Leg Raise - Ab Exercise

Leg Raise - Ab Exercise

In this lesson you will learn how to do leg raises on a leg raise chair. If you don't have a leg raise chair in your gym, you can also do lying leg raises or hanging leg raises. Most people will tell you that this his exercise only trains the outer and lower portion of your ab muscles, but if done like shown here, it will also give your upper abs a pretty good workout. If you want to raise your legs sideways to emphasize even more on the outer abs, don't use a leg raise chair, but do hanging leg raises instead. Do at least 20 repetitions per set. I recommend you do the ab raise at the beginning of your abdominal workout. Find more abdominal exercises at weight training main.

Execution

  • Look straight forward and push your shoulders down.
  • Raise your knees over hip level and keep your back round. Push your hips forward a little and make sure you NEVER
    hollow your back when you do leg raises. Exhale at the same time.
  • Again, make sure your back remains round, and keep your buttocks off the back lean. You can try to move your chest a little towards your knees so that only the middle of your back touches the back lean and your abdominals are fully contracted at the highest point.
  • Hold this position for about a second and then go back to the beginning position. Don't let your legs fall, and don't let your legs go beyond vertical level. The down-movement should be very controlled and slightly slower than the up-movement. Make sure you keep your back round and your abs contracted the whole time. You can stretch your abs at the lowest position, but don't swing your legs back. Inhale as you lower your legs.

Advice

  • You can also keep your legs extended throughout the entire exercise. But again, make sure you keep your back round, and don't let your legs fall.
  • If it's still too easy, use ankle weights
  • How it's NOT done:
    • Don't swing your legs back
    • Don't hollow your back, don't look up