Core · Bodyweight
Hanging Toes to Bar
How to do the hanging toes to bar, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
Core
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip and arms straight. Keeping your legs fairly straight, curl your pelvis and drive your feet up to touch the bar, then lower them under control without swinging. Repeat for reps.
- 1Feel your lower abs pull your legs all the way up to the bar
- 2Feel your lats and grip stabilizing your hang on every rep
- 3Curl your pelvis at the top to fully shorten the abs
Common mistakes
- Don't kip or swing to throw your feet up; control the movement
- Avoid bending your knees heavily to cheat the range short
- Don't let your legs crash down; lower them slowly
Muscles worked
The hanging toes to bar mainly works the lower abs, with the forearms, lats, upper abs, hip flexors, and obliques assisting.
- Lower AbsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- LatsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- BicepsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- HamstringsMinor
Kovo programs the hanging toes to bar for you and tracks it every session.
The AI builds your whole program, drops the right lifts into each workout, and adjusts your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the bicycle crunches
- How to do the cable crunch
- How to do the cable pallof press
- How to do the woodchop
- How to do the captains chair leg raise
Last reviewed June 2026.