Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Front Lever: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The front lever is a challenging bodyweight exercise that targets the abs and requires significant strength and control from the lats, shoulders, and forearms. It involves holding your body parallel to the ground while hanging from a pull-up bar.

Primary muscles
Abs
Secondary muscles
Forearms , Lats , Shoulders
Equipment
Body Weight
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the front lever
Front view: muscles worked by the front lever. Primary: abs. Secondary: forearms, lats and shoulders.
Back view: muscles worked by the front lever. Primary: abs. Secondary: forearms, lats and shoulders.
Primary Secondary

How to do the front lever

  1. Step 1: Start by hanging from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands 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: Simultaneously, lift your legs up and extend them straight out in front of you, keeping your body parallel to the ground.
  5. Step 5: Hold this position for as long as you can, aiming for a full front lever position.
  6. Step 6: To release, slowly lower your legs back down and return to the starting position.
  7. Step 7: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the front 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.

Front Lever alternatives

More exercises that train the abs as their main target:

More abs exercises

See the best ab 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.