Exercise Guide

Hanging Knee Raise

Knees drawn to the chest while hanging from a bar. The scaled version of the hanging leg raise, and the one most people should be doing.

BeginnerStrengthPullIsolation
Form
Hanging Knee Raise - Start position
Start
Hanging Knee Raise - Mid position
Mid
Hanging Knee Raise - End position
End

Illustrations by Bryl Lim for Workout Guide, after Everkinetic. Used unchanged under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Details

Primary Muscle

Core

Equipment

Bodyweight

Difficulty

Beginner

Category

Strength

Force

Pull

Mechanic

Isolation

Secondary Muscles

Forearms
How to Perform
  1. 1

    Hang from a pull-up bar with your arms straight and your shoulders pulled down.

  2. 2

    Without swinging, draw your knees up toward your chest.

  3. 3

    Curl your pelvis up slightly at the top so the abs finish the rep rather than the hip flexors.

  4. 4

    Lower your legs under control to a full hang.

Tips
  • If you are swinging, you are using momentum - pause at the bottom of every rep.
  • The last few degrees, where your hips curl up, is where the abs actually work.
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