Hanging leg raise program. Should you do hanging leg raises? Variations of this exercise

And to achieve the appearance of six-pack abs on your stomach has already been written a lot. But still there is, perhaps, one of the most effective exercises on the press - this is hanging leg raise on the horizontal bar. This exercise is known primarily for the fact that it mainly loads bottom part the press, which is lagging behind for many. Also, most of the load goes to the rectus abdominis and external oblique abdominal muscles, and at the beginning of the movement the non-target muscle, the rectus femoris, works.

There are many different options this exercise, but we’ll talk about them later, but for now let’s talk more about the technology. Leg raises will produce results if done correctly, i.e. control all movements, lift your legs by force, and not by swinging, and also slowly lower them by force, and not throw them down. At first, to prevent the body from swaying, you can perform it on wall bars or ask a friend to hold you in the lower back area.

Hang on the bar, arms shoulder-width apart, elbows straight, legs and back straight. It is important here that the horizontal bar is of sufficient height so that your feet do not touch the floor. Tightening your abs, raise your legs as high as possible. The higher you raise your legs, the more effort press. You can raise your legs a little higher than to waist level or higher so that your toes almost touch the bar, but this option is more difficult. The legs can be raised either straight (or almost straight) or bent at the knees. In this case, you need to try to raise your knees so that you practically press them to your chest. Now you also need to slowly lower your legs using your press. Thus payload pressure on the press occurs not only during raising the legs, but also during lowering them.

Now about the options for performing this exercise. The key point is the height of the horizontal bar. No matter how high the horizontal bar is, you should not touch the floor or ground with your feet. In my case, the IronGym bar does not allow me to hang with straight arms because it hangs in the doorway, which is low for such an exercise. Therefore, to begin with, I pull myself up, and already in this position (hanging on bent arms) I raise and lower my legs. This option is even harder, because just hanging in this position already strains the abs, plus you also need to raise and lower your legs, so the load increases.

You can also raise your legs bent at the knees alternately to the right and left side. This makes the oblique abdominal muscles work more intensely.

If you are faced with the fact that your grip begins to get tired before your abs, then you should use straps. This will help solve the problem of a weak grip for this exercise, but it is still worth training your grip strength at least with the help of expanders.

If there is no horizontal bar or just some kind of crossbar, leg lifts can also be done on the uneven bars, just so you will hang not with straight arms on the crossbar, but in support on the uneven bars with straight arms or on your forearms.

It is deservedly considered one of the most difficult, but at the same time very effective exercises for the abdominal muscles. This has been confirmed not only by numerous scientific research, but also on personal experience professional athletes. Today I will tell you how to do hanging leg raises on a horizontal bar. You will also learn which muscles work when we perform this abdominal exercise.

In addition, below I will give some recommendations and give examples of the most common mistakes while performing hanging leg raises. By familiarizing yourself with these recommendations and examples of mistakes, you will significantly increase the effectiveness of your abdominal training.

Execution Features

There are several ways to perform hanging leg raises. They all differ in complexity and technique. Only trained athletes can perform the classic variation of hanging leg raises to the bar. For beginners, hanging knee raises or standing leg raises are more suitable.

To perform the “Hanging Leg Raise” exercise for the press, you only need to have at hand only a horizontal bar or crossbar of a suitable height. By the way, there is probably a horizontal bar in any gym or yard sports ground. Thanks to this, this exercise is accessible to almost everyone and is very popular among athletes. For convenience, you can buy a horizontal bar for the doorway and perform hanging leg raises even at home at any suitable time.

Using abdominal exercises "Hanging Leg Raise" You can perfectly pump not only the rectus abdominis, but also the external oblique abdominal muscle. In addition, if you want to pump up your side abs, I advise you to do leg raises or hanging knee raises with knees turning to the sides at the top of the range of motion.

Muscles involved

Many beginners are interested in which muscles work when they do hanging leg raises on the horizontal bar. First of all, like everything for training the abdominal muscles, hanging leg raises directly engage the abdominal muscles. Namely, the rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles. In addition, at the beginning of the movement, until the moment when you raise your legs 30-45 degrees, the leg muscles also work hard. First of all, these are the long adductor and rectus femoris muscles.

Then the entire load goes directly to the abdominal muscles. At that time the forearms receive indirect static load. Therefore, if you want to not only pump up your abs, but also strengthen your forearms and hands, then instead of the usual abdominal crunches, do hanging leg raises on the horizontal bar.

