength because of the lack of elbow flexion.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you Jakub. Always appreciate your words and always happy to learn from you and use your words to support my arguments. I actually did not mention internal forces - you are right. I also did not mention about 3 different ways lats attach to the scapula (or dont) But it will also affect pullups as well. Anyways, thank you so much!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

And yeah with biceps it actually makes sense now!

[@karlandreicastrillo9427]

@@FrinksmovementTV I have a question? Does bicep insertion also affect the performance of a ring specialist gymnasts? Which is more useful having a longer tendon but short muscle belly or having a short tendon but longer muscle belly? I'm still trying find the real answer to which of this insertions are going to help in terms of bodyweight training/calisthenics/gymnastics.

[@vitorbueno4301]

Man, I can't even describe my thoughts on this video. Such a great quality, something that I don't expect to see not even in channels with 1M+ subscribers. Thank you.

[@energyzer_bunny1913]

I never knew the Front Lever could be this scientific and in-depth!

[@pandrai7411]

your sense of analysis is brillant , very good quality video

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Much appreciated! Thank you!

[@MichaelDeLaRosa]

Algorithm doing work because this was in my recommended

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Feeling blessed haha!

[@noviceatthis9304]

Same, and I subscribed..quality video!🔥

[@aurelstefan1049]

How does this not have over one million views tho

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Haha thats very nice of you 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@NicolasPicklelas]

Incredibly well made informative content

[@TheAlkarin]

Just amaizing. And tbh, the opening audio is something I really started considering. Since front lever is not the classic pull that everybody usually think off. Really a gold mine of content.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Yeah for sure! Thank you for the positive feedback. Its highly appreciated!

[@reemmelamed8682]

In my opinion, the hardest part in Front-Lever is the scapula retraction, and most people ignore it. In this aspect - Planche is "easier" than every variation of Front-Lever, cause the muscle that doing the protraction is much bigger (and stronger for most people) than the muscle that doing retraction. In addition, it's clear that there is a correlation between people who are strong in Deadlift and people who are strong in Front-Lever. Both exercises "require" people with short legs and long arms. Weighted Pull-Up, on the other hand, requires short arms (shorter range of motion) and most people do not perform it with scapula retraction or abdominal contraction, as is required in a Front-Lever. So while Pull Up strengthens the back and forearm - it doesn't help to learn the Front-Lever technique.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Very very good points man! Thank you for sharing!

[@TheDragonNixon]

Hey, I don't understand why people keep talking about retracted front lever. You basically take out the main muscles out of the movement, like running but you can't use your calves. Isn't it more motivating to just do protraction and hold it longer and feel stronger? I'm not a gymnast or anything and I didn't mean to critique you in any way, I just don't understand it.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

@@TheDragonNixon Well, I would say apart from all the safety concerns, its more philosophical debate - what is more impressive, should we strive for the perfection? What is perfection? Is it worth it? Is it the case for everyone? etc. Very good question that i find hard to answer

[@TheDragonNixon]

@@FrinksmovementTV yeah, I agree. I guess people who say "he's so weak he can't do retracted FL" are just jealous and can't think of something else to do most of the time. Thanks for the reply, what you did for this video is amazing for a young person like you. Good luck!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you so much I appreciate it ;)

[@squash9189]

The problem with the front lever is that I can’t do it

[@DrTsako]

We agree on so many points bro 😮 your sense of analysis is brillant, and the video is wery well edited ! And how did you do the human model doing front lever ? This could serve me

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Hey! So I made all the animations myself but I cannot do 3D rigging, so I just paid someone for an order to make it for me. Was not easy and lots of revisions were needed but it looks fantastic. Actually first time any 3D OBJ file animations for me, but it opens so much new doors.. If you need anything just let me know bro ;)

[@adamgarcia1270]

This is possibly the best video I have ever seen regarding the front lever. Keep up the awesome content man!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Glad you liked it! And wow really thank you for that

[@davidquintanilla9330]

Great work. It paid off. I know there's a lot of BS and clickbait when it comes to calisthenics tips on yt. This was a breath of fresh air in terms of understanding the problem for myself.

