Raising the legs on the horizontal bar for the press. Hanging leg raises

14.04.202027.05.2017

Hanging leg raises are one of the key exercises For . When performing it, both the upper and lower parts of the rectus abdominal muscle are included in the work. At the same time, the complexity of the exercise and the level of muscle involvement depends on whether the legs are raised straight or bent at the knees.

Subject to correct technique this exercise helps you quickly achieve relief press and draw the cubes. However, we note that as such it does not burn fat, but only strengthens muscles. To get rid of subcutaneous fat on the abdomen you will need.

It should also be mentioned that incorrectly performing hanging leg raises can cause pain in the lower back and lower back. It is important to ensure that the load falls specifically on the abdominal muscles, and not on other muscles.

Upper or lower press?

Leg Raise Trainer

When performing leg raises in the simulator, when you lean on your arms bent at the elbows and lift your legs (most often push-ups are also performed in this simulator), mostly the anterior thigh muscles are involved in the work.

The reasons are trivial - trainees do not raise their legs high enough; in addition, by lifting the lower back from the back in an attempt to create additional tension for the abdominal muscles, they involve the leg muscles even more in the work.

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Hanging leg raises - best exercise to create the “belt of Adonis” and work out lower muscles belly. The ideal movement is to lift the legs above the horizontal by twisting the pelvis. Performing exercises in a simulator is most often incorrect.

Warm-up running and walking are performed: at a normal pace; on the toes, on the heels, on the inside and outside of the foot; with hands resting on knees, bending down; with a high hip raise in a half squat; sit down; lunges, side and variable steps, cross steps forward and to the side. A combination of walking and jumping is possible. Running can be normal, with a high rise of the hips, with bending the legs back, with raising straight legs forward or backward, with a cross step forward and backward, to the side with turns, stops, throwing and catching objects, with jumping over obstacles, with moving along obstacles.

General developmental exercises include:

exercises for arm muscles and shoulder girdle– raising straight arms forward, up to the sides, back, simultaneously, alternately, sequentially;
exercises for the muscles of the torso and neck - tilting the head and torso forward, backward to the sides. Circular movements of the head, body, right and left;
exercises for the leg muscles - bending and extending the legs, lunges, jumping out of the position “squatting”, springing movements in a squat, jumping in place and moving forward on one or two legs;
exercises for the back muscles - movement of the arms while simultaneously bending the torso (backward, to the side), circular movements of the torso with raising the arms forward, crouching and lying down, various turns, with the help of a partner and independently, lifting and lowering gymnastic bench with alternate bending of the torso forward and backward as part of the group.

No. 1. Stand up straight and tuck your chin to your chest. Stay in this position for 2-3 seconds. Feel the stretch rear end neck (see image).

No. 2. Borrow starting position- feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chin level, turn your neck to the side (as far as you can). Return to the ready position and rotate in the opposite direction. Do this 8-10 times (see image).

Trapezius muscle

Take the starting position - right hand grab your head. Slowly lower your head to your shoulder (as long as you can). Stay in this position for 4-6 seconds, then repeat 5-6 more times. Then change hands and repeat again for the other (see image).

Pectoral muscles

No. 1. Go to any vertical support and place your arm on it, bent at an angle of 90 degrees. Lean your body forward and slightly to the side until you feel tense pectoral muscles. Hold this for 3-4 seconds and then repeat the exercise with the opposite hand (see image).

No. 2. Stand up straight, clasp your hands and pull them back. Try to lift your arms slightly up, keeping them straight. Feel the stretch in your pecs (see image).

Grab a vertical support (pole) with one hand and lean back, straightening your legs. Hold on like this 3-5 seconds, and then repeat the movement, changing hands.

Stand up straight and place one hand (over the top) behind your neck. Place your other hand on top, grab your elbow and pull until you feel a stretch in your triceps. Stay in this position for 3-5 seconds, repeat with the other hand.

Obliques

Place one hand on your belt and, tilting your torso in the same direction, reach for your hand. Repeat the bends with the other hand.

Deltas (posterior bundle)

Standing straight, pull your elbow on the opposite side. Hold for 10-15 seconds, do the same for the other side. When you pull your elbow, your forearm should remain perpendicular to the floor.