Hanging leg raises: execution technique

Now it's time to explore correct technique performing traditional hanging leg raises on a horizontal bar. Classic version The exercise is performed primarily through the efforts of the abdominal muscles and with the legs slightly bent at the knees raised to the level of the crossbar. It should be noted that this hanging leg raise technique is only suitable for trained athletes. Beginners should resort to more basic variations of this abdominal exercise. For example, knee raises while hanging on a bar or leg raises while standing.

The technique of performing leg raises while hanging on a bar is very simple. First of all, you need to take the starting position - hanging on the bar with a straight grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Now you can start doing this exercise for the abdominal muscles. To do this, you need to use the force of the target muscles to raise your legs, slightly bent at the knees, to the level of the crossbar or at least above parallel with the floor. After going through the most difficult part of the range of motion, exhale.

Then, keeping tension in your abdominal muscles, lower your legs down while inhaling. the main task prevent the body from swaying while hanging on the horizontal bar and raise not only your legs, but also lift your pelvis up, while rounding your back, as when doing abdominal crunches. This is the only way to pump up your abdominal muscles as effectively as possible.

When performing the Hanging Leg Raise abdominal exercise, do not swing your legs back and forth to avoid inertia and dissipate the load throughout your body. Remember, if you want to pump up your abdominal muscles, you need to concentrate on working the target muscles, that is, the abdominal muscles.
The height of the crossbar or horizontal bar should be such that your feet lightly touch or do not touch the floor at all.
To increase the load on your abdominal muscles, try to keep your legs together during the exercise.
At the top phase of the movement, try to lift your pelvis up, as when doing a crunch. Only in this position does contraction and development of the abdominal muscles occur most effectively.
When performing hanging leg raises to the bar, do not try to do pull-ups or bend your elbows. Your arms should remain straight throughout the entire approach. You can move your pelvis forward slightly so that your abdominal muscles maintain constant tension.
To do this, perform hanging leg raises twice a week at the end of your workout. Do 3-4 sets until failure occurs due to a hellish burning sensation in the abdominal muscles.
Raising legs while hanging on a bar refers to difficult exercises for the press, which can be performed by trained athletes with strong core muscles. Therefore, as a rule, leg lifts are performed without additional weights. However, if you are without special effort If you were able to complete 3-4 sets of 20 repetitions, then you can use special leg weights as additional weights. This will allow you to further increase the workload on your abdominal muscles.
If you have a weak grip, use special wrist straps or perform leg raises on a machine.

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Despite the abundance of abdominal exercises, crunches are truly effective. All other movements are just one of the variations of twisting. The article will tell you about hanging leg raises, as an advanced version of reverse abdominal crunches.

Reverse crunches: features of the exercise

The rectus abdominis muscle is a solid, flat muscle that runs from the sternum to the lower abdomen. The treasured cubes are formed due to the transverse intersection of the rectus abdominis muscle with tendons. The main thing is that IMPORTANT What you need to understand is that any muscle (including the rectus abdominis) cannot contract partially.

You can often hear such nonsense as exercises on " lower press" They say that certain movements load this particular part of the abs that is difficult to pump.

It is really difficult to pump it up due to the fact that there are fewer nerve endings there than in the upper part, which means the brain cannot generate the same strong signal (order) to contract. Plus, this area is chosen by fat cells to replenish energy reservoirs (it’s easier to accumulate fat here), which makes it difficult to see well-developed muscles.

Physiologically you can twist top part torso to pelvis, as in the variation, or pelvis to the upper torso, as in reverse crunches. What is the difference? In the load and difficulty of execution, plus performing different variations of twisting, you make the workout more varied not only for yourself, but also for your muscles.

Hanging leg raises are an advanced variation of reverse crunches. The more vertical the body, the harder it is to twist the bottom of the body (pelvis) to the top. That is why the position of the legs AT ALL does not affect the performance of the exercise. The press does not lift your legs up (this is done by other muscles that you train if done incorrectly), the press twists the pelvis to the chest (and the chest to the pelvis).

You don't have to think about raising your legs as high as possible. You should think about raising your pelvis as high as possible.

The legs can be bent at the knees (it’s easier to do this), straight, or crossed with each other - it doesn’t matter, but the higher the pelvis is, the more complete the contraction of the rectus abdominis muscle will be.

A few words about the execution technique

Lifting legs while hanging is, in principle, not a difficult exercise if you understand that your task is not lifting the legs (terrible nonsense in the name of the exercise), but lifting the pelvis. It can be performed in a hanging position on a bar or in a special simulator, resting your elbows and forearms on pillows, and your back on a soft backrest.

