Lying Leg Raises
Lying leg raises are simply doing leg raises while lying on a floor mat. Many
people consider these to be a beginner exercise (compared to the hanging leg
raise), but I'll explain why this is a narrow view of this exercise.
The one advantage that lying leg raises has over hanging leg raises is
this...the toughest point happens right as soon as your legs leave the floor . As
you lift your legs to 90 degrees, the resistance lessens. Once you reach 90
degrees, where the legs are above your hips...there is very little resistance at
all.
This is a completely different effect than hanging leg raises.
With hanging leg raises the least resistance happens as soon as you begin to
lift your legs forward. The most resistance happens when your legs reach the
90 degree mark.
This makes lying leg raises perfect for low ab specialization.
You will have the ability to do higher reps with lying leg raises. I find that
working your way up to 5 sets of 20 reps is a way to get the most out of
these.
Here is a tip that will ensure that they blast your lower abs: Do these at a
slightly faster tempo than you are accustomed to doing ab exercises. The
focus should be on “reversing” the movement at the bottom. Do this quickly,
without touching your heals to the ground or resting.
Then, as you get stronger purposely accelerate your legs and the way down
and aim for an even faster “reverse”. Done properly this is like explosive
lifting, but for your lower abs. The repeated strong contractions are going to
carve the heck out of your lower abs. The fast reverse requires serious lower
ab stabilization.
Lying leg raises are great at developing the muscle
that separates the legs with the lower abs.
Many people call this the “v” muscle.
This looks great on both men and women, but
obviously it will be more pronounced on guys.
Hanging leg raises will work this as well, but
lying leg raises target it better.
Note: I would NOT recommend working lying and hanging leg raises on the
same day . I will talk more about workout setup as well as rep tempo later.
Lying leg raises are simply doing leg raises while lying on a floor mat. Many
people consider these to be a beginner exercise (compared to the hanging leg
raise), but I'll explain why this is a narrow view of this exercise.
The one advantage that lying leg raises has over hanging leg raises is
this...the toughest point happens right as soon as your legs leave the floor . As
you lift your legs to 90 degrees, the resistance lessens. Once you reach 90
degrees, where the legs are above your hips...there is very little resistance at
all.
This is a completely different effect than hanging leg raises.
With hanging leg raises the least resistance happens as soon as you begin to
lift your legs forward. The most resistance happens when your legs reach the
90 degree mark.
This makes lying leg raises perfect for low ab specialization.
You will have the ability to do higher reps with lying leg raises. I find that
working your way up to 5 sets of 20 reps is a way to get the most out of
these.
Here is a tip that will ensure that they blast your lower abs: Do these at a
slightly faster tempo than you are accustomed to doing ab exercises. The
focus should be on “reversing” the movement at the bottom. Do this quickly,
without touching your heals to the ground or resting.
Then, as you get stronger purposely accelerate your legs and the way down
and aim for an even faster “reverse”. Done properly this is like explosive
lifting, but for your lower abs. The repeated strong contractions are going to
carve the heck out of your lower abs. The fast reverse requires serious lower
ab stabilization.
Lying leg raises are great at developing the muscle
that separates the legs with the lower abs.
Many people call this the “v” muscle.
This looks great on both men and women, but
obviously it will be more pronounced on guys.
Hanging leg raises will work this as well, but
lying leg raises target it better.
Note: I would NOT recommend working lying and hanging leg raises on the
same day . I will talk more about workout setup as well as rep tempo later.
