the ice cream maker is arguably the worst exercise for getting a stronger front lever
unfortunately ice cream makers are often promoted in the calisthenics and gymnastics communities
this sub-optimal exercise is a major distraction from what actually matters this video is going to
show a smarter way to progress with straight arm strength you're going to improve so much faster
and make much better use of your precious training time and energy also today you're going to learn
what really matters for building a big strong back to support your calisthenics front lever journey
previously on fitness faqs i've recommended the ice cream maker as a useful front lever
accessory i was wrong here's why combining bent and straight arm strength with the ice cream
maker excise is very inefficient doing so creates a fatigued state especially for the prime movers
of the back and scapular stabilizers the outcome is a situation where the potency of the stimulus
is lacking for both the bent and straight arm components basically you get fatigued
combining both and you don't sufficiently stress either for optimal real-world gains
when lowering into the front lever most people simply just flop into the position or they just
use momentum as a result this is not going to really produce quality in the front lever position
not much time under tension and it's not going to result in substantial front lever gains honestly
the ice cream maker is next size which pretty much makes you better at ice cream makers save
the ice cream maker for a front lever maintenance phase or include it sporadically with the goal of
a novel training stimulus now that we understand the limitations of the ice cream maker let's talk
about real straight arm training beginners i want you to start in a tuck body position as
you become more advanced increase difficulty by lengthening the lever to make it more challenging
simply apply that concept to all of the exercises in the rest of the video if you want to train the
front lever dynamically for reps the front lever pull is superior in every single way start in a
traditional hang and then pull with straight arms by finishing in an inverted hang as you can see
the front lever is being trained through a full range of motion the shoulders begin in flexion
and end in extension with the arms by the sides you're teaching the body how to maintain the
front lever body shape through a massive movement angle this is tremendously potent for strength aim
when pulling with locked elbows the scapular stabilizers are forced to work hard
in order to keep the body alignment horizontal and assist with the pull what's uniquely special
about front lever pulls from a hang is the strong scapular setting which is required at the start
to generate enough force from the hang the scapula must be depressed and retracted very
violently you can make the pull harder by briefly pausing in the bottom position in the hang every
single rep these are humblingly hard no stored energy is released and full strength is required
another superior training method for dynamic front levers are eccentrics from the top down the front
lever muscles are lengthening as they create tension these are extremely powerful because
perfect technique can be used while working the front lever pattern through a full range of motion
remember multiple rep sets are much more effective for strength gain than trying to struggle through
singles choose your intensity wisely because we're stronger during the negative phase of any exercise
using harder front lever progressions is definitely possible with eccentrics ice
cream makers are a classic example of trying to do everything at once combining bent arm and straight
arm training if you want improved bent arm do it in isolation and choose exercises which actually
work the body weight roll is incredible for building horizontal pulling strength
we're training all the muscles required to extend retract and depress the shoulders
we're also improving rigid body alignment in the exact same position relative to gravity horizontal
rows benefit the most from a moderate rep range for example 8 to 15 reps is a good zone
to progress with the reason for this is due to the nature of the exercise as fatigue sets in reaching
full range of motion at the top becomes very demanding the name of the calisthenics game is
progressive overload therefore choose an intensity which is honest and permits ample range of motion
for sets across you might be wondering what about front lever ropes well when it comes to exercise
there's never any right or wrong it really just depends on the context at fitness faqs we believe
in being realistic and also sustainable the problem with doing them in a front lever is
we're often restricted to regressions and really low rep range due to the difficulty in all honesty
form tends to get sloppy pretty quickly and long-term progress especially with this move
is frustratingly slow it's just not feasible to get an efficient training stimulus from front
lever rows for most people this is a problem that is rampant in the calisthenics community
and it's something that most of us struggle with unless you've got a high level of front lever
strength already front lever rows aren't the best way to improve at front levers
generic horizontal pulling is far superior as long-term progressive overload is much more
realistic and sustainable there are countless ways to increase difficulty of rows over time
external resistance is preferred because it's simple and also objective
when doing bodyweight rows for front lever training use an identical width of grip
for the greatest transferability and application of the specificity principle
concerning vertical pulling we're not going to fluff around with ice cream makers
if we're going to pull we're going to pull for real many people have developed serious
front lever strength by simply improving at their pull ups pull ups complete the bent arm training
picture by working shoulder extension retraction and depression in a vertical pulling pattern
pull ups improve size in all the major muscles involved in front levers such as the lats the
rhomboids the traps the long head of triceps etc heavy low rep pull up sets are an absolute
amazing accessory for front lever gains for best strength transfer be sure to use a pronated grip
because that's what's used in a front lever here's one sentence to summarize today's video separating
bent arm and straight arm training is way more effective than trying to combine both into one
exercise you