[@nikolaystoyanov8411]

The survey is really interesting and truly goes in depth on the front lever. However, I believe you forgot to consider something that I have observed to be the determining factor for front lever strength. That is lat insertions. Me and a group of friends have been trying to achieve the front lever. Most of us can already perform it, but for me it took about 11 months with a previous year of calisthenics training while 2 of my other friends achieved it in a month of starting training specifically for it. Both of them have lat insertions that go very low. Another thing I need to mention is that I have been training the front lever with much more dedication and intensity than them and that is not why they have achieved such great results (my back is like twice the size of theirs as well).

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Hey yeah someone already mentioned that! I think it really maybe the case since in pullups you support yourself with forearm flexors and upper back much more. Thank you for the insight it was really interesting to read!

[@ivayloivanov3744]

Few years ago someone on GymnasticBodies forum posted a study that showed how back muscle insertions can vary so much that some people can have almost double the strength due to better leverage with same amount of muscle mass compared to the other men. And most likely this is the reason we can see bunch of guys with similar muscle mass and one of them is able to do 5 arm pulls ups while the other can barely achieve half rep OAP after years of training.

[@francoisiswatching]

Talking about lats, there's a very interesting "variations" paragraph on the wikipedia page describing the lats: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latissimus_dorsi_muscle#Variations

[@juliocalistenia7126]

Gold content, hope I will do some good quality search like this one in the future. Thanks a lot!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Best of luck with that! Let me know when you do! ;)

[@biskviti2357]

As a 6'2 (189cm) male who trains every other day on rings for front lever, i can confirm it's pretty hard the taller you are lol

[@NicolasMartinez-rx1ge]

why is it that this video has got such a low amount of views, like good editing, good sources and overall honesty, grats mate

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you so much Nicolas!

[@atrocitus9198]

THis Video is a Diamond mine ..Love you man you literally explained front lever scientifically

[@ahmed_mak9]

Subscribed after 5min of watching this. Really underrated channel. Honestly I feel so triguerred for not participating in this survey. Frontlever is my favortie exercice and I would have loved to fill up your survey to contribute to this masterpiece of a video. Well done and keep it buddy. Hard work always pays off :D

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Fantastic! Great to hear! You will have chance in new year ;)

[@lu0nline]

Great video! Thanks for the effort and contribution to the community! I think it's also important to mention that people who are pretty strong at weighted pullups but still suffer with advanced FL progressions generally benefit a lot from doing Adv Tuck FL Rows . I have a feeling its due to the specificity of scapular retraction while having that heavy lever component from the lower body pulling you down.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Oh yeah i agree the scapula retraction is underrated. I wish i talked a bit more about this in the video. But it was still long so maybe next time one day ;) Thank you so much for the positive comment!

[@victorvictor9662]

6:21 - Trap tightness = great video This was Absolutely AWESOME !! You putted in a crazy amount of work. I can't believe this is free haha. It's like taking calisthenics online classes.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Hahah exactly! Thank you man. Your attention and seeing you guys care is the prize

[@Nexxxx]

Best video on front lever!!!!! I can hold full FL for few seconds and i never trained for it, never did any specific training or progressions for it. I only focused on my weighted pull ups.. But i do have a pretty stong back and core to begin with For anyone struggling i would suggest to start doing weighted pull ups.

[@lukaseqq]

awww man, its a incredible analysis, love that so much!! Im gonna watch more your videos cause the effort you put into creating the content is huge. thank you :D

[@korniminorni780]

I'm amazed by the effort put into this video! Absolutely great and informative stuff! Hats off

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Much appreciated!

[@wojtekimbier]

The only tiniest nitpick I can give you is that Maltese is D on rings (as shown at 2:10)

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Ahhh man i knew i messed up something haha! My bad!

