Leg Raise

How to Perform the Leg Raise

1. Lie flat on your back on a mat or bench with your legs fully extended and arms at your sides or tucked under your hips for support.
2. Press your lower back firmly into the floor to engage your core from the start.
3. Keeping your legs straight and together, slowly raise them upward by contracting your abdominals.
4. Continue lifting until your legs are perpendicular to the floor or as high as you can go while keeping your lower back pressed down.
5. Pause briefly at the top, squeezing your abs.
6. Lower your legs back down slowly and under control, stopping just before your feet touch the floor.
7. Maintain constant tension in your abdominals throughout the entire range of motion.
8. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Muscles Worked

Benefits

• ✓Effectively targets the lower abdominals, which are often underdeveloped in many trainees.
• ✓Requires no equipment and can be performed anywhere.
• ✓Strengthens the hip flexors, which are important for athletic performance and posture.

Pro Tips

• ●Place your hands under your glutes or grip a bench behind your head for extra lower back support.
• ●To increase difficulty, hold a light dumbbell between your feet or add ankle weights.
• ●If straight legs are too challenging, bend your knees slightly to reduce the lever arm.

Variations

Recommended Sets & Reps

Training Guides

Articles featuring the leg raise in workout programs and training advice.