Hanging Leg Raises
This is another calisthenics standard! Congratulations on attaining this!
This a natural continuation of the previous step. Maintaining straight legs throughout the exercise increases the difficulty.
Take some time to build up some endurance in this movement before moving on. This will help your grip strength and overall endurance.
Standards
LEVEL 1: 2 Sets of 10
LEVEL 2: 2 Sets of 15
LEVEL 3: 2 Sets of 25
Do 2 Sets of as many as you can. The levels above are standards you can use to measure your progress. Rest 2-3 minutes between Sets.
If you struggle to hit Level 1 after a few weeks of trying, try using a few of Regressions shown below.
Once you can do 2 Sets of 25 (Level 3) with GOOD FORM, you are ready to move on to a harder Leg Raise variation.
Form Cues
Keep your legs straight throughout the exercise.
Maintain a firm grip throughout the exercise. If you do not have the grip strength necessary for this, work just hanging from a bar until you do.
You may need to bend your arms and keep your shoulders “down” to avoid pain at first. Work towards gradually straightening your arms and relaxing your shoulders for maximal core work.
Try to keep your pelvis tilted back at the bottom of the exercise. This will keep your working muscles braced throughout. While not necessary, this helps some people avoid lower back pain.
It may be tempting to forcefully bring up your legs. While there is a place for this, aim to do this exercise slowly under full control first. Then explore explosive movement as you’d like.
Film yourself and watch back between sets to check your form. A mirror is also useful.
Keeping your thighs pressed together may help you focus on the movement.
Tutorial
Grab an overhead bar or rings with a shoulder width grip.
Engage your core by tilting your pelvis back.
Smoothly bring your legs up, keeping them perfectly straight until they are parallel to the ground.
Pause for 1 Second.
Slowly reverse the movement, keeping your pelvis rotated back.
Pause for 1 Second.
Repeat 3-6.
Progression & Regression
To make this exercise easier: Bending your legs on the way up and straightening on the way down will make this exercise easier.
To make this exercise harder: Increasing the range of motion of this exercise by bringing your legs above parallel will make this exercise more difficult! Pausing in this position can even challenge some advanced athletes. This will lead you smoothly into the next step.