Skills
Elbow lever
From the diagonal elbow lever to the one-arm elbow lever with a straight body.
- Steps
- 6
- Levels
- N3–N8
- The goal
- One arm
- Crosses with
- 90° push-up · Ab wheel
Before you start
The only level 6 step is on rings: that is why the one-arm step also opens without rings.
The main path
EL-1Level 3
Diagonal
In the elbow lever grip, toes on the floor, body straight and inclined.
- Achievement
- 10 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 30 s
More about this step
Good to have first
- Ab wheel · Long plank: 60 s — Trunk stiffness.
If it won't come today
- Just load the elbows in the elbow lever grip.
EL-2Level 4
Bent knees
Feet off the floor, knees bent.
- To start
- Diagonal: 30 s
- Achievement
- 3 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 30 s
More about this step
If it won't come today
- With the feet against the wall.
- Diagonal
EL-3Level 5
Two arms
Both elbows against the belly at navel height, palms forward, body horizontal and straight, legs together. On the floor, parallel bars or a bar it counts the same.
- To start
- Bent knees: 15 s
- Achievement
- 3 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 30 s
More about this step
If it won't come today
EL-4Level 6
Rings
The two-arm elbow lever on rings.
- To start
- Two arms: 15 s
- Achievement
- 3 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 15 s
More about this step
If it won't come today
EL-5Level 7
One arm, legs apart
One elbow against the belly, legs apart.
- Achievement
- 3 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 15 s per side
More about this step
If it won't come today
EL-6Level 8The goal
One arm
One elbow against the belly, body straight.
- To start
- One arm, legs apart: 8 s
- Achievement
- 3 s
- Mastery
- 3 × 10 s per side
More about this step
If it won't come today
Training it
Reference, not a prescription.
How it's trained
From the plank to 3 sets of 30 s
It is built in 11 steps, each with a goal: it starts with 3 sets of 60 s plank holds, goes through the grip and the diagonal elbow lever, and ends with 3 sets of 30 s of the full one. The in-between shapes, one leg or knees bent, ask for 3 sets of 9 to 15 s.
Prepare the body
A solid plank and elbows against the abs
The base is a solid 60 s plank. In the elbow lever the elbows rest against the abdomen, at navel height, and the body stays horizontal and straight.
When to stop
Wrist pain still there the next day
It is the joint that complains most when the weight is on the hands: more than half of people who practice handstands have chronic wrist pain. If the pain is still there the next day, the previous step or parallettes, which keep the wrist straighter, load it less. Under 18, see a doctor.
Elbow pain
If the elbow hurts, the one-leg or bent-knee shape loads it less: a shorter body puts less weight on the elbows. That day, go back to it.
Pain that gets worse
Discomfort up to 2 or 3 out of 10 can be tolerated if it does not get worse during the session, afterwards or the next day. If it goes past that or gets worse, stop for the day.
How to read it
Every step has three marks. “To start” is what you want to have before training it, measured on the previous step or on another progression. The achievement is the first clean one, and mastery is repeating it within a single workout: “3 × 8 reps” means three sets of eight in one session.
Levels run from N0 to N16: N1 to N4 beginner, N5 to N8 intermediate, N9 to N12 advanced and N13 to N16 elite; N0 covers the steps before that.
Added weight and assistance are written as a percentage of bodyweight (BW): +18% BW is 12.5 kg if you weigh 72 kg. “Per side” means the numbers apply to each side.
When two steps sit together —“one of the two”— either one counts: whichever you do opens what comes next.
How a Skills step is counted: On holds, arms locked on straight-arm skills and no more than 20° off the line: a sagging hold does not count. Transitions end in the final position, held for 3 s. A freestanding handstand is timed from when the legs come together and stay still until the first hand step, the first foot down or a touch of the wall.
Myosin keeps track
Here's the sequence. In the app, each step ticks itself when you finish the workout that meets it: the achievement the first time, mastery when you repeat it. And when you master a step from your routine and the next one is a different exercise, it offers to swap it in.
