the alcide is a display of basic core and hip flexor strength the technique involves keeping
our arms and legs locked straight and then simply hovering the feet above ground level
easy right most people when first starting out will struggle to get the feet off the
ground and then they often joke the my legs are too long for this I guess for everyone else you
can get their feet above the ground it's met with a sudden case of Parkinson's and really
uncomfortable cramping this video will cover a super effective protocol for lengthening
and strengthening the lower body specifically for the l-sit position let's increase your whole time
hey guys Daniel vaginal for fitness fa Q's first we need to determine what the main limitation is
preventing you from getting into a strong l-sit position is it passive hamstring flexibility or is
it hip flexor weakness or a combination of both if you can hold the 90-degree l-sit position without
your hands but it's a real effort to maintain you have room to progress with hip flexor strength and
this should be your training priority if you can't maintain an upright back and a slumped backwards
it's likely your hip flexors a weak let's take a look to see if the hamstrings are holding you
back if you can pull yourself forward and towards the knees it's unlikely that tight hamstrings are
the main weak link for your Elsie my hamstring flexibility isn't the best as I'm flexing the
lower back and I'm unable to tilt the pelvis anteriorly this isn't a major issue for the
l-sit as it doesn't really require a tremendous amount of hamstring flexibility the main thing I
want you to take away from this section is if you can at least reach the 90-degree l-sit position
actively without using your hands hamstrings aren't the main issue now let's take a look at
my huge calves and remarkably low calf insertions I'm being sarcastic here fellas clearly hashtag
team no calves what I want to say is the Maine calf muscle crosses both the ankle and the knee if
you practice l-sits with the toes extended towards your knees it will give the perception of tight
hamstrings but it may be your calves which are in fact not very flexible this means the else it will
be harder for you to hold and you actually feel tighter and more uncomfortable holding an l-sit
instead what I recommend is pointing the toes the biggest help from today's video if you guys will
be hip flexor strengthening let's start with the easiest drill to improve hip flexor strength for
the l-sit and this is the dynamic leg raise on D pulse to do this exercise keep the feet further
forward in front of the body at the bottom and this is going to prevent any swinging the key
is to push the hips forward and actively try to compress the body at the top the further you lean
forward the heart of the exercise feels and the more you'll get from it I'd recommend you try to
minimize momentum and focus on the hip flexors doing all the work and for the best results do
your best to keep the legs locked straight this is the easiest hip flexor strengthening exercise
because we can create speed from the bottom position to carry us through into the l-sit
now to make this exercise more challenging we have to place ourselves into deeper hip flexion
to start with you can do this exercise off a bench a chair or anything that's slightly elevated off
the ground if you're someone who feels cramps when doing else it's mainly on one side the single leg
variation is going to be perfect for you this allows you to fix side to side weaknesses in a
really quick way when it comes to form for this one lean forward keep the working leg straight
and control the entire range of motion trying to do a pause at the top think about raising
your thigh and trying to compress it to the chest these absolutely suck you will cramp you'll hate
me for showing this to you but I promise you're else it will get more comfortable and your times
will increase if you work on these weaknesses once you've worked through the two previous
versions and want a proper challenge take the drill to the floor I wouldn't recommend doing
this drill without a wall as the body loves staying in its comfort zone take a look at me
here for example check out how high I can raise my legs because I'm able to rock backwards this
is fake mobility and this is fake strength as you're about to see instead what I recommend
is to use a wall this way your hips are fixed into hip flexion and you won't be able to cheat as much
this simple drill can be made harder by placing your hands further away and leaning forward more
guys I'm going to keep it real with you here my hip flexor strength is average at best I mean
check out the pure bliss on my face can't you tell that I love calisthenics I'm doing my best to keep
the leg locked as straight as I can staying lean forward and aiming to keep the movement
smooth from start to end you'll be able to see the massive difference in range of motion when
doing this drill strict with the wall compared to doing it without a wall if you're lazy and don't
feel a major difference between sides do the two leg version at the same time this is more
efficient but it sucks just as much so don't think that you're getting out of the fun and cramps
and pain and discomfort of this exercise by doing the two leg variation if you're someone who wants
to improve their forward fold specifically for Elson application with pointed toes I've got the
drill for you to calm down the nervous system and decrease your resistance to passive stretch do the
hip elevated Pike stretch by elevating the hips it encourages the forward lean and it's an easier way
for us type folks to increase our range of motion without having to flex the back as much to make
our range of motion stick and promote strength at extended hamstring muscle lengths the standing
forward fold is a great drill this exercise is really effective as your hamstrings will
be contracting as they lengthen which will promote usable range of motion with movement I recommend
elevating the heels on weight plates to simulate the l-sit technique and to remove any calf
tightness which might limit your forward fold just make sure that after you've worked on lengthening
the posterior chain you superset this straightaway with hip flexor strength for the best results
to make progress with calisthenics you can see clearly why it's important to address your body's
specific limitations simply doing the exercise over and over won't get you there and it's a
frustrating path to take to learn how to master your body the smart way with bodyweight training
go to fitness FAQ TV and sign up to our training programs and the bodyweight Academy thanks for
watching guys leave your thumbs up below and I'll see you next week and if you made it this
far into the video how long can you currently hold the l-sit for drop me a comment below