Take the starting position - feet shoulder-width apart. Raise your arms up to shoulder height and perform rotational movements of your shoulders and torso to the sides (all the way). Return to the starting position and do 8-10 repetitions in the opposite direction.

Muscle stretching before exercise (lower body)

We move lower, and next in line...

Knee joints

Place your feet together and grab your knees with your hands. Do 10 at a time circular movements in and out.

Biceps hamstrings

Stand in front of a raised step platform. Throw your straight leg up and stretch your entire body towards your leg. Feel the stretch in your hamstrings.

Fix your feet shoulder-width apart. Step back and lunge, bending your knee. Keep your back straight. Return to the starting position and repeat this several times. Do the same with the other leg. Number of repetitions from 6 to 8 once.

Quadriceps femoris (quadriceps)

Stand on one leg and grab your ankle with your other hand. Hold this for a few seconds. Then release your leg, take a step and repeat with the other leg.

Performing the exercise Raising legs to the bar

Raising legs to the bar

Hanging with an overhand grip, raise your legs to the bar until they touch the bar and lower them down. The hanging position is fixed. Slight bending and spreading of the legs is allowed. Swinging movements are prohibited.

l/s alternately performs the exercise on the crossbar for correctness.

Hanging leg raises can rightfully be called one of the most effective exercises on the press It is performed on a horizontal bar or crossbar, it is classified as advanced and is suitable for people who have good sports training, for whom simple twists are no longer so interesting. The exercise has three variations, differing in difficulty level - raising the knees, raising the legs above parallel with the floor and, finally, raising the straight legs to the bar itself.

Features of the exercise

Raising your legs while hanging on the bar perfectly works the entire abs, maximizing the load on the lower part of the rectus abdominis muscle. As a rule, it is the lower part of the abs that is most difficult to work out, and if the cubes are drawn quite quickly on top, then beautiful relief from below - the task is not so trivial.

In addition to the rectus abdominis muscles, the external and internal obliques are also used. If you do hanging leg raises, adding twisting of the body to the sides, that is, turning your knees to the right and left, you will increase the load on these muscle groups. The hip flexor muscles are also involved in the movement. They lift their legs from bottom position up to 30–45 degrees. And after 45 degrees the press is already actively turned on.

Besides the abdominal muscles static load are tested on the arms, shoulders and back. To perform the exercise, you must have a fairly strong lower back. If your hands are weak (the grip quickly weakens), you can use special straps to secure your hands to the bar.

Any special contraindications for performing this exercise no, unless you have had any injuries that cause painful sensations while performing the movement. In this case, it is better not to experiment and replace hanging leg raises with, say, reverse crunches on the floor or.

Regarding the location of hanging leg raises or knee raises complex training on the abs, then this exercise is performed first, as the most difficult and tiring. Then you can do crunches, body and leg raises while lying down in different variations.

Execution technique

As already mentioned, the exercise has three degrees of difficulty: simpler (lifting legs with bent knees), classic (legs straight or slightly bent) and more difficult (straight legs raised all the way to the bar).

Let's consider the universal technique of performing the movement, and each athlete determines which variation to choose, depending on his level of physical fitness.

Starting position – hanging on a bar or horizontal bar with straight arms and legs. The height of the crossbar should be such that your feet either lightly touch the floor or (better) not touch it at all. When performing the exercise, the hands play the role of coupling with the crossbar, that is, they do not participate in the movement. Twist your tailbone slightly forward, feeling that your abs are tense.
As you exhale, lift your legs and twist your pelvis forward. The angle between your torso and your hips should be less than 90 degrees, regardless of whether you raise your knees or straighten your legs. That is, the hips rise above parallel with the floor, and the pelvis twists forward. By the way, it will be extremely difficult to lift your legs completely straight if you have insufficient stretching back surface hips Therefore, as a rule, most athletes lift their legs not completely straight, but slightly bent. At the top point, hold for a couple of seconds.
If possible, slowly lower yourself to the starting position. Perform the required number of repetitions.

