Front lever

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The front lever is a calisthenics move that uses your core strength to lift your body up into a flat plank. The front lever is a static hold normally performed on the still rings or on a bar. A front lever is performed by lowering from an inverted hang until the body is completely horizontal and straight with the front of the body facing upwards. An accomplished gymnast may also pull directly into the horizontal position from a dead hang. Front levers require a high degree of back and core strength. The move is rated A in the gymnastic code of points, a scale from A to F, with F being the most difficult. In the 1960s the move was rated B, when the levels of difficulty were A, B, and C. Evidently the athlete's body length is a factor in point scoring as world class gymnasts are shorter now than during the mid 20th century: For example, the top American gymnast in 1956 was John Beckner at 1.85m, whereas the 2004 Olympic champion American gymnast, Paul Hamm, is 1.68m. Ultimately, more skilled athletes can complicate the exercise by performing it with only one arm or by spreading the arms wider for more difficulty. By increasing the width of the hands in relation to the shoulders, the angle of inclination of the arms will increase which will cause the dorsals to activate more as well as the rear deltoids. In this way, the arms can be opened to the point where the person is completely parallel to the ground including the arms. This is considered another more difficult exercise in gymnastics, it is the Victorian cross. It is rated E in the FIG code of points.