Warm-up + L-sits (skill-of-the-month)

Wod

4 rounds
12 med-ball cleans
20 double-unders

Last done 6/12/09

The L-Sit. Some of you may perform these with ease while others may find it rather difficult. Well if you fall in the ladder have no fear!! I am here to explain this movement to you guys and I am going to give you some incite in to how you can go about practicing it!

But before I get into practicing it let me explain what the L-sit is, and the benefits it can provide us as active Crossfitters.

1. What is the L-sit? The L-sit is a core isometric contraction exercise. It's performed with both arms locked out at the sides (kept close to the torso at all times), then the athlete/trainee puts his/her legs straight on in front of them and holds that position for a certain amount of time.

2. What are the benefits of the L-sit? CORE STRENGTH. CORE STRENGTH. CORE STRENGTH.. That's right. It develops a heaping amount of isometric core strength. The longer you can hold this position the better off you are as an athlete/trainee. Think about it. Crossfit is a program built around compound movements (i.e. movements that involve more than 1 joint movement) and all athletes need a strong core in order to perform compound lifts. Look at your core as the foundation of a house/building. A weak foundation provides little stability to a house or building. A stronger core means a better squat, press, deadlift and just about any other exercise we perform at Crossfit. EMBRACE THE L-SIT PEOPLE!!!

3. How can we practice this new and amazing movement? EASY!! The L-sit is such a great exercise simply because it requires virtually no equipment. You can practice this movement with paralettes, 2 chairs, or even between 2 boxes. The key to practicing this movement is actually setting aside some time to work on it. This can be done in the comfort of your own home or at the gym. For right now lets focus on practicing the L-sit during warm-ups and we'll move through a simple L-Sit progression.

• If the whole idea of even attempting an L-sit seems impossible, start with what we call L-tucks. Theses can be performed between 2 chairs. Focus on keeping your arms/shoulders locked out and keeping your legs tucked into your chest for as long as possible. Time yourself and try to get yourself up to at least a minute of holding the tucked position.
• Once the tucked position seems easy enough move onto alternating legs in and out. By this I mean sticking out the right leg for a few seconds while the left leg stays tucked, and then switching legs back and forth. (alternate between your right and left leg for at least a minute).
• Once alternating your legs in and out seems easy it's now time to attempt the FULL l-sit. Try to stick BOTH legs out at the same time and holding the position as long as you possibly can, lets work on 30 seconds. Once you can hold this position for a minute or more try experimenting with it on the paralettes, rings, or even on the ground with no equipment at all.