Q: What do you see when you look at the physique of an Olympic male gymnast?

A: You probably didn’t have to look very hard to notice those insane triceps attached to a mountain of a shoulder, and of course, a set of rippling abs. Despite their impressive development, though, gymnasts don’t lift weights. They do, however, use their own body weight as resistance, and while it would be difficult to replicate many of the gymnasts’ signature moves in a conventional gym, there is one you can do that will target your triceps and abs like no other exercise: the L-sit.


To perform an L-sit, position yourself between the parallettes, set shoulder-width apart. Using a firm, neutral grip, push your body off the ground, locking your elbows as if you’re at the top of a dip exercise. Make sure to keep your shoulders down as you lock your knees and hold your legs together tightly, forming a 90-degree angle with your torso. Your legs should be parallel to the ground. Now hold…and hold…keep going. Is it at least 20 seconds yet?


So your first attempt at an L-sit made you feel like a little girl. You can work your way up by trying the following intermediary variations.

Chair L-Sit
You will need a dip station or something higher than most parallettes for this easier version of an L-sit. It’s the same as a regular L-sit, except your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. You’ll look like you’re sitting in an invisible chair in the end position.

Tuck L-Sit
This variation looks similar to the chair L-sit, except you tuck your knees close to your chest rather than having your thighs parallel to the ground. You’ll notice that this variation taxes the core, rear deltoids, and triceps significantly more.

One-Leg Straight L-Sit
This progression is a cross between a tuck L-sit and a regular L-sit. One leg is extended straight out while the other is tucked in. Be sure to alternate legs when training. You can also do a “bicycle” variation, in which the legs alternate during the set.


Advanced L-Sit
When performing an L-sit, most people round their shoulders and back. The advanced version requires you to keep your shoulder blades back and chest out, which is much harder.

The V-sit is the variation in which your legs are much higher than parallel. This is not only a great muscle-building exercise but will also turn heads in your gym. Work up to this by mastering (holding for 20–30 seconds) the other moves on the list above.  

L-Sits on Rings
You might want to give this variation a try if there’s a set of gymnastic rings in your gym (only after you’re proficient with a normal L-sit on parallettes). The instability of the rings makes this same exercise exponentially harder.

Chan Lien is a presenter, trainer, and mindset coach based in New York City.