[@redditfm4578]

F is pelican i guess

[@jonathanfisher7782]

Zenatti is an F skill and pelican is alot easier so I think it should be lower

[@redditfm4578]

@@jonathanfisher7782 zanetti, zenatti is a singer lol

[@MrPolska223]

@@redditfm4578 wait how the pelican is very easy

[@mind4595]

Really detailed video good job man!! Btw it took me more than 1 year to learn full front lever from one leg front lever and it took me only 9 months to do a full planche

[@FrinksmovementTV]

That's awesome! Thank you for sharing and for nice words ;)

[@Paroex]

You gained a sub today and I honestly think you deserve tens of thousands more. It's unusual to see such a thorough and scientific breakdown with calisthenics for some reason. P.s. At 21:38 you talk about the two extreme ends of the pull-up form spectrum. I always had a difficult time activating my lats with pull-ups, but then I took a step back to think about which lat isolation movements exist in traditional weight lifting. I realised that it was primarily the straight arm pulldown (usually with a cable machine), and that what it does is focus on the sagittal plane movement and shoulder extension (because that's the what lats are primarily responsible for). So I started incorporating that in my pull-ups, making sure that my arms basically slightly brushed against my sides during the pulling movement to ensure that my elbows were nice and tucked and traveled from the front of my body to behind it, NOT from the sides and in towards my center of mass. I combined this with a neutral/hammer grip because it felt more natural for my shoulders when pulling close to the body, and also kept scapular retraction & depression even at the bottom at the movement instead of completely relaxing. Those steps allowed me feel my lats consistently for the first time ever.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Yes man and actually many posts of Paul Carter explain that - the lats will mainly activate in that saggital plane - part of the reason i think chinups may be better for lats development and also the front lever if you cover the retraction component. Thank you for sharing! and for very nice words ;)

[@ericlol1337]

i didnt know there were videos like this on youtube. i think this might be my new genre to binge

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Im glad you found out about my channel. Thank you!

[@yowchun95]

this channel's gonna blow up

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Glad you think so ;)

[@lSmokAce]

Droping a like b4 watching cause i know its top notch content as always

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thank you so much! 🖤

[@aleksalazic7962]

I am currently on a front lever journey, and oh boy has it been a ride. Seen some little progress, got injured, couldn't train for 2 months, stopped training FL for literally 9 months, couldn't even do a controlled one leg negative, decided to start with it again with all my heart, and now it's been 2 months in and I feel the strength being there, 2 more weeks and I think I will be able to hold it! Currently holding it for 15s with the red (smallest) band! I learned some really helpful insights, and despite literally believing I will never get it, I am approaching the front lever gang. Coming back in few weeks to update, see you gorillas 🦍

[@sunny-kx1yh]

update🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@aleksalazic7962]

@@sunny-kx1yh hahhahaha this is an interesting comment. I had a inguinal hernia during the whole process, and I got it a few years ago from doing dragon flags. The front lever was the only skill I shouldn't have done, and I did it anyway. I got to the point I wrote and then had to stop. I didn't even train for a whole year (2022), because it was a matter of health. Now I got a surgery and I don't have a hernia, but I will never do front lever again. Not the best story, but the true one.

[@michaelcoppola7523]

This video is astonishing. If you took the time to tackle more of the holds you see performed on the bar/still rings the same way you did for the front lever and wrote a book with all of this data/theory/insight, I truly believe that every (aspiring) gymnast would buy it. I can tell you I surely would. Great, GREAT job man!!

[@johnxina6291]

Rarely comment but the quality of this video is top notch. Liked and subscribed, well done.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

I really appreciate it! Lots of new stuff coming ;)

[@gotasdemovimiento1333]

Thank you for that, this is absolutely incredible!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Glad you like it! Thank you ;)

[@georgiosdoumas2446]

I have a university degree in physics, and I am impressed by your graphics and explanations.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thats honestly the biggest compliment i could get. Thank you!

[@VietSouthen]

1st- your channel should be received a gold medal 2nd- FrontLever is a very tricky skill due to many different aspects surrounded it. Good content, bro

[@FrinksmovementTV]

1st - Thank you so much 2nd - Very true!