Take your starting position and straighten up completely. As you exhale, begin to lift your legs up, as if twisting your body from the pelvis into yourself. I hope this figurative comparison will help to better understand the nuance of movement.

The higher the pelvis is, the better the rectus abdominis muscle will contract and the more work it will do. Don't think about your legs. Here, definitely don’t chase the number of repetitions. Quality is important. Slow pace lifting will force you to consciously and under control perform the correct contractions. Think about twisting your core and contracting your abs.

From the top point, while inhaling, also smoothly begin to lower, as if spinning the body from top to bottom. Don't let your muscles rest lowest point. Maintain tension throughout the entire approach. Sink to the bottom and immediately begin to twist upward.

After completing the set, stretch your abdominal muscles. Hanging on the bar and touching the floor with your feet, arch your back and push your stomach forward, stretching your abs as much as possible. 15-20 seconds is enough to release the muscles, stretch the muscle fascia and improve blood supply to the area.

Reverse crunches: video

For a better understanding of how to perform reverse crunches press, Denis Borisov’s video will tell you about the nuances of implementation.

Conclusion

By performing hanging leg raises and straight abdominal crunches, you can already develop. To enhance the aesthetics of this area, you will have to have a low fat layer, and this is already a task.

Various fitness gurus love lifting legs while hanging on a horizontal bar. They say that only this movement works out the entire abs, allows you not only to “pump up” the abs, but also to increase the functional strength of the core, and generally looks impressive. Now let's move to any room. Almost all fitnessists do the exercise incorrectly, swinging their legs towards the horizontal bar and not loading their abs. And those who have mastered the technique often cannot work for a long time due to clogging hands, grip problems, or simple fatigue. The lifting is done at the end of the workout. Meanwhile, this is really good exercise, which can provide much more benefits than regular crunches from a lying position on the floor and sit-ups on a fitball.

Initial position

In any way, hang on the horizontal bar, palms slightly wider than shoulders;
Stabilize your shoulders by moving them away from your ears, pulling them up slightly transverse muscle, drawing in the stomach;
Remove body sway, breathe calmly;
Bend your knees slightly if you are adducting bent legs, or straighten them if the goal is to raise your toes to the bar

Movement

Contract your abs by slightly twisting your pelvis forward;
Due to stronger tension of the abdominal muscles, bring your knees to your chest;
“Unwind” back without swinging;
Perform the required number of repetitions;
Don't relax your abs all the way down.

Attention!

Remove inertial movements in the shoulder joint. Don't swing your upper body;
Avoid swinging your legs;
Do not throw your hips back to prevent complete relaxation of the abs;
Don't pull your hips toward your ribs using the strength of your quadriceps, twist;
Bring the pelvis with the bones to the lower ribs, as if “twisting” it upward. A similar movement is found in the Pilates system, and is practiced in strength training when we take a neutral back position.

Variations

This is one of them basic exercises in crossfit and gymnastics. Bodybuilders classify this skill as advanced, but it is not. The whole point is in technology. Raising your toes to the bar is not a twist, but a movement in the shoulder joint. The athlete starts from a hanging position, the toes can be pulled down to make it more comfortable, then, using the force of the press, he first brings the pelvis to the ribs, and then begins to rotate the shoulders and bring the toes to the crossbar. Lowering is done in the reverse order. There are two movement options - fast and inertial, and slow to work the muscles. The first is used in competitive CrossFit complexes, simply to save energy and complete the complex faster.

And this is just a movement to strengthen the press from the field of exercise therapy. The athlete hangs on a wall bar or horizontal bar, contracts his abs and brings his knees to his chest. You need to make sure that the movement occurs by contracting the abs, and not by throwing your legs up.

A variation for those who need to use the oblique muscles too. To begin with, the usual lifting of the knees to the chest is performed, the person brings the knees rigidly, and then turns, that is, bringing the knees to one and the other shoulder. The secret to the movement is to not relax your abs.

It is often called a press hanging on the elbows, but then the athlete would have to make a forceful exit and hang on the horizontal bar on the elbows, and this is very difficult. So we will do it correctly - in a forearm stand. The stance is taken in a special simulator, the shoulder blades are pulled together and lowered to the pelvis, and the back is pressed against the back of the machine. It is also important not to tear off the lumbar region, so that the movement is strictly due to the press. Next, according to the usual pattern, either the socks are brought to the top of the structure, or the hips are brought to the lower ribs. Sometimes the legs are raised only to the midline, but they try to control the movement by tightly drawing in the abdomen.

