Back Lever Exercise: Target Your Back, Core, and Arms Effectively

The back lever will challenge you to your core (no puns intended). It is a challenging gymnastics strength movement (at least for the average gym-goer) that is hard to master and requires a lot of skill and practice. 

Unlike most other core exercises where the risk of injury is minimal, failing at the back lever can cause you to crash on your pretty face, with insufficient time to break the fall with your arms. Failing on a back lever is like going into a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather with your hands tied behind your back. 

Don’t get us wrong. We are not here to scare you away from the back lever. Instead, we are conveying the risks, so you understand the gravity of the situation (again, no puns intended). 

We want to ensure that you sit up and take notes about this exercise and focus your energies on performing this exercise with the perfect form. It will help minimize the risk of injury and will help you get the best bang for your buck. 

This article is a beginner-friendly guide to performing the back lever with the correct form. It covers benefits, progression, and tips to help you perform better at this calisthenics exercise. We also include the common mistakes people make while doing this exercise so that you can stay clear of them. 

What is a Back Lever?

A back lever is a static hold exercise performed on the pull-up bar or gymnastics rings. This exercise is rated as an ‘A’ value skill on the gymnastics Code of Points. The scale runs from A to F, with F being the most difficult. Also, it is one of the three lever exercises in calisthenics, including the front lever and planche. 

The back lever is a compound movement involving multiple muscle groups. It requires an exerciser to lower from an inverted hang until their body is parallel to the ground and facing the floor.

The main muscle groups recruited while performing the back lever are the back, core, shoulders, chest, and forearms. Doing the back lever with the correct form requires strength and flexibility in your primary muscle groups. 

Muscles Worked During Back Lever

Here are the muscles worked in the back lever: 

• Shoulders: Your deltoids must work with your back and other muscles to support your body weight and keep your arms straight.
• Core: Your abs and obliques will work in full swing to keep your body horizontal and parallel with the floor. You must keep your core contracted throughout the exercise to hold the position for the maximum time.
• Back: The lats, rhomboids, traps, and scapula work together to stabilize your body during this exercise.
• Chest: The chest is a secondary muscle group in this exercise. It helps stabilize your body and maintain proper form. The contracted shoulder blades and back result in chest activation.
• Glutes: You must keep your legs extended and parallel to the floor in this exercise. Contacting your glutes will help maintain this position.
• Forearms: The back lever will test your grip strength. You’ll be holding onto your body weight in an awkward position.

Benefits of Back Lever

Adding the back lever to your exercise arsenal entails the following advantages:

Improved Upper Body Strength

The back lever demands full upper-body engagement, including the shoulders, back, chest, abs, and arms. Regular practice can improve upper body strength, which can carry over to other exercises and day-to-day activities. 

Increased Core Stability and Strength

The back lever requires a significant amount of core strength and stability. Since the back lever engages your abs and obliques, it can further improve your core strength and stability. 

Enhanced Flexibility

Forget about performing the back lever if you are as flexible as a barbell. A little bit of whip isn’t going to cut it on the back lever. Performing the back lever can improve mobility in your chest, shoulders, back, and hips. 

Better Posture

Most of us spend the majority of our day bent over a smartphone or computer screen. Staying in a poor posture for a prolonged period can cause you to develop a hunchback. The back lever is the antidote for a hunched back as it requires you to pull back your shoulders and back. 

Improved Balance

The back lever promotes spine alignment and improves your posture, improving overall balance and stability. Since this is a multi-step exercise, it also helps improve your hand-eye coordination. 

How To Do Back Lever

The back lever is a challenging exercise. Beginners must be patient with it and focus on perfecting their form instead of forcing themselves into the position. 

Steps:

1. Start by hanging from a pull-up bar with your hands shoulder-width apart using a pronated (palms facing forward) grip.
2. Slowly bring your knees up towards your chest while squeezing your glutes and engaging your core. Your torso should be perpendicular to the floor at this position.
3. Thread your legs under the pull-up bar and lower them toward the floor.
4. Stop when your torso is parallel to the floor.
5. Pull out your chest and extend your legs straight behind you while keeping your arms straight.
6. Hold your body in a straight line from your head to your heels.
7. Contract your core and glutes and focus on maintaining your body in a straight line.
8. Return to the starting position by reversing the movement.
9. You could have a time target for this exercise or repeat this movement for the desired number of repetitions.

Pro Tips:

1. If you are a beginner, focus on holding the position for as long as possible. It will help build core strength, stability, and mobility. Trying to do more reps from the beginning can be overwhelming as this exercise has many moving parts, meaning a lot can go wrong.
2. Beginners should start performing this exercise on a pull-up bar. Using gymnastics rings adds instability, which can make this exercise harder. Notably, exercise rings can be easier on your joint than the pull-up bar.
3. Have a training partner or a coach analyze your form. Being upside down can cause you to lose the sense of your body’s position while performing this exercise. A spotter can help you correct your position. Regular practice will help you get a feel for when you are in the optimal position.
4. Place cushions or exercise mats under the pull-up bar to soften the blow if you lose grip.
5. Perform core exercises like the plank, hollow body hold, and reverse hollow hold to improve your core strength. These exercises will help you get better at the back lever.

Common Mistakes While Performing Back Lever

Below are the most frequent back lever errors:

Incorrect Hand Placement

You must hold the pull-up bar with a shoulder-wide grip to ensure optimal stability. Holding it too wide can throw off your balance by putting your shoulders in an unnatural position and reducing your core engagement. 

Grabbing the bar with a narrow grip will hinder your exercise performance. You need enough space between your arms so your body can pass through, meaning you need at least a shoulder-wide grip. 

