Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Back Lever: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The back lever is a challenging bodyweight exercise performed on a pull-up bar, requiring significant strength, balance, and body control. It targets the upper back and also engages the biceps, forearms, and core.

Primary muscles
Traps
Equipment
Body Weight
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the back lever
Front view: muscles worked by the back lever. Primary: traps. Secondary: obliques, forearms, biceps and abs.
Back view: muscles worked by the back lever. Primary: traps. Secondary: obliques, forearms, biceps and abs.
Primary Secondary

How to do the back lever

  1. Step 1: Start by hanging from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  2. Step 2: Engage your core and pull your shoulder blades down and back.
  3. Step 3: Bend your knees and tuck them towards your chest.
  4. Step 4: Slowly lift your legs up, keeping them straight, until your body is parallel to the ground.
  5. Step 5: Hold this position for a few seconds, then slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position.
  6. Step 6: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the back lever by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Back Lever alternatives

More exercises that train the traps as their main target:

More traps exercises

See the best trap exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.