Hanging Leg Raise Progression

A 2 sided picture taken from the front. To the left is a shirtless man performing a Hanging Leg Raise with straight legs. To the right is the same shirtless man performing Hanging Leg Raises with bent knees.

The Hanging Leg Raise Progression is one of my favorite core progressions. In fact, I like it so much, I detailed it here- A Must Have Core Exercise.

Because I’ve already written about it more thoroughly, I’ll just do a quick list of the benefits:

1. It’s a great way to strengthen the hip flexors. I know, I’ve written a ton about why tight/over-developed hip flexors resist hip extension. I’ve also written about why hip extension is one of the top qualities wrestlers must develop. However, you need strength on both sides of the hip to create balance.

If you don’t have adequate strength in your hip flexors, you may experience pain, especially during squats and other lower body movements. This issue is actually what got me to realize some hip flexor strength is needed for balance and pain management.

Not only did I, at one point, have a lot of pain in the hip flexor area, but a number of the wrestlers I trained did as well. After reviewing the various programs we were all doing, I noticed that the hip flexors didn’t get any work.

As a result, I elected to add them in to see if it helped. Fortunately, it did. Since then the Hanging Leg Raise Progression has been part of pretty much every program I design.

2. It’s the best “knees to chest” core exercise. If you’re going to train a movement, it may as well be the best, right?

3. You can get some grip work in if you perform these hanging from a bar. This isn’t going to be life changing grip strength, but it’s a little extra work. And a little here and there is what adds up to big improvements over time.

Ok, that was a little more thorough than expected. Let’s get into the progressions.

Progression 1

The first progression is mastering the bodyweight version.

The big focus at this stage, and all of the others is to demonstrate proper control while achieving a full range of motion.

Too often I see this exercise performed using momentum. To the untrained eye, it appears like the person is using proper technique. However, all they’re really doing is swinging around and letting momentum do the work. The tension on the abs and hip flexors is minimal to none. Ultimately this defeats the purpose of the exercise, don’t you agree?

Here’s a video of a bad Hanging Leg Raise.

Hold yourself to higher standards and constantly be honest with your assessment of your performance. Do not do crap like this. You’re not doing anything that’s going to improve your performance. And this is why you’re lifting in the first place, right?

Progression 2

Once you’re comfortable with the first progression, you can move on to this one.

All you add at this progression is a hold.

Here’s an example.

This isn’t a super challenging progression, but it’s an easy way to add an extra degree of difficulty. Additionally, it will help you add an additional element of control to your reps.

Progression 3

This next section has a couple of my preferred progressions. They are in no particular order.

The first is to perform the 2 progressions above, only with straight legs.

Here’s what I mean.

The second option is to add weight. You can do this with old school 80s ankle weights, by holding a dumbbell between your feet, or, my preferred way, holding a med ball between your knees.

Here’s an example.

A picture of Dickie White hanging from Ab Straps while holding a medicine ball between his knees to demonstrate one way to add resistance to the Hanging Leg Raise exercise.

A picture of Kyle Dake and Dickie White.
Hi, I’m Dickie (the author of this blog). Here I am with my good buddy, Kyle Dake. While he doesn't have a nice coat like me, he is pretty good at wrestling. Here's what he said about my training system:

Before I began lifting using Dickie's system my wrestling skills were getting slightly better. I've now been lifting under his guidance for more than 5 months and I have begun to dominating ALL of my competition. At first I had little faith in Dickie and his program, but now I would run into a wall if he told me I would get stronger! I know it sounds insane, but I would. The bottom line is Dickie is an expert and knows what he is talking about. If you want to defeat those kids whom you've always lost to and reach a level you never thought possible, I suggest you start lifting using Dickie's system immediately.

-Kyle Dake, 4X NCAA Division 1 National Champion
_________________________________________

Want to see what other wrestlers are saying about my training system? Check out my Success Stories page.

_________________________________________

Want to learn more about Dickie? Check out my About page.

_________________________________________

Want to get started on a program today? Read this post and download your free program- 12 Week Training Program For Wrestlers.

_________________________________________

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.