Legs · Cable
Cable Hanging Leg Raise
How to do the cable hanging leg raise, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Attach ankle cuffs to a low cable and hang from a pull-up bar with arms extended. Raise your straight legs toward your chest against the cable resistance, engaging your core, then lower with control without swinging.
- 1Hang with shoulders engaged and lift the legs by flexing the hips
- 2Feel your lower abs work hard against the cable
- 3Control the descent and keep the lower body moving together
Common mistakes
- Do not swing your body or use momentum to raise the legs
- Avoid letting your shoulders shrug or your grip relax
- Do not arch your lower back; keep the core engaged
Muscles worked
The cable hanging leg raise mainly works the lower abs and hip flexors, with the upper abs, forearms, obliques, and glutes assisting.
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- GlutesSupport
- BicepsMinor
- LatsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- QuadsMinor
Kovo programs the cable hanging leg raise for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More hips & adductors exercises
- How to do the butterfly stretch
- How to do the external rotation
- How to do the cable hip adduction
- How to do the internal rotation
- How to do the cobra pose
- How to do the core scrunch
Last reviewed June 2026.