Legs · Pull Up Bar
Hanging Leg Raise
How to do the hanging leg raise, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Pull Up Bar
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Core Hold
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Hang from a pull-up bar with arms extended. Lift your straight legs towards your chest, engaging your core, and lower with control.
- 1Hang from a bar with your shoulders engaged and raise your legs by flexing your hips, feeling your lower abs work hard
- 2Lift your legs to at least hip level and control the descent to avoid swinging
- 3Keep your lower body moving together, whether your legs are bent or straight
Common mistakes
- Don't swing your body or use momentum to get your legs up
- Avoid letting your shoulders shrug up toward your ears or your grip relax
- Don't arch your lower back; keep your core engaged throughout
Muscles worked
The 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
Hanging Leg Raise strength standards
See how your hanging leg raise ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.
Bronze3 reps
Silver7 reps
Gold21 reps
Platinum36 reps
Diamond44 reps
Champion52 reps
Find your rank
Enter your best set of reps.
Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.
Kovo programs the 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 April 2026.