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 Table of Contents

Glossary 2

Introduction 3

Prerequisites 4

Mechanics 5

Technical Advice 10

Training Program 12

1
 Gloassary
Applied Force - The force applied by a
person/object, eg. pushing/pulling.

Exert - To apply by pushing or pulling.

Tension - The force transimtted through a rope/wire

when it is pulled tight by objects acting from
opposite ends.

Lever - Rigid rod/beam used to amplify/change

direction of applied force (bones/arms/legs).

Fulcrum - The turning point of the lever (pivot)

Load - Resistence (object we need to exert force

against)

Effort - Applied Force

Torque - Force that causes rotation

Equilibrium - An object being in a balanced state.

All forces acting on the object add up to zero and
cancel out, therefore leaving the object stationary.

2
 Introduction
The human flag is perhaps one of the most coolest
calisthenics skill. It is the easiest skill to master
(after the handstand) and is a unique method to
activate your muscles.

Proceed with the methods mentioned in this ebook

only after you have mastered the basics (push-ups,
pull-ups & dips). Failing to do so may caise you
severe injuries.

Before training for the human flag, make sure you

have a strong foundation (hypertrophy and
strength). If you want to know how to build your
foundation for calisthenics, then start here.

Now that you have a strong foundation for the

human flag, we can dive into the mechanics and
prerequisites of the human flag.

3
 Prerequisites
Before training for the human flag, you need to be
able to exert a force 0.86× your own bodyweight.
This is an important prerequisite before training for
the human flag.

The prerequisites are:

•10 seconds hang on one arm
•10 seconds one-arm wall-assisted handstand (the
wall only takes away 3% of your body weight)

But why are these exercises necessary? Because

when performing the human flag, one arm will be
pulling the bar (upper arm) and the other arm will
be pushing the bar (lower arm). Hence why we
implement the one-arm hang and the one-arm wall-
assisted handstand. These will be crucial to build
strength and prepare your muscles and joints for
the human flag.

Note: The prerequisites I mentioned are NOT equal

to the human flag. You will need to build a strong
foundation first, as other muscles are invovled in
this skill as well (rotator cuffs, deltoids, pectoralis,
trapezius, lattimus, obliques, abdominal).

4
 Mechanics
Just like any other calisthenics skill, the human flag
involves physics concepts (levers, torque) that affect
performance. This will allow us to better
understand the human flag and use these concepts
to our advantage.

First let's take a look at Newton's 3rd law.

This means that when you are holding the bar to

perform the human flag, the bar will exert an
oppositely directed force of equal magnitude. The
diagram below illustrates this scenario.

F = Force
Dark blue = Applied Force
Turquoise = Force applied by pole

5
Additionally, Newton's 1st law states that:
An object will remain in its state of rest or
motion at constant velocity unless a non-zero
resultant force acts on the object.
In simple terms, this means that if an object is not
moving it is in equilibrium (all the forces are
balanced). Simply because all the forces acting on
the object are equal and balanced. Meaning that you
need to exert the same amount of force on the pole
that gravity is exerting on your body, in order to
remain stationary (equilibrium).

To understand this better, take a look at this

diagram:
Note: We can also use
the force applied by the
person as an applied
force, but let's use the
force exerted by the
bar, as per Newton's
3rd law.
As you can see, in order to remain stationary
(equilibrium), you will need to exert the same force
of your bodyweight onto the bar whilst doing the
human flag (the arrows are the verical component
of the force that the bar exerts on the person. Both
these forces should add up and be equal to the force
exerted by gravity on the person (weight).
6
Let's apply levers to the picture.

The human flag offers a mechanical advantage as it

is a first class lever.

If we apply the concept of levers in the human flag,

here's what it should look like.

E
E = Effort
F F = Fulcrum
L L = Load

Effort being the pull and push forces that we

exert with our arms.
Fulcrum being the pivotal point (shoulders) of
our lever (arms+body).
Load being our bodyweight that we need to act
against.

7
We can formulate an equation using the forces
active in the human flag:

The vertical component of the pulling force exerted

by the bar + the vertical component of the pushing
force exerted by the bar = total weight of your body
(weight in Newtons).

θ = angle
between
arm and
pole

Using this equation, you can track your progress to

see if the forces you exert are equal to your
bodyweight, and wether or not you are ready to
perform the human flag.

Now let me ask you a question. If θ (theta) is

smaller, ie. holding the bar at a smaller angle, does
that make the human flag easier?

If your answer is no, then you are correct. You see,

it's really difficult to perform a human flag with
your arms parallel to the pole, because there is a
second concept we need to look at: torque.

8
Torque is a rotational force. When you perform the
human flag, you will notice that there is a shoulder
abduction of the pulling arm to stabilise the
shoulder. This will cause a rotation in your
abdomen. This diagram will help you understand it
better.