Keeping Your Arms Perpendicular To The Floor

Your arms should be at a 30-degree angle with the bar while holding the back lever. Many beginners make the mistake of keeping their arms extended below the pull-up bar. If your shoulders are under the bar, you’ll have difficulty keeping your body parallel to the floor. 

Locking your arms at an angle ensure that your hips are under the bar. This position provides a better center of gravity that allows you to maintain your body in a straight line from head to toe. If you have your shoulders under the bar, you’ll have to engage your core to a greater extent to hold the position. 

Bending Your Arms

Bending your elbows while performing the back lever will make you raise your hips to balance your body. If you bend your arms, you cannot keep your body straight while performing this exercise. Straight arms also allow better core stability.

Arching Your Back

This is one of the most common beginner mistakes. Arching your back will not allow you to extend your body straight and can put unnecessary strain on your back and shoulder, increasing your odds of injury. Many trainers also end up in this uncomfortable position because of a lack of flexibility. You must follow a proper warm-up routine before performing the back lever. 

Keeping Your Legs Bent

Extending your legs straight behind you is the last step in completing the back lever. Many beginners lack the core strength or back stability to extend their knees straight. The result is a position that looks like the advanced tuck back lever, a great exercise to progress toward the back lever, but you must eventually get over it. 

Rushing Through The Movement

Many exercises try to get into the back lever as soon as they grab the bar. It is usually because these folks think their grip strength will give out before their core. The hurried motion, however, puts them in an injury-prone position. You must use a slow, controlled motion to ensure optimal stability and form. 

Back Lever Progression

Since the back lever is a complex exercise, attempting it after learning about it for the first time can increase your odds of injury. You must follow a progression program to ensure you have enough strength, stamina, and flexibility to do and hold the back lever. 

Since we are working toward the back lever, these progression exercises will follow a similar range of motion. Taking one step at a time is the key to working up to a back lever. Here is the step-by-step progression:

1. Skin The Cat

As graphic as this exercise might sound, skin the cat is one of the best exercises to build flexibility, mobility, core strength, and stability for the back lever. 

Steps:

1. Hang from a pull-up bar with a shoulder-wide overhand grip.
2. Your body from head to toe should be in a straight line at the starting position.
3. Bend your legs at your knees and bring them to your chest.
4. Raise your hips toward the ceiling and push the bar away while keeping your elbows locked.
5. Thread your feet under the bar and lower them toward the floor over your head as far as possible.
6. Hold this position.
7. Return to the starting position.

2. Tuck Back Lever

In the tuck back lever, you follow the same movement as the back lever but don’t extend your legs at the bottom. 

Steps:

1. Hold the bar with a shoulder-wide overhand grip.
2. Pull your knees to your chest.
3. Thread your legs under the bar and lower them toward the floor.
4. At the bottom, your back should be parallel to the floor, and your legs should be bent at your knees so that your upper legs are under your chest and your ankles are under your hips.
5. Round your back slightly for better lat engagement.
6. Hold this position for as long as possible.
7. Return to the starting position.

3. Advanced Tuck Back Lever

As the name implies, the advanced tuck back lever takes the tuck back lever to the next level. It puts more focus on your core. 

Steps:

1. Get into a tuck back lever position by following the steps mentioned above.
2. Straighten your back and pull your hips toward the ceiling.
3. At the top of the movement, your upper legs should be perpendicular to the floor, and your ankles should be next to your hips.
4. Hold this position for as long as possible.
5. Return to the starting position.

4. Legs Bent Straddle Back Lever

If you thought the advanced tuck back lever was hard, the legs bent straddle back lever will set your core on fire. 

Steps:

1. Assume the advanced tuck back lever position using the steps mentioned above.
2. While keeping your heels touching, spread your knees as wide as possible.
3. Lift your heels toward the ceiling until they are above your hip level.
4. Your torso should be parallel to the floor throughout the exercise.
5. Hold for as long as possible.

5. Legs Bent Back Lever

After you complete the legs bent straddle back lever, you are at arm’s length from doing the back lever. If you can do the legs bent back lever, you can do the straddle back lever and the back lever in the same session. 

Steps:

1. Get into a tuck back position.
2. Straighten your back and pull your hips toward the ceiling.
3. Lift your knees until they are in line with your torso.
4. Keep your legs bent. Your lower legs should be perpendicular to the floor at the top.
5. Hold the position for as long as possible.

6. Straddle Back Lever

This is the final progression exercise for the back lever. 

Steps:

1. From the legs bent back lever position, extend your knees as wide as possible while keeping an upright torso. 
2. Extend your legs straight.
3. Hold this position for as long as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a gym newbie perform a back lever?

Yes, beginners with the required flexibility, mobility, and muscle and core strength can do the back lever. You must always warm up before attempting the back lever to avoid pulling a muscle while performing the exercise. Ask a professional to guide you through the exercise to reduce the risk of injury.

How can I make the back lever exercise harder?

Most people never use additional weight on the back level. You can, however, use extra resistance like weighted vests or ankle weights.

How can I reduce the risk of injury while performing the back lever?

The back lever is a safe exercise if done with the correct form. Beginners must perform the exercise under expert supervision. Also, you can place exercise mats, cushions, or soft plyo boxes under the pull-up bar or gymnastics rings if you fear falling. Use chalk for a better grip on the bar or rings.

How often should I practice the back lever?

It will depend on your goals and experience level. Beginners should start with one session per week. Increase the frequency as you get better at the lift. You must give your muscles enough time to recuperate.

Wrapping Up

Mastering the back lever can take time, patience, and hard work, as you need considerable strength, stability, and flexibility. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t nail the exercise on your first or even the fiftieth try. Keep chipping at it.

Use the progression exercises listed in this article to improve your form and technique. Seeking help from a professional can shorten your learning curve and reduce your risk of injury. Best of luck!

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