@biblebob541 You know what that’s a very good question. I’ll answer this with a combination of personal experience and science.
Till date I can’t actually do front levers properly. There are a few reasons for this.
The first is progressive overload, I progressed really slowly; this was to maximise overall gains as the rate of muscle hypertrophy is limited. So I didn’t attempt front levers until recently.
Incorrect mind muscle connection- when I finally attempted front levers I never watched any tutorials. I based my form on what muscles I thought the movement involved; largely the core and lats.
Using this incorrect form, I was able to hold one legged front levers well for about 10 seconds each leg. However, I could only hold full front levers for up to 6 seconds, my hips would start to drop almost immediately. Utilising this mind muscle connection is much more intense on the lats but is largely unstable and here’s why.
Glutes- one of the major functions of the glutes is to bring the pelvis in line with the body. Hence, in a deep squatting position, the glutes are utilised to bring the pelvis back in line with the body. The same principle for glute bridges and a large majority of exercises for the glutes.
Front lever- When holding a front lever, ones lats, rear delts and other back muscles hold the body up against gravity. The core is required to keep the whole torso in a parallel line.
But now the lower half. Since one is hanging against the force of gravity, this becomes a large counterweight.
If the legs are tucked no action from the glutes is required, as the pelvis is not required to be in line with the torso- explaining why I was able to hold one legged front levers easily with this form.
If the legs are straight, then activation of the glutes are essential to maintain the position with stability. They are required to lift and hold the pelvis (now under the force of gravity) in line with the torso. This is the same principle as a glute bridge. If you do what I did for a while- tried not to activate the glutes, you will be able to hold it for a second or so and then your pelvis will slightly drop to compensate making the movement look rather messy.
Why no one talks about glute activation when doing front levers?
The most likely reason is that a lot of people don’t realise that they are activating their glutes. A lot of people don’t pay much attention to mind muscle connection and hence, when teaching others how to do movements that are second nature to them, they miss out on a lot of vital info that actually make all the difference.
A lot of people that do calisthenics don’t train their legs to the same degree and hence have small legs- the lighter the legs proportionally, the lighter the counter weight, the less glute activation required to stabilise the movement. I noticed that when I lost 10lbs of lean muscle (didn’t train in 6 months), then regained some upper body mass without training legs this time around, I was able to hold full front levers for longer before my pelvis dropped even with incorrect form.
Sorry for the essay, the question was an interesting one that I always wanted to discuss. This is a full bodyweight workout of mine with a lot of hypertrophy based commentary if your interested:
Full bodyweight workout
Thanks!
Ed
