Front Lever

Muscles worked by the Front Lever

Primary

LatsLatissimus DorsiChestPectoralis Major

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidBicepsBiceps BrachiiLower BackErector SpinaeAbsRectus Abdominis

Also called: lats, lat, latissimus dorsi, latissimus, back wings, pec.

Equipment

Pull-Up Bar

Also called: chin-up bar, chin up bar, power tower, pull up bar, doorway bar.

How to do the Front Lever

1. Grip the bar with an overhand grip and hang.
2. Tuck your knees to your chest and drive your hips upward, rotating forward until your chest faces up.
3. Extend your body horizontally with arms straight and chest facing the ceiling.
4. Keep your body rigid and parallel to the floor.
5. Hold for the desired duration, then tuck and lower under control.

Form tips

• Progress through tuck and straddle holds before attempting the full extension.
• Squeeze your core and glutes to prevent the hips from dropping.
• Keep the shoulders actively depressed away from the ears throughout the hold.

At a glance

Front Lever in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Dead Hang
• L Sit
• Planche
• Archer Pull Ups
• Assisted Pull Ups
• Band Assisted Pull Ups
• Banded Lat Stretch
• Barbell Pullover

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "front-lever",
  "name_en": "Front Lever",
  "name_de": "Front Lever",
  "name_es": "Front Lever",
  "description_en": "An advanced static hold under the bar with the body horizontal and chest facing upward, requiring straight-arm pulling strength through the lats and core.",
  "description_de": "Eine fortgeschrittene Halteübung an der Klimmzugstange, bei der der gestreckte Körper waagerecht mit der Brust nach oben gehalten wird und maximale Zugkraft in Lats und Rumpf erfordert.",
  "description_es": "Una posición estática avanzada en barra donde el cuerpo se mantiene horizontal con el pecho hacia arriba, requiriendo fuerza de tracción en dorsales y core.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "equipment": "pull_up_bar",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "latissimus_dorsi",
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "biceps_brachii",
    "erector_spinae",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "static-hold",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Grip the bar with an overhand grip and hang.",
    "Tuck your knees to your chest and drive your hips upward, rotating forward until your chest faces up.",
    "Extend your body horizontally with arms straight and chest facing the ceiling.",
    "Keep your body rigid and parallel to the floor.",
    "Hold for the desired duration, then tuck and lower under control."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Greife die Stange mit einem Obergriff und hänge.",
    "Ziehe die Knie zur Brust und schwinge die Hüften nach oben, bis die Brust nach oben zeigt.",
    "Strecke den Körper horizontal aus, Arme gestreckt, Brust Richtung Decke.",
    "Halte den Körper angespannt und parallel zum Boden.",
    "Halte die gewünschte Zeit, dann beuge ein und senke dich kontrolliert ab."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Agarra la barra con agarre prono y cuelga.",
    "Lleva las rodillas al pecho y eleva las caderas hacia arriba, rotando hasta que el pecho mire al techo.",
    "Extiende el cuerpo horizontalmente con brazos rectos y pecho apuntando hacia arriba.",
    "Mantén el cuerpo rígido y paralelo al suelo.",
    "Aguanta el tiempo deseado, luego flexiona y baja de forma controlada."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Progress through tuck and straddle holds before attempting the full extension.",
    "Squeeze your core and glutes to prevent the hips from dropping.",
    "Keep the shoulders actively depressed away from the ears throughout the hold."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Steigere dich über den Tuck- und Grätschhalter, bevor du den vollen Halt versuchst.",
    "Spanne Bauch und Gesäß aktiv an, damit die Hüften nicht absacken.",
    "Halte die Schultern aktiv nach unten gedrückt, nicht Richtung Ohren."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Progresa con variantes de rodillas flexionadas y piernas abiertas antes del hold completo.",
    "Aprieta core y glúteos para evitar que las caderas caigan.",
    "Mantén los hombros activamente deprimidos, alejados de las orejas."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/front-lever-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "front-lever");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.