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Hanging Knee Raise being performed with proper form
Hanging Knee Raise demonstration video — proper form for the full movement.

How to do a Hanging Knee Raise

Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

About this exercise

Sets Logged
999,051
Popularity Rank
199th
Difficulty
Beginner
Abs Strength
91 mSCORE 27th
Equipment Required

Workouts with Hanging Knee Raise

    Target muscles worked

    Primary Muscles
    Abs
    Secondary Muscles
    None

    Instructions for Proper Form

    Hanging Knee Raise is a variation of Vertical Knee Raise. Like Vertical Knee Raise, this is a bodyweight core exercise that involves suspending yourself and raising your knees to your chest. By hanging from a pull up bar, you add more instability to the movement, which causes you to further recruit your core for stability.

    1. Grab ahold of a chin up bar with either a neutral or pronated grip and allow your elbows to be fully extended.
    2. Brace your abdomen by breathing into your stomach and flexing your abdominal muscles.
    3. Raise your knees up to towards your chest as you keep your torso stationary and lower legs vertical to the floor.
    4. Keep your movement controlled as you extend your knees back to the starting position.

    Tips & FAQs

    • Are Hanging Knee Raises better than Hanging Leg Raises?

      Hanging knee raises are easier and focus primarily on the lower abs, making them suitable for beginners or those looking to reduce lower back strain. Hanging leg raises are more challenging, engage the entire abdominal region more intensely, and provide a greater range of motion, making them better for advanced trainees.

    Sets & Reps Calculator

    Average Hanging Knee Raise standards by male, female, gender, weight, age and height

    Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.

    • beginner
      3
      sets
      7
      reps
      1 Set Max
      8
      reps
    • intermediate
      4
      sets
      7
      reps
      9
      reps
    • advanced
      4
      sets
      8
      reps
      10
      reps

    Enter your stats to calculate your Sets & Reps

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    Alternatives & Variations to Hanging Knee Raise

    Filter By

    1. 1. Vertical Knee Raise

      Photo of Vertical Knee Raise being performed
      92 mSCORESWAPPED 1,811 TIMES

      Vertical Knee Raise is a bodyweight core exercise that involves suspending yourself, and then engaging your core to raise your knees towards your chest. By keeping your torso upright, and raising your knees, this exercise is a bit better for building functional, real world strength.

    2. 2. Hanging Leg Raise

      Photo of Hanging Leg Raise being performed
      60.2 mSCORESWAPPED 985 TIMES

      Hanging Leg Raise is a bodyweight core exercise that primarily targets the abdominals and hip flexors. By hanging from a pull-up bar and raising your legs, you add instability, forcing greater muscle engagement. This is a more challenging variation than Vertical Knee Raises, increasing the demand on your core and possibly the quadriceps, providing excellent strength and muscle-conditioning benefits.

    3. 3. Leg Raise

      Photo of Leg Raise being performed
      96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 826 TIMES

      Leg Raise is a simple bodyweight core exercise that involves laying on the ground and suspending your legs in the air. While your core does play a significant role in raising your legs, the real benefit comes from controlling their descent back to the floor.

    4. 4. Plank

      Photo of Plank being performed
      92.8 mSCORESWAPPED 723 TIMES

      Planks are one of the most common core exercises out there. This is a bodyweight exercise that is performed for time rather than reps. Planks don’t require any movement, instead they force you to place yourself in a position that requires you to engage your core, and maintain that muscle activation for the duration of the exercise. This is a great way to help build strength and stability in a way that will translate to a variety of other exercises, and your daily life.

    5. 5. Crunches

      Photo of Crunches being performed
      94 mSCORESWAPPED 722 TIMES

      Crunches are one of the most common exercises out there. It’s an easy to perform, bodyweight exercise that targets your abdominals. Crunches are very similar to Sit Ups, however, instead of raising your upper body all the way into a near sitting position, you only raise your shoulder blades off the ground. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to build core strength.

    6. 6. Ab Crunch Machine

      Photo of Ab Crunch Machine being performed
      96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 672 TIMES

      Ab Crunch Machine is a variation of Crunches performed with a machine. Unlike standard Crunches, the use of a machine gives you more control over your resistance. In addition, the machine will restrict your range of motion allowing you to focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement.

      • Intermediate
      • Abs
      • Ab Crunch Machine

    7. 7. Bicycle Crunch

      Photo of Bicycle Crunch being performed
      91.8 mSCORESWAPPED 593 TIMES

      Bicycle Crunch is a more difficult version of a standard crunch. Instead of raising your torso off the ground for each rep, you keep your torso off the ground, and your core engaged. By cycling your legs, you add more instability to the movement, which leads to better core activation.

    8. 8. Cable Crunch

      Photo of Cable Crunch being performed
      88.8 mSCORESWAPPED 464 TIMES

      Cable Crunch is a variation on the more standard Crunch. Unlike Crunches, this is a weighted exercise that does not have you laying on your back. Instead of using your bodyweight for resistance, you use a cable machine. This gives you more control over your resistance, as well as more control over the direction that resistance is coming from.