The higher you raise your legs, and the straighter your legs are, the greater the load on your abs. Maximum tension of the abdominal muscles will require lifting the legs to the bar itself. In this case, all areas of the rectus abdominis muscles, and not just their lower region, receive significant load.

If you want to additionally load the oblique muscles, add side-to-side trunk crunches, that is, rotate your knees to the right and left with each lift.

Aim for at least 15-20 reps in 3-4 sets. This will be difficult at first, so do as many repetitions as you can.

You may want to move your legs back a little at the bottom to help you get through the initial phase of the leg lift, when it's your hip flexors that work more than your abs. But strong swinging and throwing your legs up by inertia will make the exercise a waste of time.

The following points can also be noted:

Raise your hips above 90 degrees, that is, above a position parallel to the floor.
Don't forget to tuck your pelvis forward when performing the exercise. It is these additional crunches that will help you maximize the use of your abdominal muscles.
Work on stretching the back of your legs. This will allow you to perform the exercise with greater amplitude.

In conclusion, it should be noted that any abdominal exercise, be it hanging leg raises, crunches on the floor, in a machine or on a Roman chair, will give an effect if you perform them regularly and until you feel a strong burning sensation in the muscles. Arm yourself with patience, work on yourself and then success will certainly be achieved!

Various fitness gurus love lifting legs while hanging on a horizontal bar. They say that only this movement works out the entire abs, allows you not only to “pump up” the abs, but also to increase the functional strength of the core, and generally looks impressive. Now let's move to any room. Almost all fitnessists do the exercise incorrectly, swinging their legs towards the horizontal bar and not loading their abs. And those who have mastered the technique often cannot work for a long time due to clogging hands, problems with grip, or simple fatigue. The lifting is done at the end of the workout. Meanwhile, this is really good exercise, which can provide much more benefits than regular crunches from a lying position on the floor and sit-ups on a fitball.

Starting position

In any way, hang on the horizontal bar, palms slightly wider than shoulders;
Stabilize your shoulders by moving them away from your ears, pulling them up slightly transverse muscle, drawing in the stomach;
Remove body sway, breathe calmly;
Bend your knees slightly if you are performing bent leg adduction, or straighten your legs if the goal is to raise your toes to the bar

Movement

Contract your abs by slightly twisting your pelvis forward;
Due to stronger tension of the abdominal muscles, bring your knees to your chest;
“Unwind” back without swinging;
Perform the required number of repetitions;
Don't relax your abs all the way down.

Attention!

Remove inertial movements in the shoulder joint. Don't swing your upper body;
Avoid swinging your legs;
Do not throw your hips back to prevent complete relaxation of the abs;
Don't pull your hips toward your ribs using the strength of your quadriceps, twist;
Bring the pelvis with the bones to the lower ribs, as if “twisting” it upward. A similar movement is found in the Pilates system, and is practiced in strength training when we assume a neutral back position.

Variations

This is one of them basic exercises in crossfit and gymnastics. Bodybuilders classify this skill as advanced, but it is not. The whole point is in technology. Raising your toes to the bar is not a twist, but a movement in the shoulder joint. The athlete starts from a hanging position, the toes can be pulled down to make it more comfortable, then, using the force of the press, he first brings the pelvis to the ribs, and then begins to rotate the shoulders and bring the toes to the crossbar. Lowering is carried out in reverse order. There are two movement options - fast and inertial, and slow to work the muscles. The first is used in competitive CrossFit complexes, simply to save energy and complete the complex faster.

And this is just a movement to strengthen the press from the field of exercise therapy. Athlete hanging on wall bars or horizontal bar, contracts your abs and brings your knees to your chest. You need to make sure that the movement occurs by contracting the abs, and not by throwing your legs up.

A variation for those who need to use the oblique muscles too. To begin with, the usual lifting of the knees to the chest is performed, the person brings the knees rigidly, and then turns, that is, bringing the knees to one and the other shoulder. The secret to the movement is to not relax your abs.

