Toes To Bar The Misunderstood Exercise You Need Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Toes To Bar The Misunderstood Exercise You Need 5 Steps to Mastery by Tanner Shuck February 19, 2022March 3, 2022 Tags Abs, Challenge Training, Exercise Coaching Toes to Bar Master the Move The toes to bar (TTB) exercise builds incredible strength in the anterior chain and improves your relative strength. Toes to bar is a favorite exercise of many "fitness influencers." Why? Let's be honest: it's because it shows off the musculature of the rectus abdominis extremely well. Some even claim that it's the best exercise to build washboard abs. First off, the best exercise to build washboard abs is the mental exercise of not eating like an a**hole. Secondly, the TTB actually isn't that great for directly strengthening the rectus abdominis (visible abs). The primary movers are the lats for shoulder adduction (applying downward pressure on the bar) and the hip flexors (mainly the psoas muscle) to lift the legs. The abs do help out, but they're not the major working muscles. Nonetheless, the TTB is still a great exercise. If you want to master it, use the following progressions: This is a beginner-level progression to ensure you have the strength to hang from the bar while lifting the legs. You'd be surprised how many people actually lack the requisite strength to perform this movement competently. Apply downward force on the bar while simultaneously lifting your knees to your elbows. Once you're a bit stronger, use the same kipping motion but instead of touching your knees to elbow, straighten your legs slightly and touch your toes to the bar. This one is more demanding on your lats, hip flexors, and abs since you're eliminating the momentum from kipping. The strict TTB is a great movement to improve relative strength. This is the most advanced progression requiring a significant amount of relative strength. Think of it more as a "hips to bar" movement. The candlestick TTB actually requires the most abdominal strength of all the progressions. It's a foundational movement pattern in calisthenics and gymnastics. Contrary to popular belief, the best exercise to improve your TTB is the pull-up. Think about it. The stronger your lats, the more downward force (shoulder adduction) you can apply on the bar, and the more easily you'll be able to touch your toes to the bar. Most coaches miss that fact. If you want to improve your TTB, don't just practice it; improve your strict pulling strength by performing more strict pull-ups. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training The Most Hated Man in Bodybuilding In this classic T Nation interview, one of the freakiest, strangest guys in bodybuilding answers some tough questions. Bodybuilding, Training Chris Shugart May 30 Training Tip GHR Bent Over Lateral Raise This is a true multi-functional exercise. It not only works the rear delts, but it nails the entire posterior chain from head to toe. Exercise Coaching, Glutes, Shoulders, Tips Joel Seedman, PhD July 17 Training Tip The Athlete s Floor Press Crank up the effectiveness of the floor press with this simple twist. Bonus: You'll be able to lift more weight too. Training Chris Diamantakos September 7 Training Pull-Ups for Big Guys Here's how people who weigh about the same as a small cow can make friends with pull-ups and chin-ups. Training Lee Boyce April 14