Analysis of the exercise

This is a twisting of the spine with flexion in hip joint. Sometimes knee flexion is added. The goal is to work the entire rectus abdominis muscle. The obliques are activated if you rotate from shoulder to shoulder at the top, and the transverses are activated if you pull your stomach inward, literally pushing the abdominal wall towards the spine.

Quite a few additional muscles are involved in dynamics and statics:

Tensor fascia lata;
Rectus dorsi muscle;
Diamond-shaped and widest;
Quadriceps and hamstrings;
Forearm muscles

Preparation

Usually the movement is done at the end of the workout, when the body is already warmed up. This means you can skip the cardio workout. But this does not mean that mobility is enough to lift straight legs to the horizontal bar. The problem is that most fitness exercises involve the hamstrings in one way or another. By the end of the workout, a typical gym goer can only lift a little bit to the bar. bent legs. A short dynamic stretch, a series of body bends forward, hands to toes, will help to avoid this.

Ideally, a bodybuilder or fitness specialist should not choose the highest bar. The height should be such that you can touch the ground with your toes pulled out. If an athlete sways too much, touching his toes to the floor will help him absorb unnecessary inertial movements;
You should avoid swinging your legs, swinging and throwing your legs. This is a fairly short, controlled movement;
The press contracts only in the upper part of the amplitude. Therefore, it is imperative to go through the middle line, and ideally, pull the hips to the lower ribs;
You should not nod your head forward or touch your chin to your chest. This can lead to spasms in the cervical-collar area, discomfort during work and problems with recovery. In addition, nodding your head increases inertia, and we agreed to extinguish it;
The width of the crossbar should be comfortable. There is no need to combine grip training and abdominal exercises, this only works for high-level athletes;
You should eliminate unnecessary movements with your toes. Some athletes actively throw their toes towards the bar, and as they lower, they reach for the floor with their heels. This is an unnecessary movement that can cause an ankle injury;
Movement in lumbar region spine is similar to what we do when we try to lift our legs from a supine position. The pelvis should be brought to the lower ribs, and not maintain the natural deflection in the spine

Gross mistakes

Lifting with a bend in the spine due to the strength of the legs;
Throwing socks to the bar using inertia;
Flexion at the elbow joint;
Incomplete amplitude, “light” lifting of the legs not even to the midline of the body;
Rotation of the head, throwing back of the head and other involuntary movements

The slower the pace, the more strongly the rectus muscle will contract, and the less the quadriceps, so you need to lift your legs only very smoothly and under control;
The principle of “exhaling for effort” works universally, it can also be used in abdominal training; we bring the pelvic bones to the lower ribs, exhaling;
It is better to perform fewer repetitions, but slowly and in a controlled manner, rather than swinging your legs in the air 20 times;
If you still have problems with your grip, you should use straps, or perform lifts in a “Roman chair”;
Raising the legs in the parallel bars in gymnastics is a swing exercise, in fitness it is strictly controlled and on the abs, so if you want to work your core muscles, it is better to perform the movement with a stiff body and not swing your legs;
For all its promise, this movement can and should be alternated with others. Beginners may have trouble hanging if they did deadlifts that day. When programming the training load, this must be taken into account. It is better to put hanging leg raises on the day when you train squats and bench presses, and variations, rather than rows and deadlifts, it will be easier to learn;
If only the IT band and quadriceps are tense during movement, move to a higher position for a while. easy option. Perform leg raises while lying on the floor, slowly and pressing your lower back into the floor until you feel how much movement you need to make with your front abdominal wall to keep your back pressed throughout the movement. Transfer this experience to the crossbar;
If you can’t get rid of inertia at all, you should switch to a simulator and perform the movement in support with your forearms. The back is pressed against the pillow, excess mobility in thoracic region we remove. If there is kyphosis, you need to tighten the muscles more tightly to the center and lower the shoulder blades towards the spine, while simultaneously retracting the anterior abdominal wall;
For informational purposes, those who cannot pull their stomach inwards are recommended to do a plank and a vacuum. These two exercises give the skill of assembling the center of the body under any load, and are useful for a beginner fitness enthusiast, but it will not be possible to progress in them for a long time. Do them as lift-ups, and then move on to hanging leg raises.

Regular training program for a novice fitness enthusiast, includes abdominal exercises at the end of every workout. So, you don’t need to do only hanging raises. First of all, it will overtrain your forearms and weaken your grip rather than strengthen it. It is better to do it according to the “in one workout” scheme, alternating with planks and classic crunches with weights.

