What is L-sit Tuck?

The L-sit Tuck is a medium-level calisthenics core hold on parallettes where you keep arms straight, depress the scapula, and tuck knees toward the chest. It primarily targets the core (abs and hip flexors) and requires scapular control, shoulder stability, and sustained core tension.

How to Do L-sit Tuck

  1. Set up parallettes: Place parallettes shoulder-width apart and sit between them. Grip firmly with neutral wrists and stack shoulders over hands before starting.
  2. Protract and depress: Push through your hands to protract and depress the scapula, drive shoulders down, and round the upper back to create core tension.
  3. Tuck knees in: Exhale and pull knees as close to your chest as possible while keeping straight arms and stable scapular position throughout the hold.
  4. Breathe and brace: Breathe steadily, brace your core, and avoid shrugging. Keep shoulders driven down and maintain tension across abs and hip flexors for controlled holds.
  5. Release safely: Lower your feet with control, relax shoulders and scapula, then rest. Progress by increasing hold time or moving to partial L-sit extensions.

Muscle Groups

Core

Description

Keep your arms straight. Protract and depress your scapula, round your back, separate your shoulder blades, drive your shoulders down. Bring the knees as close to your chest as possible, maintain that positioning in the extremes of those ranges for the amount of time specified.

Movement Group

Core

Required Equipment

Parallettes

Progressions and Regressions

None

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of the L-sit Tuck?

The L-sit Tuck builds core and hip flexor strength, improves scapular control and shoulder stability, and teaches body tension and compression. It transfers to straight-leg L-sits and gymnastic holds while enhancing posture and core endurance.

What common mistakes should I avoid with the L-sit Tuck?

Common mistakes include folding at the hips instead of tucking, shrugging shoulders, bent elbows, and holding the breath. Fix these by keeping arms straight, driving shoulders down, bracing the core, and practicing shorter controlled holds with focused breathing.

How do I progress or find alternatives to the L-sit Tuck?

Progress by increasing hold time, doing single-leg tuck holds, then one-leg extensions and straight-leg L-sits. Alternatives include hollow holds, tucked knee raises on parallettes, seated leg raises, or supported L-sits on boxes to reduce load while building strength.