How to Do It
- Set a supported starting position, lying on the floor or hanging from a bar.
- Establish a posterior pelvic tilt or braced trunk position before moving the legs.
- Raise the legs with control only as far as the trunk position holds.
- Lower the legs slowly, stopping the moment the pelvis or trunk loses control.
Common Mistakes
- Lowering or swinging the legs past the point where the trunk stays controlled.
- Using momentum instead of a controlled hip-flexion action.
- Chasing a longer range of motion than the current trunk control allows.
- Skipping the bent-knee or single-leg regression before attempting a full straight-leg raise.
The leg raise trains hip flexion while the trunk resists the pull of the legs on the pelvis. Every leg raise variation shares that same core task; the lying and hanging versions differ mainly in support, lever length, and grip demand.
Posterior Pelvic Tilt: The Shared Control Checkpoint
Across every leg raise variation, the limiting factor is rarely how high the legs travel; it is whether the pelvis stays controlled while they do. In the lying leg raise, that checkpoint is a posterior pelvic tilt, gently flattening the lower back into the floor before the legs move and maintaining that flattened position throughout the rep. In the hanging leg raise, the equivalent checkpoint is a braced trunk that resists the pelvis rocking forward and the lower back arching as the legs rise. In both cases, the visible range of motion is not the target; the maintained trunk position is.
Hip Flexor to Abdominal Load Transition
The hip flexors are the prime movers in a leg raise, lifting the legs through flexion at the hip. The abdominal muscles play a different role: they resist the pelvis tipping forward under the pull of the hip flexors and the weight of the legs, which is an anti-extension task rather than a flexion task. As the legs rise higher and the lever shortens relative to the hip, the hip flexors’ mechanical advantage changes and the abdominal demand for pelvic control typically increases through the top portion of the range. This is why a leg raise performed with poor pelvic control can feel like a hip flexor exercise with little abdominal involvement, while the same movement performed with a maintained pelvic tilt shifts noticeably more of the demand onto the trunk.
Lying and Hanging Progressions
| Stage | Variation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Learning the pattern | Bent-knee or single-leg lying leg raise | Shorter lever reduces the pelvic-control demand while learning the checkpoint. |
| Full floor range | Straight-leg lying leg raise | Longer lever increases demand once the bent-knee version is controlled. |
| Added lever and grip demand | Hanging leg raise | Removes floor support and adds a longer lever plus a grip requirement. |
| Reciprocal limb control | Dead bug | Useful regression or complement for practicing trunk control with limb movement. |
Programming Leg Raises
Use three or four sets of six to fifteen reps depending on the variation and training goal, leaving the set before the pelvic-control checkpoint fails rather than continuing to a fixed rep count. Progress from a bent-knee lying raise to a full straight-leg lying raise, and only move to a hanging leg raise once the floor version stays controlled across every rep. Pair leg raise work with the core exercise hub to compare it against planks and anti-rotation work in a complete programme.
References
- Anaerobic and Muscle Endurance Development: Lifting Guidelines. National Strength and Conditioning Association (2017)Back to claim
- American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2026)Back to claim
- Updating ACSM's Recommendations for Exercise Preparticipation Health Screening. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2015)
See our exercise methodology for how this evidence is applied and its limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the difference between a lying and hanging leg raise?
- A lying leg raise is performed on the floor, which supports the trunk and gives direct feedback through the lower back. A hanging leg raise is performed from a bar, using a longer lever and adding a grip and shoulder demand. The floor version is the more approachable starting point.
- What muscles do leg raises work?
- The hip flexors do most of the work of lifting the legs, while the abdominal muscles are responsible for keeping the pelvis from tipping forward as the legs move. Both progressions and both muscle groups work together rather than in isolation.
- How do you progress a leg raise?
- Start with a bent-knee or single-leg lying raise to reduce the lever length, move to a full straight-leg lying raise once the pelvis stays controlled, and only then progress to a hanging leg raise, which adds a longer lever and a grip demand.