Human Flag

Muscles worked by the Human Flag

Primary

LatsLatissimus DorsiObliquesOblique Abdominals

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidGlutesGluteus MaximusChestPectoralis MajorAbsRectus AbdominisTricepsTriceps Brachii

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

Equipment

Pull-Up Bar

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

How to do the Human Flag

1. Stand close to a sturdy vertical pole.
2. Grip the pole high with the top hand (overhand) and lower with the bottom hand (underhand).
3. Kick the legs up and out while pressing the bottom arm hard against the pole.
4. Extend the body horizontally so it forms a straight line parallel to the ground.
5. Hold the position with the body rigid for the target time.
6. Lower under control.

Form tips

• Build up to the full flag with tucked and straddle progressions first.
• The bottom arm pushes; the top arm pulls — they balance the lever.
• Engage the lats, obliques, and glutes hard to stay rigid.

At a glance

Human Flag in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Dead Hang
• Front Lever
• Hollow Body Hold
• L Sit
• Planche
• Ring Dead Hang
• V-Sit
• Ball Pike

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": "human-flag",
  "name_en": "Human Flag",
  "name_de": "Human Flag",
  "name_es": "Human Flag",
  "description_en": "An advanced calisthenics isometric hold with the body horizontal on a vertical pole, parallel to the ground.",
  "description_de": "Ein fortgeschrittener isometrischer Calisthenics-Halt, bei dem der Körper an einer vertikalen Stange parallel zum Boden gehalten wird.",
  "description_es": "Un sostén isométrico avanzado de calistenia con el cuerpo horizontal sobre un poste vertical, paralelo al suelo.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "equipment": "pull_up_bar",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "latissimus_dorsi",
    "obliques"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "pectoralis_major",
    "rectus_abdominis",
    "triceps_brachii"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "strength",
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "calisthenics",
    "core",
    "knee_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "static-hold",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand close to a sturdy vertical pole.",
    "Grip the pole high with the top hand (overhand) and lower with the bottom hand (underhand).",
    "Kick the legs up and out while pressing the bottom arm hard against the pole.",
    "Extend the body horizontally so it forms a straight line parallel to the ground.",
    "Hold the position with the body rigid for the target time.",
    "Lower under control."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle dich nah an eine stabile vertikale Stange.",
    "Greife die Stange mit der oberen Hand hoch im Obergriff und mit der unteren Hand tiefer im Untergriff.",
    "Schwinge die Beine nach oben und außen, während du den unteren Arm kräftig gegen die Stange drückst.",
    "Strecke den Körper horizontal, sodass er eine gerade Linie parallel zum Boden bildet.",
    "Halte die Position mit fest angespanntem Körper für die Zielzeit.",
    "Senke dich kontrolliert ab."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie cerca de un poste vertical resistente.",
    "Agarra el poste arriba con la mano superior (en pronación) y abajo con la mano inferior (en supinación).",
    "Impulsa las piernas hacia arriba y afuera mientras empujas con fuerza el brazo inferior contra el poste.",
    "Extiende el cuerpo en horizontal hasta formar una línea recta paralela al suelo.",
    "Mantén la posición con el cuerpo rígido durante el tiempo objetivo.",
    "Baja de forma controlada."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Build up to the full flag with tucked and straddle progressions first.",
    "The bottom arm pushes; the top arm pulls — they balance the lever.",
    "Engage the lats, obliques, and glutes hard to stay rigid."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Taste dich über Tuck- und Straddle-Progressionen an die vollständige Ausführung heran.",
    "Der untere Arm drückt, der obere zieht — so balancierst du den Hebel.",
    "Spanne Latissimus, schräge Bauchmuskeln und Gesäß maximal an, um die Körperspannung zu halten."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Llega a la bandera completa pasando antes por progresiones agrupada y en straddle.",
    "El brazo inferior empuja y el superior tira; juntos equilibran la palanca.",
    "Activa con fuerza dorsales, oblicuos y glúteos para mantenerte rígido."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/human-flag-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 === "human-flag");

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.