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Today we’re going to take a closer look at the hanging knee and leg raise to ensure you’re engaging your ABS for maximum growth because, if done correctly, this can be one of the best exercises to engage the entire rectus abdominis and place a bit more emphasis on the lower abs as well!

However, if we’re being honest, this is one of those exercises where most people perform the movement incorrectly and end up training an entirely different set of muscles called the hip flexors. These muscles include the rectus femoris, the iliacus, the psoas, the iliocapsularis and the sartorius and even though all these muscles originate and insert in slightly different areas, they all do the same thing, which is flex the hip.

But why are we discussing hip flexion in an ABS video? Well, that’s because hip flexion occurs when you bring your knee up toward your chest, hip extension happens when your knee travels behind your torso and this movement pattern is key to understanding how to maximize the exercise because when most people perform the hanging knee or leg raise, they end up recruiting more hip flexors than ABS. So to understand why, let’s take a closer look at the anatomy of these two muscle groups:

The Anatomy Of The Rectus Abdominis
Although your core is comprised of many muscles, the most prominent one you’re trying to activate when training your abs is the rectus abdominis, or six-pack. Now, the rectus abdominis originates in the pubic area, more specifically, the pubic symphysis and inserts on the xiphoid process and costal cartilages of your ribs. So with that in mind, imagine the rectus abdominis as a long sheet of muscles whose main function is to FLEX THE SPINE, which means to literally make your spine round.

The Anatomy Of The Hip Flexors
The main hip flexor that ends up activated instead of the ABS when performing a hanging leg or knee raise is the iliopsoas which originates along your lower back vertebrae (T12, L1-L3), then crosses the hip joint and inserts on the femur. Its function is to flex the hip, or to bring the knee up and it’s involved in many other activities such as walking, running and even standing. But when it comes to weight lifting, I just want you to imagine the hip flexors as long, powerful muscles that cross the hip joint and elevate your upper leg towards your chest and just like most muscles in your body, the rectus abdominis and hip flexors prefer to work together.

But what ends up happening, most likely due to the name of the exercise, is that we isolate the hip flexors with very little engagement in the ABS because instead of spinal flexion occurring, we simply raise our knees to about 90 degrees and stop. If anything, the name of the exercise should be changed to the pelvis tuck because that’s essentially what it is due to the fact that the main purpose of your rectus abdominis is to flex the spine. So, if you’ve been keeping your spine straight throughout the movement as you lift your knees towards your chest, all you have to do to properly activate your rectus abdominis is bring your knees up a bit higher and you’re good to go!

But make sure you’re really flexing your abs throughout the movement and try to think of your legs as the RESISTANCE, which actually brings me to my next tip.

Intensifying The Exercise
As you become stronger you’ll need to find ways to make this exercise more challenging and that can be achieved by holding a dumbbell with your feet.

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How To: Hanging Knee / Leg Raise | BUILD A “SCIENCED BASED” 6-PACK!

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