Leg Raises – Lower Abs and Hip Flexors

Leg raises are done by sitting on the edge of a weight lifting bench with your legs straight out in front of you. Lean back slightly to balance, then draw your knees to your shoulders. These work the hip flexors and lower abs. They can also be performed by laying on the floor, holding onto a support behind your head (a partners ankles is ideal) and then lifting your legs up to a vertical position. If you wish to work the lower abs harder then lift your hips off the floor when your feet are at their highest point. The video below shows the basic leg raise.

Hanging Leg Raises

To take the exercise further, perform hanging leg raises. Hang from a high horizontal bar (such as a pull up bar) and then raise your knees to your chest. Use ankle weights to increase resistance.

Video of Standard Leg Raise

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Tags: hanging leg raise, knee raise, leg raise, leg raises

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Bodybuilding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.