I went in conservatively

I’ve had some experience with the L-sit during CrossFit workouts, and in these classes, we’re taught to accumulate time in the hold position. You can do this in several ways: try and hold for as long as possible, rest and repeat, or adopt Tabata-style timing, working for 20 seconds and resting for 10. 

I opted for the latter hoping that consistency would help me build up, eventually. One week won’t make huge changes to my ability or body, but this at least allowed me to measure any progress across the seven days. Besides, 20 seconds turned out to be more than enough. 

It’s one of the hardest bodyweight exercises I’ve tried

Even 20 seconds was a push, and I only just managed to stick to it throughout the week. But seriously, my muscles were on fire, and I felt a deep burn in my stomach by the third day.

The L-sit targets your quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, back, arms and shoulders, plus various core muscles like your abs, lower abs, obliques and deeper core stabilizers called the transversus abdominis. 

It’s also an isometric exercise, which means your muscles won’t lengthen or shorten because you’re not moving, just like a plank or squat hold. It’s low-impact, but that doesn’t make the gymnastics move any less fiery — there’s a reason that gymnastics are some of the fittest, strongest athletes around.

Breath is crucial

The move is commonly used in CrossFit, gymnastics, and calisthenics programs, teaching core stability, muscular strength, balance, control and coordination.

But your breath matters. I found myself holding mine during each working set, which is normal when our bodies experience tension, yet unhelpful in an exercise setting — it can raise blood pressure.

Any time I caught myself holding my breath, I practiced diaphragmatic breathing. If you haven’t heard of it before, the breathing method means “belly breathing.” Rather than breathing into the restrictive part of your chest, you expansively direct the breath toward your belly instead. Some studies have found the method can have a mind-body response, potentially reducing cortisol levels. 

I kept collapsing forward

Your hip flexor muscles are doing a lot of work to keep your legs lifted, and the move requires a degree of lower body flexibility, particularly in the hamstrings, to maintain posture. Although I have pretty decent hip mobility and flexibility, my hip flexor strength isn’t that great at times, and my heels kept dropping to the floor, sending me forward. 

If you try the exercise and find yourself throwing your legs up and down, it could indicate a lack of flexibility or strength. To do the L-sit properly, it takes control on the way up and down, and if you suffer from tight hips, hamstrings, or weak shoulders. Specifically, trouble lifting the legs could indicate tight hips, and struggling to extend the legs could be down to tight hamstrings.      

Whenever the move proved too much, I practiced a few variations — lifting one leg at a time or performing the sit with my knees tucked toward my chest and my toes pointing toward the floor. Adjustments like these can help support your body if needed (I certainly did). I also used a set of push-up bars to help elevate my body and lift my feet away from the floor while taking pressure off my wrists.

Verdict

How did I feel about the challenge? Across the week, it helped me dial into my form and take note of what my body was doing in space — something called proprioception. Over time, this is an exercise for developing muscular mind-body connections and building self-awareness of the body. 

My technique didn’t drastically improve over one week, but I felt more comfortable with the cue points I needed to focus on and my areas of weakness — my hip flexor strength. My upper body is stronger than I realized, but I need to go away and work on hip flexor mobility exercises over the next few months. 

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