Hanging Leg Raise

The hanging leg raise is a bodyweight core exercise. You hang from a pull-up bar and lift your legs by folding at the hips, which challenges your abs and hip flexors while you fight to keep your body still.

Set up by hanging from a sturdy bar with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Keep your arms straight, shoulders engaged, and your body in a straight line from shoulders to feet. Let your legs hang relaxed beneath you.

To start the rep, brace your midsection and pull your legs up by bending at the hips. Bring your knees toward your chest in a controlled arc. If you are using the straight-leg version, lift your legs as high as you can with good form. Lower your legs slowly back to the start and stop the swing before the next rep.

Exhale as your legs come up and inhale as they lower. Keep your ribs down and your lower back from arching throughout. To make it easier, bend your knees and tuck them toward your chest. To make it harder, keep your legs straight or raise them all the way toward the bar.

Fault: Swinging or using momentum to lift the legs. Fix: Start each rep from a dead hang with no sway, pull your shoulders down slightly, and move only as fast as you can control.

Fault: Arching the lower back at the bottom. Fix: Brace your abs like someone is about to poke your stomach, and stop lowering your legs if you feel your back start to overextend.

Fault: Bending the arms or shrugging the shoulders to help. Fix: Keep your arms straight and think about pushing the bar down away from you while your shoulders stay engaged.

Fault: Dropping the legs too quickly. Fix: Lower with the same control you used on the way up, and pause briefly at the bottom before starting the next rep.