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- What's up, Thenx athletes.
I got another move for you to learn.
Today I'm gonna be teaching you step by step,
how to do your very first dragon flag.
The dragon flag
is an incredible body weight,
ab shredding and back building exercise
used by gymnasts
and even Bruce Lee himself.
Now, why would you guys wanna learn this move?
Well, first off,
the dragon flag is gonna develop
an insane amount of core
and pulling strength.
But many other muscle groups
like your glutes and your calves
will be engaged
to help execute this exercise as well.
And once you've mastered the dragon flag,
you can use your newfound strength
and apply it to learning
even harder and more advanced exercises
like the front lever, human flag,
and many others,
allowing you to build more muscle
and get even stronger
just like Bruce Lee.
All you're gonna need to do
is download the Thenx App
in the App Store or Google Play Store.
Open up to the YouTube Workout section.
You should be able to find this workout routine.
Smash the like button on this video
for some extra motivation,
and let's get right into it.
You can find the link
to the Thenx App
and this specific workout
down in the video description below.
All right, so first off,
you need a place to lie down
and you're gonna need something sturdy
to hold behind you.
Now, this can be done at your house.
Laying down in front of the couch
and putting your hands
underneath the couch,
above your head.
If you're at the gym,
you can always use a bench like this.
Some people have a bench at home
just like me.
And if you're at a park
and they don't have a bench,
you can always use the bottom base pole
of a pull up bar or a dip bar.
Every exercise we're gonna be doing
is gonna use this type of setup.
So get your spot ready.
Let's get into the first exercise.
That's gonna be dragon flag hip raises.
So I'm gonna go ahead,
lie down on the bench.
Go for five repetitions,
show you what it looks like
and then break it down.
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All right, so there we have
dragon flag hip raises.
If you've ever done an upside down deadlift,
I've taught this move as a progression
in multiple videos
like how to front lever or how to pull over,
this movement is basically the same thing.
You wanna start with a good grip
above and behind your head.
Then with your core engaged,
and your legs tight and pointed together,
you're gonna go for a perfect leg raise.
Once you reach the top of that leg raise,
you're gonna pull on your grip
behind your head
and thrust your hips up,
pointing your toes into the air
while squeezing your glutes.
And the goal as you raise up
is to try to push your hips
to create a straight line with your body
from your shoulder
to the tip of your toes.
Engaging your entire body
to solidify that straight line.
Then as you're ready to descend,
you wanna maintain perfect form
and engagement of your core,
and only begin to hinge
or bend from the hips,
working the negative
and coming down nice and controlled
until your hips reach back
down to the surface.
Now to master this first progression,
you wanna be able to do it at least 10 times
with perfect form consecutively
very comfortably before moving on
to the next progression.
And once you can complete that,
you're ready for the next progression.
That's gonna be the high dragon flag hold.
I'm gonna go ahead
and hold it for 10 seconds.
Show you what it looks like
and then break it down.
Now as you can see,
we're just holding the top
of the last progression,
but the key to really holding this position
is to squeeze your glutes and your calves,
and point your toes
while maintaining a consistent hip alignment
with the rest of your body,
along with constant pulling tension
from your arms
and core engagement.
All right, so there we have
the high dragon flag hold.
This is basically the easiest form
of what a dragon flag is
and what it would look like.
And this is why this
is one of the most important steps.
You wanna make sure
that your form is perfect
before moving beyond this point.
So go ahead,
pull out a camera, record yourself,
make sure that you're in
a completely straight line
and there's not even
the slightest bend in your hips.
If there is,
you know that you have to push your hips in,
squeeze your core,
squeeze your glutes,
squeeze your calves,
and point your toes.
Work on pushing your hips through
while squeezing every muscle in your body
and actually breathing.
Do not hold your breath.
And the stronger you get,
the more comfortable it's gonna be
to start leaning further and further.
Just make sure
that you have perfect form
and a strong hip engagement
before you decide to start leaning.
Because if you don't,
chances are you're not gonna be able
to maintain the dissension
or your body weight properly
while doing this exercise
in your lower back.
And you're gonna start to bend
as you come down
and that's the most common mistake
and the best way to cure that
is to really focus
on the first two progressions.
So if you find yourself with that problem,
you can also find a lot in front levers.
You need to go back to the basics.
