Hanging Straight Leg Raises

How To

Hanging leg raises are an ab exercise characterized by grabbing hold of a pull bar and lifting your lower body carefully off the ground in a controlled movement. With proper form, hanging leg raises can increase core strength by engaging your abdominal muscles, including the lower abs, which can be difficult to activate with other core exercises. In addition, hanging leg raises can engage your lower back muscles and hip flexor muscles while increasing grip strength.

1. Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than your shoulders.
2. Rotate your arms to engage your lats.
3. Engage your core to prevent your body from swinging. Your shoulders should be over your hips, and your shoulder blades should be in a neutral position to engage your upper back. Keep your spine neutral throughout the movement. Your knees can be bent or straight.
4. Use your abs to bring your pelvis close to your ribcage while your knees move toward your chest. Allow your pelvis to tuck to engage your abdominals.
5. Pause for a second at the top of the movement.
6. To begin the downward movement, allow your pelvis to slowly untuck, and let your legs lower to the starting position.
7. Keep your abdominals engaged as you reach the starting position.

Tips

Stay in control of your movement

One of the most common mistakes of the hanging leg raise is using momentum to swing yourself during the movement. Engage your core and lift your legs carefully. Slowly lower back down to the start. DO NOT SWING.

Start with your knees bent

You can perform hanging leg raises with either bent or straight legs. At first, start with a bent knee variation (also known as a hanging knee raise). This variation is slightly easier on your hamstrings and lower back muscles.