---
title: L-Sit
seo_title: How to do an L-sit
skill: hold an L-sit
track: seconds
tags:
- core
- static
image: l-sit.mp4
image_source: https://youtu.be/HxDP7SqggpI
image_credit: Vitality
image_credit_url: https://www.youtube.com/@VitalityFitnessScience
image_title: "From ZERO to L-SIT in 8 Steps | L-Sit Exercises and Progression At Home"
image_clip: https://youtu.be/HxDP7SqggpI?6:25.9-6:33.8
prerequisite: tuck-l-sit
authors:
- renec112
published: 2026-09-07
---

The full L-sit is the [tuck L-sit](/calisthenics/tuck-l-sit) with the legs paid off: arms locked, legs dead straight, 90 degrees between the two. Straightening the legs doubles the lever your core has to hold, which is why five seconds is a real goal.

## How to do it

Sit between parallettes, blocks, or chairs - extra height gives your legs room, and take your shoes off. Set your hands **at your hips**, not in front. Lock the elbows, push the ground away so your shoulders drop from your ears, and lift into a tuck. Extend one leg slowly, then the other, squeezing both straight. Then breathe - shallow, but breathe. Holding your breath ends most attempts before the strength does.

Full walkthrough:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxDP7SqggpI

*[Vitality](https://www.youtube.com/@VitalityFitnessScience) · [From ZERO to L-SIT in 8 Steps | L-Sit Exercises and Progression At Home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxDP7SqggpI)*

## Getting there from the tuck

1. **One-leg L-sit** - extend one leg, hold, swap
2. **Straddle L-sit** - both legs straight but split wide; the closer they come together, the harder
3. **Full L-sit** - tuck, lift, extend one leg, then the other

## Key tips

- **Hands at the hips.** Too far forward and you'll never find the balance point
- **Keep pushing down.** Stop pressing the shoulders away and the hips drop
- **Straight elbows, straight knees.** A bent-elbow version is a different, easier move
- **Warm the wrists up first**
- **Don't just sit there.** Once you have five seconds, add leg lifts or transitions - making it harder beats holding longer