Alternate Names: Hanging Hip Raises, Bodyweight Hanging Leg/Hip Raises.
STEP 1
Grab and hold onto a crossbar while hanging with your arms straight.
STEP 2
Bring your knees up to approximately a little past a 90 degree angle.
STEP 3
Slowly lower your legs.
STEP 4
Return to the starting position.
Special Notes
Remember to keep your head and back in a neutral and comfortable position. Don't look down or up too much or you will hyperextend your neck. If you find yourself swinging too much during this movement that means you are doing it too fast. When executed properly, there is almost zero swinging.
If your grip is not strong enough to hold on to the bar, you can do what many people do and that is use wrist straps that you can wrap around the bar. This will significantly help you with holding on to the bar and will relieve pressure on your fingers. Some people also use wrist straps that have little metal hooks on them (this is used for lat pullups) and thus are also very useful for any exercise that requires a bar-gripping movement to be executed.
At any rate, use whatever you can to aid you with the grip on this exercise. The most important matter is the workout your core gets. The grip is a secondary consideration and it is only related to your comfort level. Once you have a comfortable grip you can focus all your attention on getting the most out of this core exercise that is extremely effective.