Now, once you can perform this move
with perfect form comfortably
for at least 15 seconds,
then you can begin to train it
at a lower degree,
which is dragon flag negatives.
We're gonna be starting off
with a half lay
or tucked dragon flag negatives.
I'm gonna go for five reps.
Then break it down for you.
Now for this exercise,
you're gonna go up exactly the same
as every other previous progression.
Once you're in your high dragon flag
and you solidified your hip placement,
then you can begin to bend
by your knees and only your knees.
Once you're in this position
and you solidified your hip engagement,
you can begin to descend.
Keep in mind
as you descend
and begin to lower your angle,
it's gonna get harder and harder.
So you're gonna need to pull more in your grip
and apply even more abdominal and lat strength
as you get closer to the bottom.
(upbeat music)
All right, so there we have the half lay
or tucked dragon flag negatives
and training the high dragon flag hold
at a lower degree is something
that you should continuously do
as you get stronger
and as you move through the progressions.
Getting you comfortable
with holding it lower and lower.
To ensure that you're coming down properly
in a straight line from your hips,
the best thing that you can do
is to film yourself.
If you can see that
there's a little bend by your hips,
you definitely want to fix that
before moving on.
Remember, you wanna go back to the basics
as well as training the high dragon flag
at a lower angle.
When you have the proper hip engagement
and your hips are pushed through
to enable that straight line
in your body,
the weight of your lower body
is gonna be held by your lower back.
So you wanna make sure
to feel that pressure in your lower back.
That's how you know
that you're doing this exercise right
and that's where you should feel
the pressure really build up
as you lower the degree
in your high dragon flag,
as well as your lats of course.
Now, there's multiple variations
to this progression.
That's actually the easiest one.
And you wanna master this one first.
Be able to do at least 10 reps
with perfect form comfortably.
But once you've mastered that,
then you can proceed
to doing your negatives
with one leg out,
alternating each leg,
developing strength on both sides.
And after that,
then you would've developed the strength
to be able to do it with two legs.
So I'm gonna go for three reps
of each variation,
show you what it looks like.
(upbeat music)
So there you have it.
Once you're able to do
the dragon flag negative
with two legs
for at least 10 reps in a row comfortably,
then you should definitely have the strength
to be able to hold a solid dragon flag.
Just keep in mind,
as you're doing this movement
for the best form,
you want to have the least amount
of your back on the surface.
Mainly, it should just be your traps.
And basically, it should look like this.
Starting with the dragon flag negative.
Make sure the majority of my back
is off the wall.
(upbeat music)
And there you have it.
In fact, the more you do it,
the stronger you're gonna get
and even training all of these progressions
with just one arm.
Dragon flag raises,
dragon flag leg flutters,
and so much more.
And by the time you're training like that,
there's gonna be a huge
significant difference in your physique
as well as your strength.
Not just looking strong,
actually being strong.
So if you guys enjoyed the video,
please smash that like button.
I really appreciate it.
And it helps YouTube share my videos
to more people out there.
And to show my appreciation,
if you comment down below
within 30 minutes of any upload,
let me know what you wanna see
in the next video
or anything at all.
You're always gonna have a chance
to win some Thenx gear.
So make sure you hit the subscribe button
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I post every single Sunday
8 p.m. USA Eastern time.
And don't forget,
to get this workout on your phone,
the links are down in the description
below for the Thenx App
and this specific workout.
And once you downloaded the Thenx App,
you're gonna get full access
to all our workout programs,
technique guide teaching you
the most advanced movements
like the muscle up, human flag, front lever,
handstand pushups,
and so much more
step by step
as well as daily workouts
sent to your phone every single day
to make sure that you're constantly making gains.
And you'll also join
the Thenx community of millions
of Thenx athletes around the world
getting in the best shape of their lives
right now using Thenx App.
And I can't wait to see all the progress
that you guys are gonna have
on your dragon flags.
Make sure to tag us on Instagram, Thenx page
or my personal one, Chris Heria.
We'll definitely be re-posting the best ones.
And lastly, let me know what you guys wanna see
in the next Thenx video.
All you gotta do
is just comment down below
and you have a chance to win
some Thenx apparel at the same time.
So I'll be checking out those comments
and I will see you next Sunday
8 p.m. USA Eastern time.
Mad love, peace out.
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