🐒 IMPROVE Hanging Leg Lifts

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Hanging Leg Lifts 🐒

I would place hanging leg lifts (also known as toes to bar) as one of the best abs exercises we can do in calisthenics.

Whether you want to develop your abs or improve compression strength for V-sit and handstand presses, the hanging leg lift is a phenomenal movement.

The most common compensation we see in this movement is closing the shoulders to compensate for the lack of compression strength in order to reach the bar.

This is not inherently wrong, let alone dangerous, but it will greatly diminish the abs/hip flexors stimulus you can get from it while also putting a greater recovery demand on other muscles, mainly your lats.

I recommend using a stall bar to minimize any “cheating” and keep the shoulders open throughout the movement. You may not get as high, but you will develop much more strength in the abs and hip flexors.

If you don’t have access to one, try elevating the shoulders and doing your best to keep them as open as possible. If you experience any shoulder discomfort, you can stay slightly active (scapular depression), but this will make it much harder to keep the shoulders open (shoulder extension).

Once again, there is nothing wrong with closing the shoulders and using the lats to lift yourself up, but if you want to target the lats, you are better off doing tuck front lever raises. Hanging leg lifts should serve their main purpose: improving compression strength.

The limitation here can come from a lack of hamstring flexibility, weak hip flexors, weak abs, or a combination of all three. Let me know if you would like a video to assess which of the three is your main weakness.

With Love,
Gabo

[markratcliffe]

Most people do not possess the spinal flexibility required to perform hanging leg lifts without engaging the lats. As long as there is some degree of lumbar flexion then the rectus abdominis will be engaged. Impressive to watch somebody perform hanging leg lifts with that level of spinal flexibility though, but don't believe that you're wasting your time by performing straight leg raises until your legs are in a horizontal position. As long as you're forcefully flexing your lumbar to a level based on your own flexibility then you will be engaging your abs just fine.

[roderickjones]

The move crossfiters can only dream of doing

[Gesh]

For those that don't have access to a stall bar what else can we do to improve it?

[hamnchee]

What if my body isn't a freak of nature?

[danteghazizadeh]

Is it bad to do normal leg raises(to 90 degrees) with an active hang?

[juanurioste]

I am having problems with my right side of my hip when I try and lift myself to a handstand position I try not to kick up and for some reason it hurts my right hip and the thigh that's attached to my hip

[nemure]

Problem is not lack of strength but flexibility, nothing of this works

[wissamzeineldeen]

U have to be flexible before trying this