The net (total) torque between the points of contact

should be equal to the net torque on your body.

As you can see, both of your arms that are pushing

and pulling the bar cause a torque, and in return,
your body is in a torque.

If these forces are equal, then you will remain in

equilibrium, else you would be spinning around.

It gets more complicated then this but let's end it

here. I don't want to bore you with all the physics.

9
 Technical Advice
Calisthenics is heavilly dependant on 3 main
factors:

• Body proportions (arm, torso, legs length)

• Muscle mass
• Strength

Without these 3 key elements, you will have a hard

time grasping advanced skills. The shorter you are,
the easier skills will become, as your centre of mass
(COM) is closer to your upper body. But keep in
mind the weight of your legs, the heavier they are
the more strength you will need.

Before performing the human flag, warm-up

carefully with my Warm-up & Mobility ebook. Not
warming up can cause severe injuries.

Make sure that you train hip mobility as well,

because in the human flag position your muscles
are tensed, that includes your hip abductors. Having
weak hip abductors will cause other muscles (lower
back) to compensate for the strength and hold your
body up. This will cause back pain and you won't
have any clue how it happened.

10
Make sure you can perform the prerequisites and
have the basics down before proceeding. The easiest
way to build a base for achieving the human flag is
practicing the prerequisites I mentioned earlier
(only if you can do the basics).

For the human flag grip, the upper hand should be

in a pronated grip and the bottom one should be in
a supinated grip. This is called the Human Flag Grip.

You must keep legs as straight as possible and hold

them higher than parallel to the ground, in order to
maintain the human flag position.

Your muscles will be in strain when holding the

human flag, so make sure to give your body the rest
it needs (minimum 48 hours).

Now it's time to get into the main workout. You can
perform this workout on your push days
twice/thrice a week.

11
 Training Program(warm-up)
Banded Front Lateral Raises 2x6

Difficulty
Easy

Hold the band at your side with a supinated

grip. Push your arm forward and back. Do
this for 2 sets of 6 reps.

Banded Pec Flies 2x6

Difficulty
Easy

Hold the band wide above your head. Drive

your arms around you and touch your hands
together. Repeat 2 sets for 6 reps.

12
 Training Program
Scapular Pull-ups 4x8

Difficulty
Easy

Hold the bar in a pronated grip and hang.

Depress your scapula whilst keeping your
arms straight.

Side Plank Raises 4x8

Difficulty
Easy

Hold the bar in a pronated grip with your

upper hand and the lower hand should be
pronated flat on the ground. Keep your legs
together. Raise your abdomen as well as
your upper leg & return to origin. Repeat for
4 sets of 8 reps.
13
Wide Pull-ups 4x8

Difficulty
Medium

Hold the bar in a pronated wide grip. Do

pull-ups as you normally would. Repeat this
exercise for 4 sets of 8 reps.

Archer Pull-ups 3x5

Difficulty
Hard

Hold the bar in a pronated wide grip. Pull

yourself to one hand only. One arm should
be parallel to the bar, while the other one
should be perpendicular to the bar. Repeat
this exercise for 3 sets of 5 reps.

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Window Wipers 3x6

Difficulty
Hard

Hold the bar in a pronated wide grip while

hanging. Do an L-sit and move your legs
from right to left. Repeat this exercise for 3
sets of 6 reps.

Human Flag Kip-ups 3x4

Difficulty
Hard

With your upper hand, hold the bar in a

pronated grip. With your lower hand, hold
the bar in a supinated grip. Drive your back
leg forward and kick up into the human flag
position. Return slowly to the origin. Do this
exercise for 3 sets of 4 reps.

15
 Human Flag Tuck To Negative 3xFailure

Difficulty
Hard

Hold the bar in a human flag grip. Do a

human flag kip up into a tuck human flag.
Lift your legs up high as you straighten them.
Slowly descend your legs and abdomen. This
will train your muscles and nervous system
in the best way and allow your neurons to
adapt to this movement. Reapeat 3x till
failure.
Straddle Human Flag 3xFailure

Difficulty
Hard

Use the kip-up method to go into the human

flag position with your legs spread out. This
will distribute your weight and the load on
each arm. Do this exercise 3x till failure.

16
 Human Flag Negatives 3xFailure

Difficulty
Hard

Hold the bar in the human flag grip. Go into

the full human flag position and slowly
descend your legs amd abdomen. Repeat 3x
till failure.

Note: The human flag will take time to learn,

just like any other skill. Do not rush through the
process (unless you want to live with lifelong
injuries). Master each step with perfect form
before moving on to the next step. Take my
advice and you will learn any skill in
calisthenics.

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