There are two options for the seto-repetition scheme:

Multi-repetition, up to 20 repetitions for those who are ready to work on burning abs, but cannot yet straighten their knees and perform all the lifts with clean technique;
10-12 repetitions in a complicated version - socks to the bar, for example

There should be at least 3 working approaches, but no more than 5. There is no need to overtrain the straight line, it already works in all basic exercises

Contraindications

There are strictly only two types:

Injury shoulder joints, rotator cuffs, shoulder muscles, or pectoral muscles;
Forearm injury, finger fractures, hand injury

Naturally, contraindications also apply to movement. strength exercises in general – the rehabilitation period after illnesses, operations, and general malaise.

When they say that a weak grip is a contraindication, or excess weight is a contraindication and does not take into account training goals. Typically, an athlete trains to become stronger and more resilient, and not to simply “check in” in the gym. It's difficult to make progress in anything if you don't practice it. Therefore, you should be careful about the very idea of “training without training,” and refusing certain exercises due to some weak muscles. Start with straps, gradually your grip will strengthen, and you will be able to hang normally without them. And excess weight is not a constant value.

The press has always been important element figures for both men and women. Having a sagging belly makes it difficult to show off your big toned arms on the beach. Also, girls are not particularly keen to open slender legs, if they can’t show off a flat tummy.

But in the matter of pumping up the abs and bringing the stomach to a flat state, not everything is so bad. There are a lot great exercises, which help to quickly put it in order. That is, to remove fat from the stomach or sides, the only thing a person needs is perseverance and work, which will be expressed in regular training.

Hanging leg raises are the perfect way to tone your abs.

This exercise works through and uses absolutely everything muscle fibers press. Thanks to this, it can be called complex or basic for pumping up abdominal muscles and burning excess subcutaneous fat.

In addition, it is quite complex, and it is harder to perform than, for example, crunches while lying on the floor. So get ready for the load.

How to do such lifts correctly?

When performing this exercise, only your abs should tense. Hanging leg raises are best done at the beginning of your abdominal exercise routine.

Place the straps on your hands and firmly grasp the bar with your hands. Hands should be shoulder width apart. Close your legs. Straighten your body completely and relax - let's call this the starting position.

Then begin to raise your straight legs up. You can bring them to the level of the crossbar, but achieving parallelism with the floor will be enough. Try to hold this position for 1 second and slowly lower your legs to the starting position.

Thus, perform 20-30 repetitions in 2-3 sets.

The exercise should be done slowly, feeling every centimeter of the range of motion. If you try to do it quickly, you will simply start swaying on the bar, which will greatly interfere with the correct execution technique.

And if you are a seasoned athlete and can do more than 30 repetitions with straight legs, then wear weights. 1-2 kg on each leg will be enough - and you will feel a big difference in the load. Similarly, try to perform the exercise as many times as possible.

Huge pressure? Bend your legs

But if you feel that this version of the exercise is too difficult for you, you can bend your knees. This will reduce the shoulder movement and reduce the load on the abs. Perform 30-40 repetitions and do 2-3 sets.

Of course, the number of times is relative. It all depends on the level of training of the person involved.

Pay attention to errors

Very often, beginners train not for quality, but for quantity. When performing hanging leg raises, you must be sure to monitor the technique of performing the exercise.

Often people begin to swing, as if they were making a pendulum, and due to this they compensate for the weakness of their abdominal muscles. You can't do that.

The whole point of the exercise is to make maximum use of problem areas body on the stomach, and there is no need to involve extraneous muscles or various tricks. You train for yourself, not for a coach. Perform all movements with full dedication and do not slack.

Also, the main mistake that athletes make when performing hanging leg lifts on the bar is by grabbing the bar. Each person's hand strength is different, and one may sag classic grip 2 minutes, and the other will not be able to hold out for 20 seconds.

The thumb should always grip both the barbell and the bar on the opposite side of the other fingers. If you do the opposite, you will incorrectly develop the ligaments of your hand with your grip.

In order not to be distracted by the work of your forearms, you can put special straps on your arms that will help you lift your legs while hanging on the horizontal bar until your abs get tired. At the same time, the straps completely compensate for weakness in the forearms.

Remember about proper nutrition

Hanging leg raises won't help you get leaner unless you change your diet. Any excess belly fat indicates that the body is receiving an excess amount of calories that it is unable to process. Because of this, everything unnecessary is deposited in the stomach.

Regular training healthy eating, good sleep - all this will help you normalize metabolic processes in the body, speed up metabolism and burn excess fat in body.

Your daily diet should be such that the following rule is observed: during the day, the body should receive fewer calories than it expends. Everything is logical - if you create a negative balance of inflows/expenses of energy reserves, you will begin to lose weight.