[@couldntbemorerandom]

This guy makes more professional videos with 15k followers than most channels with 1M+. Underrated content.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Wow thank you so much

[@boneTHUGS111]

For me its Ab strength and i feel i have a unique experience with this. I trained abs solidly for 3 yrs twice a week, i was able to do dumbell leg raises with 22kg between my feet for 10 reps and i was able to do the front lever just from this without ever training it, i could hold it for ages to, i could also do the human flag from it, although i found it much harder. Then i took two yrs off training abs, i got lazy with ab training. Anyway i carried on training everything else, weighted pull ups which i do 70kg for 3 reps, legs, chest everything yet when i tried to do the front lever again i couldnt do it at all, i couldnt even launch my legs up! and human flag, forget about it. That was the wake up call to train abs again and within a month i could hold the front lever again. I really see abs as the key here, if your abs are strong enough you will be able to extend your legs and hold them and is holding the rest of the position really that hard? i personally dont think it is. Most of these guys wanting to be able to do this movement, they train most body parts apart from maybe legs, but how much direct ab training?? i bet its minimal, then they blame it on limb length etc. So for me strong abs is the key.

[@Luke-c]

Interesting. What’s your ab routine for this?

[@boneTHUGS111]

@@Luke-c weighted leg raises on a bench. So you stick a dumbell between your feet and lay down on a bench, hold the back of the bench behind you with your hands, then raise your legs, work on progressive overload. The other exercise i do its weighted crunches. I put my feet under heavy dumbells to hold my feet down, then i put a weight behind my head, not in front as many do as that is far easier but behind, then i sit up..this can be hard for some on the lower back at first so be careful, keep your legs bent with knees up doing this. Oh by the way i do 3 sets of each and i do them on separate days and train both twice a week

[@Luke-c]

Thanks, appreciate the info. I tried weighted leg raises like this with some 5 kg ankle weights and it was too light. Struggled with 10 kg. I’d be nervous using a dumbbell, especially 20 kg! That’s serious strength anyhow. I’ll try the crunch variation too.

[@Luke-c]

Ok 22 kg - crazy!

[@boneTHUGS111]

@@Luke-c At first it a little scary but you get used to it, i never feel now that i will drop the dumbbell on myself. But if you go to a gym you could always use the cable machine and do it too, but you'd need to buy ankle attachments that have a steel loop on them so you can use them for the cable machine, a lot of girls use them for kickbacks, they probably sell them on amazon etc. Then you just set it up with the bench like that.

[@akosfelber1775]

Finally, I have been waiting for this

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Me too! So glad I could release it finally! Thank you

[@akosfelber1775]

I was shaking while watching the video 😁 Quality content 👌

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Man you cant even imagine how much your words matter to me. Thats why i make them vids, to make my viewers feel this way 🙏🏻

[@cassioamorim1348]

I literally just become able to do front lever last weekend, after 6 months of training. I'm far from being a pro when it comes to exercise, but I do have a Ph.D. in physics, so I will comment from a physics perspective. For the record, I'm short and slim (BMI 18), 1RM about 50% of bodyweight. First, I think you should rethink the role of core strength. In a front lever, your only support for your body is your shoulder, hence when testing the 9:56 position, you should lie down supported by your shoulders/thorax, a bit more up than what is shown (what might require arms pulling to do). In other words, your abs might indeed be just fine, but there are more muscles involved that even if they do not lack strength, some degree of coordination might still be needed. Now, I personally can't do a back lever (yet), though I've been told it is easier (supposedly). It might have to do with the fact that my lower back has always been much weaker for me (100+ crunches are fine, but make it reverse and I struggle with 50). The first time I got to a pull-up bar was about 7 months ago, and the tucked front lever came as a natural and even fun movement to me. Searching my life memories, I can confidently say that I always had more affinity for pulling than pushing with my arms. And because we are essentially discussing a continuous torque output, I believe the relevant muscles must have/acquire the ability to keep enough tension for that, which may require some specific conditioning that may hold only a weak correlation with other tasks, like a pull-up. FYI, I just measured my grip strength today (47 kg), and it is about 4 kgs below my peak strength 2 months ago, and my limit was an advanced tuck. I'm saying this because we sometimes hear about "squeezing" to make it easier, which I honestly never understood the meaning of.

[@Charleswonder12]

Just about all strength in a front lever adheres to the scapula; core is just a stabilizer, same with lats so no isolated raw strength is needed there.

[@wowandrss]

A lot of work went into this and we all appreciate it! Great video, man.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Much appreciated!