It is often called a press hanging on the elbows, but then the athlete would have to make a forceful exit and hang on the horizontal bar on the elbows, and this is very difficult. So we will do it correctly - in a forearm stand. The stand is taken into special simulator, the shoulder blades are pulled together and lowered towards the pelvis, and the back is pressed against the back of the car. It is also important not to tear off the lumbar region, so that the movement is strictly due to the press. Next, according to the usual pattern, either the socks are brought to the top of the structure, or the hips are brought to the lower ribs. Sometimes the legs are raised only to the midline, but they try to control the movement by tightly drawing in the abdomen.

Analysis of the exercise

This is a twisting of the spine with flexion in hip joint. Sometimes knee flexion is added. The goal is to work the entire rectus abdominis muscle. The obliques are activated if you rotate from shoulder to shoulder at the top, and the transverses are activated if you pull your stomach inward, literally pushing the abdominal wall towards the spine.

Quite a few additional muscles are involved in dynamics and statics:

Tensor fascia lata;
Rectus dorsi muscle;
Diamond-shaped and widest;
Quadriceps and hamstrings;
Forearm muscles

Preparation

Usually the movement is done at the end of the workout, when the body is already warmed up. This means you can skip the cardio workout. But this does not mean that mobility is enough to lift straight legs to the horizontal bar. The problem is that most fitness exercises involve the hamstrings in one way or another. By the end of the workout, a typical gym goer can only lift a little bit to the bar. bent legs. A short dynamic stretch, a series of body bends forward, hands to toes, will help to avoid this.

Ideally, a bodybuilder or fitness specialist should choose not the most high bar. The height should be such that you can touch the ground with your toes pulled out. If an athlete sways too much, touching his toes to the floor will help him absorb unnecessary inertial movements;
You should avoid swinging your legs, swinging and throwing your legs. This is a fairly short, controlled movement;
The press contracts only in the upper part of the amplitude. Therefore, it is imperative to go through the middle line, and ideally, pull the hips to the lower ribs;
You should not nod your head forward or touch your chin to your chest. This can lead to spasms in the cervical-collar area, unpleasant sensations during work and problems with recovery. In addition, nodding your head increases inertia, and we agreed to extinguish it;
The width of the crossbar should be comfortable. There is no need to combine grip training and abdominal exercises, this only works for high-level athletes;
You should eliminate unnecessary movements with your toes. Some athletes actively throw their toes towards the bar, and as they lower, they reach for the floor with their heels. This is an unnecessary movement that can cause an ankle injury;
Movement in lumbar region spine is similar to what we do when we try to lift our legs from a supine position. The pelvis should be brought to the lower ribs, and not maintain the natural deflection in the spine

Blunders

Lifting with a bend in the spine due to the strength of the legs;
Throwing socks to the bar using inertia;
Flexion at the elbow joint;
Incomplete amplitude, “light” lifting of the legs not even to the midline of the body;
Rotation of the head, throwing back of the head and other involuntary movements

The slower the pace, the more strongly the rectus muscle will contract, and the less the quadriceps, so you need to lift your legs only very smoothly and under control;
The principle of “exhaling for effort” works universally, it can also be used in abdominal training; we bring the pelvic bones to the lower ribs, exhaling;
It is better to perform fewer repetitions, but slowly and in a controlled manner, rather than swinging your legs in the air 20 times;
If you still have problems with your grip, you should use straps, or perform lifts in a “Roman chair”;
Raising the legs in the parallel bars in gymnastics is a swing exercise, in fitness it is strictly controlled and on the abs, so if you want to work your core muscles, it is better to perform the movement with a stiff body and not swing your legs;
For all its promise, this movement can and should be alternated with others. Beginners may have trouble hanging if they did deadlifts that day. When programming training load this must be taken into account. It is better to put hanging leg raises on the day when you train squats and bench presses, and variations, rather than rows and deadlifts, it will be easier to learn;
If the movement only strains your IT band and quadriceps, switch to an easier option for a while. Perform leg raises lying on the floor, slowly and pressing your lower back to the floor until you feel what movement you need to make with your front abdominal wall so that your back is kept pressed throughout the entire movement. Transfer this experience to the crossbar;
If you can’t get rid of inertia at all, you should switch to a simulator and perform the movement in support with your forearms. The back is pressed against the pillow, excess mobility in thoracic region we remove. If there is kyphosis, you need to tighten the muscles more tightly to the center and lower the shoulder blades towards the spine, while simultaneously retracting the anterior abdominal wall;
For informational purposes, those who cannot pull their stomach inwards are recommended to do a plank and a vacuum. These two exercises give you the skill to assemble the center of the body under any load, and are useful for a beginner fitness enthusiast, but you won’t be able to progress in them for a long time. Do them as lift-ups, and then move on to hanging leg raises.

