Testing my maxes: L sits & Pull Ups!
Following on from Wednesday’s testing of Skin The Cats & Handstand Push ups, it was time to test my L-sit and Pull up, as part of Calisthenic Movement’s level 5 program.
Originally it was supposed to be L-sit and pistol squats but my legs just weren’t having that today, thanks to some decent amount of mobility work done in the sun yesterday. The legs and glutes were feeling sore and stiff so I opted to substitute pistols for one of the 2 moves on the final test day; the mighty pull up.
The L-sit is one of my stronger moves. Previously (7 weeks ago) I managed 41 seconds. I do my L-sits on a set of cheap push up handles I have. The benefit of using these over dip bars or parallettes is they allow much less room for cheating. If your feet sag too much, you hit the floor and it’s game over!
45 seconds with pretty solid form overall. I’m looking for the big 60 seconds in the near future.
Next up was the pull ups. I’ve had the slowest progress on these overall but I’m not too bothered because I try to keep my form as strict as possible and only pull from an absolute dead hang.
Last time I managed 13 reps with a little too much forward leg travel for my liking. This time, I was much more satisfied with my form.
14 reps. I was going to try for a 15th but I know my technique would’ve gone south. Very happy with my progress overall. It may seem very small but when you’re using a program that’s full body and not specifically tailored to increasing L-sits and pull ups, these increases aren’t to be sniffed at.
To recap:
- L-sit from 41 seconds – 45 seconds
- Pull up from 13 reps to 14 reps with better form overall
On Sunday I will be testing maximum parallel bar dips and pistol squats. Then it’s one final push to finish Calisthenic Movement’s level 5 program.
For a full detailed review of Calisthenic Movement’s level 4 program, CLICK HERE. For more information on the programs and products Calisthenic Movement offer, follow THIS LINK.
See you guys on Sunday!
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JR @ Straight-Talking-Fitness View All
The 'brains' behind StraightTalkingFitness, a site all about discovery that leads to strength in all formats; fitness, mental, emotional and spiritual. Everything starts from within and projects outwards. Master the body, master anything and everything.
Wow, impressive!
Thanks Eva!
Nice to see someone doing heaves without using momentum – true muscle strength.
Thanks 🙂 I try and be as meticulous as possible when it comes to pull up form. I can’t stand people counting ultra high rep counts with momentum or reduced range of motion!
How about L-sit on the floor?
People asked that on reddit. I only used them handles because I used them when I first tested my L sit. I just wanted to keep the test conditions the same.
I understand, I was jus curious how big is the difference in hold time.
I’m curious too now. I’ve held a 20 second floor L sit without too much trouble before, and that was a while ago. Realistically, I think 30 would be a tough barrier to break.
I’ll test in on Sunday 🙂
Cool 🙂 Please share the result 🙂
Those L sits are fantastic. I have been thinking of getting parallettes but I’ll start practicing on pushup bars.
Thanks! I will try and start testing mine on the floor from now on, as that’s even harder. Can you do a full L sit yet?
Very very short if i do it well. Starting with 1 leg up and 1leg on floor and alternating for time.
That’s a good way to start. Even doing them on a set of parallel bars that have a fair bit of clearance under them, so that you can let the legs ‘droop’ a little bit. Then over time, you can try and raise them higher.
Another good one is L sit swings – using some momentum to go higher than you normally could, and then try and slow down the lowering phase. I’ve used them for V sit training.
Great idea, thanks! I’ve also been using kettlebells to act as make shift parallettes, higher than the push up bars
I’ve seen the kettlebell method before, it’s a good one. Make sure you keep us updated with your progress!
You’re a machine. Nice work.
Haha! Thanks for the appreciation 🙂