A pull-up with the legs held straight out in front, like an L-sit hanging from the bar. It's a way to make pull-ups harder without adding weight.
The catch isn't the abs. Flexing the hips pulls on the fascia that connects to your lats, so they start every rep more stretched - and muscles are weaker at long lengths. Your centre of mass also shifts forward, so you either open the shoulders more (stretching the lats further) or lean back slightly like a mini front lever. Either way, the first inch out of the bottom is the hard part.
How to do it
Hang from the bar, lift the legs to horizontal and lock the knees. Pull your chin over the bar without letting the legs drop, then lower to fully straight arms. Chin-up grip works the same way.
Why it's harder, explained:
Video by Vitality
Key tips
- Legs don't drift down as you fatigue. If they do, the set is over
- Expect the bottom of each rep to feel stuck. That's the lats working at a longer length, which may also grow them more
- Combine with weight or a one-side bias once plain L-sit repsShort for repetitions - the number of times you perform a movement in a row without resting. One push-up is one rep; doing eight push-ups in a row is eight reps. are easy