Hanging Leg Raise: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
The hanging leg raise is an abdominal-focused exercise: your abdominals, mainly the rectus abdominis and hip flexors, contract to lift your legs while you hang from the bar. Because there's no bar or bench to brace against, it demands strong core control from start to finish.
- Primary muscle:
- Abdominals
Muscles worked
Your abdominals do almost all the work here. Raising your legs from a dead hang requires the rectus abdominis to curl the pelvis upward, while the hip flexors lift the legs themselves. Because your whole body hangs freely from the bar, your abs also work hard just to keep your torso from swinging. Your grip and shoulders keep you anchored to the bar, but the abdominals are doing the actual lifting.
Log Hanging Leg Raise in PR Streak
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How to do it
- Hang from a chin-up bar with both arms extended at arms length in top of you using either a wide grip or a medium grip. The legs should be straight down with the pelvis rolled slightly backwards. This will be your starting position.
- Raise your legs until the torso makes a 90-degree angle with the legs. Exhale as you perform this movement and hold the contraction for a second or so.
- Go back slowly to the starting position as you breathe in.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Form tips
- Keep a slight bend in your knees if a straight-leg raise pulls your lower back into an arch.
- Roll your pelvis up at the top instead of just swinging your legs forward.
- Lower your legs slowly. Letting them drop wastes most of the tension on the abs.
- Avoid excessive swinging. Small, controlled movement keeps the work on the abdominals.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Bodyweight |
|---|---|
| Level | Expert |
| Mechanic | Isolation |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the hanging leg raise so hard?
It removes any bench or floor to brace against, so your abdominals have to control your entire lower body through a long range of motion while your grip and shoulders hold you on the bar. That combination makes it one of the tougher bodyweight ab exercises.
How many hanging leg raises should I do?
Since it's a bodyweight exercise, most lifters use higher rep ranges for muscular endurance, 12 or more controlled reps per set. If you can't yet control 12 clean reps, bent-knee raises are a good way to build up to it.
What's a good alternative if hanging leg raises are too hard?
Try a Pallof press instead. It trains the same core bracing without needing the grip and shoulder endurance a hanging exercise demands.
More abdominals exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
