Best Hold

The Iron Cross is a challenging static exercise performed on gymnastics rings. It demands exceptional upper body strength, particularly in the shoulders and chest, as the gymnast holds their arms extended horizontally. This hold is frequently utilized by elite gymnasts training for competition routi...

The Maltese Cross is a demanding strength and flexibility exercise performed on gymnastic rings. It involves maintaining a horizontal position with arms outstretched, resembling a cross shape. This hold tests exceptional core stability, upper body power, and ring proficiency. It’s typically practice...

The full planche is a gymnastic skill requiring exceptional strength and body control. It involves holding a horizontal position with the entire body weight supported by hands and feet, legs fully extended. This advanced variation represents the pinnacle of planche progression and is typically pract...

The Swallow rings hold is a complex skill within men’s artistic gymnastics. It involves an athlete maintaining a horizontal position above the rings with arms extended diagonally, demanding significant upper body strength and precise control. This difficult static hold is primarily performed by elit...

The Human Flag is an advanced acrobatic skill achieved through calisthenics. It involves maintaining a horizontal body position with full support solely from gripping a vertical pole. This requires exceptional core strength, lateral stability, and precise control. Typically practiced by experienced...

The Manna is an advanced calisthenics static hold in which an athlete sits on straight arms with legs raised parallel to the ground in front, requiring extreme wrist extension, shoulder depression, and hip flexor strength.

The Death Spiral is a pairs figure skating element in which the male partner pivots on one toe pick while rotating the female partner in a wide circle with her body nearly horizontal to the ice.

The Front Lever is a gymnastics skill on rings or a bar where the athlete holds the body horizontal and face-up below the apparatus, demanding exceptional lat and core strength.

A static strength hold in gymnastics and calisthenics in which the body is held parallel to the ground supported only by the hands, recognized as one of the most difficult upper-body isometric skills.

A planche variation in which the legs are spread apart in a straddle position; slightly less demanding than the full planche because the straddle shifts the center of mass closer to the hands.

The Back Lever is a gymnastics skill performed on rings or a bar in which the gymnast holds the body horizontal and face-down, suspended beneath the apparatus by straight arms.

The Elbow Lever is a calisthenics static hold in which the athlete balances the body horizontally with the elbows pressed into the abdomen and the hands flat on the floor, making it one of the more accessible straight-body levers for beginners.