[@alfredek4275]

So nice to see this kind of in-depth analysis for Cali moves! Keep up the good work man! Being 183 cm myself I can relate very much to the results mentioned in the video. I can do a pullup with 55% of bodyweight and only hold adv. tuck for about 10 sec.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Will do! Thank you for sharing 👍👍

[@handlynadl]

Im 191 and I'm really hoping to do FL one day. Stuck with the advanced tuck. Now I am 16 yo, 70 kg... That feeling when you can't go to the gym and do calisthenics couse it's the only choice lol

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Feel ya bro. Good luck on your Front Lever journey!

[@korcidiamond3623]

You are fking 16.....Stick to it and you have it way before you reach 20 yo

[@CaptainCalisthenics]

lol nice. I wasted 2 years on FL with no progress- if you want, see the vid on my channel to avoid my mistakes

[@cerial_enjoyer]

I pesonaly have found very little carryover to front lever from vertical pulling movements. During the summer i trained for one arm pull ups and iron cross. By the end of summer i had achieved 6 OAP on the right and around 4 on the left arm, iron cross went from barely a hold to roughly 4 unassisted presses, side iron cross and press from it. Although my vertical pulling was very strong my front lever didnt budge at all and stayed at halflay. Currently started training dragon press just for fun but also to see how much it carries over to front lever. So from my experiance i'd say that if you want a certain skill you have to train it specifically and stop gambling your progress on carryover.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Thats a really interesting story. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@florincristian9818]

Is impossible to do 6 oap and iron cross and cant hold a front lever

[@cerial_enjoyer]

@@florincristian9818 Theres tonnes of people who excel at certain things but suck or are average in others, its normal. Yaad told a story about him meeting Yuri Van Gelder. He showed off his front lever to Yuri and he said "I cant do that". Granted he can pull from hang to inverted but his actual hold then was like 2 sec maybe more. Now compare his front lever with his iron cross. If you've seen him on rings you know what im talking about. Specificity in sports is very real and just because one is strong at one movement it doesnt mean he will get better at the other especialy when they have almost nothing in common except the muscles involved.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Yeah i agree, its rare but definitely possible, and specificity will matter more as the difficulty raises

[@pims2013]

I think limb length is an important factor, the longer your lower body in comparison to your upper body, the better you will be a front lever because there is just less weight in legs than in your torso. The funniest thing in the video I found was the deadlift. I am relatively very good in deadlift due to my long arms and legs and also pretty good at front lever, but terrible at planche. 220kg deadlift 188cm and 82kg full FL 9sec

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Haha I know Davide has his point with the deadlift! And very good points 👍

[@panavisionnot7180]

Excellent, An honorary doctorate in physical Education is well deserved.. this is a proper study/ thesis.. The amount of research and work that you have put into this video lecture is worthy of a stadium standing ovation !

[@fabiorotolo4789]

This is one of the best calisthenic video's I've ever seen Great job man keep it up.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Wow, thanks! That is really appreciated

[@thomasseillers3905]

Why do all the big calisthenics KZbinrs comment on this? XD seems to be good stuff

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Haha thank you. Feeling like a little kid amongst them 😂

[@raiefkaas3929]

this was produced really well!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

thanks!!!

[@dandogamer]

Was very easy for me to learn front lever (5ft 8) but I also have a ton of back muscle from swimming. Took about a month to learn. The back lever was slightly harder but once I increased my flexibility it worked!

[@chriscox1535]

That impressive I’m a triathlete and I finally achieve a 1 leg front lever. Do you think is possible for me to do a front lever I’m 5 ft 11 but my friend is 6 ft 2 he was a rope climber and a pole vault and high jumper. He learn front lever in 7 months . I learn the 1 leg front lever in 10 months

[@Dhundahl]

One of the greatest FL videos I've seen yet. Nice work man. Your survey was a very interesting take on it. I've been trying to get the full FL myself on/off for several years, but I have never succeded. I always get stuck at straddle FL, but I always reach that point fairly quick. I have tried a lot of different training methods, but never found one that took me beyond straddle FL. I usually train pull ups in the tuck and adv tuck position to mimic the shoulder position for the pull. I haven't trained specifically for max pull up strength, but one day I tried it and I could lift bodyweight (68 kg) plus 42 kg 1 RM. Maybe I could gain from trying to increase my 1 RM weighted pull up, but i primarily train at home and that makes it difficult for me. If anybody has any suggestions feel free to comment.

