The L-sit is an acrobatic body position in which all body weight rests on the hands, with the
torso
The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...
held in a slightly forward-leaning orientation, with legs held horizontally so that each leg forms a nominal right-angle with the torso. The right-angle causes the body to have a notable "L" shape, hence the name "L-sit". It requires significant abdominal strength.
When executing an L-sit, a variety of supports may be used by the performer, including gymnastics apparatus such as the
floor
A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from wikt:hovel, simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the ex ...
,
rings,
parallel bars
Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars approximately long and positioned at above the floor. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally wear ...
or
parallettes
Parallettes are small gymnastics devices, employed in pairs, used primarily to simulate the parallel bars that can be found in professional gymnasiums. Parallettes are similar to push-up bars or dip bars, but they are generally longer than the fo ...
, or the hands of an
adagio partner.
The performer's legs may be held together in front of the body or, in a variant called the ''straddled L-sit'', the legs may be separated so that they straddle the arms.
Similar positions
The ''V-sit'' is similar to the L-sit except that the legs are raised further, so that the feet are held above the hips. In the even more difficult ''manna'', the legs continue to rotate up and back until the torso is raised and the hips are held above the shoulders.
References
{{reflist
Human positions
Static elements (gymnastics)