The back lever is T4 in the Masters series — the horizontal hold facing down. It’s the back side of the front lever, requiring the shoulder girdle to support the body in a horizontal position with the arms above rather than below. Importantly, the back lever is more accessible than the front lever — the shoulder mechanics in the back lever position are in a range where more people have existing strength, making it often the first horizontal lever achievable.
How to Get Into It
The entry movement is the skin-the-cat: from a hang, pull your legs up, pike your body, and rotate over your hands until your body is inverted on the far side of the bar. From this inverted position, extend your body downward until it’s horizontal — that’s the back lever. The skin-the-cat is T3 work in its own right and is a prerequisite for the back lever.
Position
Arms straight above you (holding the bar), body horizontal and facing down, straight from shoulders to toes. Glutes squeezed, core braced, spine neutral. The position looks like an inverted planche — and it directly trains the shoulder extension range that pseudo planche push-ups and planche work require.
Why It Complements the Planche
The shoulder extension required in the back lever (arms behind body, pushing into a back-hanging position) is the same shoulder position required in the forward-lean of the planche. Training the back lever and planche in parallel builds balanced shoulder girdle strength in extension and the loaded overhead position simultaneously.
Progression Standards
Skin-the-cat: 3 × 5 controlled → tuck back lever holds → full back lever 5 seconds → build to 15.
Move. Groove. Repeat. Smooth.
← Tuck Planche | Next: Full Front Lever →
Move. Groove. Repeat. Smooth.
You're on your way. And we're here with you.