The front lever is an isometric hold where the body is held horizontally face-up while hanging from a bar. It requires extreme lat, core, and posterior chain strength, with the body held as a perfectly horizontal and rigid line from shoulders to toes. The tuck front lever, in which the knees are tucked to the chest, is the first progression and develops lat strength, core stability, and scapular depression. From there, the path runs through the advanced tuck with the knees slightly away from the chest, a single-leg version with one leg extended, the straddle front lever with legs spread to reduce the lever arm, and finally the full front lever. Each progression extends the lever arm, requiring progressively more strength.
The back lever is the face-down counterpart to the front lever, with the body held horizontally face-down while hanging from rings or a bar. It demands significant bicep tendon strength, shoulder extension flexibility, and core stability, and progress should be slow to avoid bicep tendon injury. It is essential to start with the German hang, hanging face-up with arms externally rotated behind the body, to condition shoulder extension and the bicep tendons before progressing further. The back lever progression runs through the German hang, tuck back lever, advanced tuck back lever, single-leg back lever, straddle back lever, and full back lever. The skin the cat, which involves hanging from a bar or rings, lifting the legs through the arms, and rotating backward into a German hang, builds the shoulder flexibility, grip strength, and shoulder extension needed for back lever work.
The planche is an isometric hold where the body is held horizontally face-down supported only by the hands on the ground, making it one of the most difficult bodyweight strength skills. It requires immense shoulder, chest, and core strength. The planche lean is the starting point, performed in a push-up position with the hands by the hips and the body leaning forward to shift weight over the hands. The further forward you lean, the harder it becomes, building the shoulder and wrist strength needed for the next stage. The tuck planche is the first real planche progression, with the body supported on straight arms, knees tucked to the chest, hips level with shoulders, and feet off the ground, demanding significant protraction strength and balance. The progression then moves to the advanced tuck planche, straddle planche with legs extended to the sides in a V-shape, and finally the full planche. Most people require two to five or more years of dedicated training to achieve a full planche.
Several other static and dynamic holds complete the picture. The L-sit is performed on the floor, parallettes, or bars with arms straight and legs held horizontal in front, requiring core strength, hip flexor strength, and hamstring flexibility. Holding for ten to thirty seconds is a typical target, with progressions running from a foot-supported L-sit, to a tuck L-sit with knees bent, to a single-leg L-sit, to a full L-sit, and finally to a V-sit, in which the legs are raised above horizontal to form a V-shape with the torso. The dragon flag, popularized by Bruce Lee, is performed lying on a bench with the hands gripping behind the head, raising the body into a straight line from shoulders to toes and lowering slowly; progress runs from tuck to straddle to full. The human flag involves gripping a vertical pole with two hands and holding the body horizontally to the side, requiring extreme oblique, lat, and shoulder strength, with progressions from tuck to straddle to full. The iron cross is an extremely advanced ring hold with arms extended straight out to the sides and the body vertical, requiring immense shoulder adduction and stabilization strength and taking years of dedicated training. All of these skills share a foundation in straight-arm strength, which builds joint and tendon strength rather than just muscle, since connective tissue adapts more slowly than muscle and progressions must be patient.