Regular training program for a novice fitness enthusiast, includes abdominal exercises at the end of every workout. So, you don’t need to do only hanging raises. First of all, it will overtrain your forearms and weaken your grip rather than strengthen it. It is better to do it according to the “in one workout” scheme, alternating with planks and classic crunches with weights.

There are two options for the seto-repetition scheme:

Multi-repetition, up to 20 repetitions for those who are ready to work on burning abs, but cannot yet straighten their knees and perform all the lifts with clean technique;
10-12 repetitions in a complicated version - socks to the bar, for example

There should be at least 3 working approaches, but no more than 5. There is no need to overtrain the straight line, it already works in all basic exercises

Contraindications

There are strictly only two types:

Injury shoulder joints, rotator cuffs, shoulder muscles, or pectoral muscles;
Forearm injury, finger fractures, hand injury

Naturally, contraindications also apply to movement. strength exercises generally - rehabilitation period after illnesses, operations, and general malaise.

When they say that a weak grip is a contraindication, or overweight is a contraindication and does not take into account training goals. Typically, an athlete trains to become stronger and more resilient, and not to simply “check in” in the gym. It's difficult to make progress in anything if you don't practice it. Therefore, you should be careful about the very idea of “training without training,” and refusing certain exercises because of some weak muscles. Start with straps, gradually your grip will strengthen, and you will be able to hang normally without them. And excess weight is not a constant value.

And to achieve the appearance of six-pack abs on your stomach has already been written a lot. But there is still, perhaps, one of the most effective abdominal exercises - this hanging leg raise on the horizontal bar. This exercise is primarily known for the fact that it mainly targets the lower abs, which is a region that lags behind in many people. Also, most of the load goes to the rectus abdominis and external oblique abdominal muscles, and at the beginning of the movement, the non-target muscle, the rectus femoris, works.

There are many different variations of this exercise, but we’ll talk about them later, but for now let’s talk more about the technique. Leg raises will produce results if done correctly, i.e. control all movements, lift your legs by force, and not by swinging, and also slowly lower them by force, and not throw them down. At first, to prevent your body from swaying, you can perform it on a wall bars or ask a friend to hold you in the lumbar region.

Hang on the bar, arms shoulder-width apart, elbows straight, legs and back straight. It is important here that the horizontal bar is of sufficient height so that your feet do not touch the floor. Tightening your abs, raise your legs as high as possible. The higher you raise your legs, the greater the abdominal effort. You can raise your legs a little higher than to waist level or higher so that your toes almost touch the bar, but this option is more difficult. The legs can be raised either straight (or almost straight) or bent at the knees. In this case, you need to try to raise your knees so that you practically press them to your chest. Now you also need to slowly lower your legs using your press. Thus payload pressure on the press occurs not only during raising the legs, but also during lowering them.

Now about the options for performing this exercise. The key point is the height of the horizontal bar. No matter how high the horizontal bar is, you should not touch the floor or ground with your feet. In my case, the IronGym bar does not allow me to hang with straight arms because it hangs in the doorway, which is low for such an exercise. Therefore, to begin with, I pull myself up, and already in this position (hanging on bent arms) I raise and lower my legs. This option is even harder, because just hanging in this position in itself strains the abs, plus you also need to raise and lower your legs, so the load increases.

You can also raise your legs bent at the knees alternately to the right and left side. This way the oblique abdominal muscles work more intensely.

If you are faced with the fact that your grip begins to get tired before your abs, then you should use straps. This will help solve the problem of a weak grip for this exercise, but it is still worth training your grip strength at least with the help of expanders.

If there is no horizontal bar or just some kind of crossbar, leg lifts can also be done on the uneven bars, just so you will hang not with straight arms on the crossbar, but in support on the uneven bars with straight arms or on your forearms.