Back Lever

Technique

How to perform Back Lever

1. Grasp a sturdy pull‑up bar (or rings) with a shoulder‑width overhand grip and hang with your arms fully extended, legs together, and core engaged.
2. Tuck your knees toward your chest and roll backward into an inverted tuck, keeping your elbows locked and shoulders actively depressed to protect the joints.
3. Extend your hips and straighten both legs together, lowering your torso until your body forms a straight, horizontal line.
4. Face pointing toward the floor and back toward the ceiling.
5. Squeeze your glutes and quads while maintaining a hollow core.
6. Hold the back‑lever position for the prescribed time, breathing steadily and keeping your shoulder blades pulled down to stabilize the shoulders.
7. To exit, re‑tuck your legs, raise your hips slightly, and reverse the rotation to pass back through the inverted hang before returning to a controlled dead‑hang position or drop to a german hang under control.
8. Repeat for the recommended number of holds, ensuring strict form and continuous shoulder engagement throughout each rep.

GymDaze demonstration

Watch Back Lever

Programming relevance

Muscles involved

Primary targets: Latissimus Dorsi, Posterior Deltoid, Teres Major.

Calisthenics graph

Progression relationships

These relationships describe graph position, not personal readiness.