[@dieglhix]

My legs are way too trained, that's my problem but I will achieve this and I am extremelly inspired. Thanks for your professionally detailed video!!!!

[@maxidobritz3515]

I love you

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Haha! Thank you 🙏🏻🖤

[@drioustb9182]

I reached a 6sec front lever at 190cm 85kg by greasing the groove, adding retraction exercises and not training legs

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Oh thats interesting! Big height and still the full FL. Congrats!

[@shadowsage6253]

Not training legs🤣🤣🤣 bro

[@antioeln]

Im 1,95 and am on the verge of getting it :)

[@drioustb9182]

@@antioeln Thats awesome bro keep going

[@antioeln]

@@drioustb9182 thx mate! Im at 90kg and trained it for ages, do you also think, that the back Lever is much more easy?

[@marem0t0]

interesting and well researched topic, now that i know i have an advantage just by being short and having a big head i'll start putting more effort into getting a full front hahahaaha

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Hahah im glad I motivated you! Good luck!

[@Simonsaysgetfit]

I'm 51 started Calisthenics just over 18 months ago. Height 1.75cm Weight 74kg - I'm now able to hold full front lever for 2 seconds. I'm now adding weight (0.5kg each side) to my ankles to increase the difficulty - as this is how I trained for my back lever and can hold back lever for nearly 15 seconds. Just a thought to help others as it wasnt directly mentioned. Excellent informative video. Thank you for taking the time and effort to upload. 👏🏻🔥

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Man thats just amazing!! Its very inspiring to me, I really strive to be like that when Im 50. Keep up the awesome work!

[@kamiarbarbar2965]

Please KZbin, make this video go viral. The work behind all this.. Huge respect sir!

[@meitar3949]

There isn't a single person who gets the full front lever with perfect form in 2 months.

[@FRElHEIT]

Maybe if you are a midget that already trained pull ups for a while.

[@Pro-Calm--Studies]

Just achieving 90 degree angle in my hips took me 2 months

[@TechDunk]

I'm proud that I can do a full lever at 197cm

[@xxMADxxSCIENTISTxx]

And this video has only ~3k views... such a hidden gem!!

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Im still very satisfied :) Thank you!

[@xxMADxxSCIENTISTxx]

@Max Payne I disagree. :) The author put considerable effort into gathering data confirming that there is some non-trivial correlation between PU/CU strength and FL related strength. Of course, both of these movements are lat-dominant, so it's not that surprising. On the other hand, they are biomechanically very different. We also obtained some quantitative info. Before Frinks prepared this survey, our knowledge regarding the discussed relationship had been bro-scientific at best.

[@xxMADxxSCIENTISTxx]

@Max Payne The answers for you are: yes and yes. :) I agree with a statement that core strength is crucial - mostly because the movement is compound. However, it should be emphasized that 'core' means way more than the abdominal muscles. Actually, I remember not progressing much from doing DFs; in my case strict toes-to-bars happened to be the 'key exercise' . Perhaps it boils down to individual strengths/weaknesses. All best!

[@xxMADxxSCIENTISTxx]

@Max Payne That's a nice explanation of the term. There might be minor questions regarding, whether glutes and/or serratus anterior should be counted in, but I like the idea of 'pelvis structure' referring to the hip-hinge motion in general. Edit: Misspells.

[@xxMADxxSCIENTISTxx]

@Max Payne Yeah, he was memorable. Not many such long holds from 190cm people on the internet.

[@whelmking6497]

Easily the best breakdown of the front lever I've seen, and I've seen a few. Amazing work and very appreciated.

[@iwnl_vale]

Omg this is a gem. I literally started training for the front lever two weeks ago. I'm 6'2" and my progression until now has went like this: first I barely could do leg raises without swinging, and then after a week and a half I tried to get a tucked lever and got it right away. I think having a strong deadlift and the pull up form has helped me a lot. But what do I know I'm just beginning.

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Just two weeks and you already see great progress. Hope you get it in reasonable time. Good luck!!

[@MrGrimdek]

Great video, had to drop a comment for that algorithm

[@FrinksmovementTV]

Legend! Thank you!