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Hanging Straight Leg Raise

The standard hanging straight leg raise: locked knees rise to horizontal or higher, training the abs and hip flexors under a long lever with serious grip demand.

AbsBodyweightHip flexion
GoLightWeight mediahanging-straight-leg-raise

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Primary

Rectus abdominisHip flexors

Secondary

ObliquesForearmsLatissimus dorsi

Equipment

Bodyweight

Pattern

Hip flexion

Setup

  1. 01Grip a pull-up bar slightly wider than shoulder width.
  2. 02Hang with straight arms and shoulders lightly engaged.
  3. 03Lock the knees and squeeze the legs together.
  4. 04Stop all swing before the first rep.

Execution

  1. 01Exhale and raise the straight legs by flexing at the hips.
  2. 02Lift until the legs reach at least horizontal, tucking the pelvis slightly at the top.
  3. 03Pause briefly without letting the torso swing back.
  4. 04Lower the legs slowly to vertical without losing the knee lockout.

Checkpoints

  • -Legs reach horizontal or higher on every counted rep.
  • -Knees stay locked; range is not rescued by bending.
  • -The torso stays near vertical instead of leaning far back.
  • -Reps start and end from a still hang.

Common mistakes

  • -Kipping the legs up with a hip swing.
  • -Bending the knees as fatigue builds.
  • -Cutting range short of horizontal.
  • -Letting the body swing like a pendulum between reps.

Programming notes

  • -Use 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 strict reps.
  • -Regress to hanging knee raises if horizontal cannot be reached strictly.
  • -Progress by adding the hip curl (hip raise version) or ankle weight, not by kipping.

Related exercises

Hanging Knee Raise

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Hanging Straight Leg Hip Raise

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Captains Chair Straight Leg Raise

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Toes-To-Bar

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