Lying Leg Raise

How to perform the Lying Leg Raise

1. Lie flat on your back with legs straight, hands under the hips or gripping a bench overhead for a stable anchor.
2. Press the lower back into the floor and keep it there — if the lumbar arches up, the hip flexors take over and the abs disengage.
3. Raise the straight legs by hinging at the hips until they point toward the ceiling, keeping the knees soft but not bending them.
4. Near the top, add a small posterior pelvic tilt to curl the hips off the floor and shorten the abs beyond a plain hip raise.
5. Lower the legs slowly toward the floor while actively bracing to keep the lower back flat against the ground.
6. Stop the descent just before the heels touch or before the lower back begins to arch, then raise again without resting.

Suggested working range: 12–20 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Letting the lower back arch off the floor as the legs lower, dumping the load onto the hip flexors and the lumbar.
• •Bending the knees heavily to shorten the lever and cheat the legs up.
• •Dropping the legs quickly and using the rebound to fling them back up.
• •Raising the legs with a pure hip hinge and never tucking the pelvis to shorten the abs.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.