How to do a Hanging Oblique Knee Raise
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About this exercise
- Sets Logged
- 133,498
- Popularity Rank
- 673rd
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Abs Strength
- 65 mSCORE 111th
- Equipment Required
Workouts with Hanging Oblique Knee Raise
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Hanging Oblique Knee Raise is a variation on the standard Hanging Knee Raise. Similar to the original exercise, this bodyweight movement primarily targets the core. By twisting your torso and bringing your knees towards your elbows, you also engage your obliques. This is a great variation for adding more complexity and targeting the sides of your core.
- Grab ahold of a pull bar with an overhand grip allowing your feet to dangle above the ground.
- Keep your feet together and bend your knees up towards the right or left side of your torso.
- Control your legs back to the starting position and repeat the movement to the opposite side.
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Alternatives & Variations to Hanging Oblique Knee Raise
1. Hanging Knee Raise
73.4 mSCORESWAPPED 288 TIMESHanging 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.
2. Hanging Leg Raise
60.2 mSCORESWAPPED 167 TIMESHanging 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. Oblique Crunch
86.7 mSCORESWAPPED 76 TIMESOblique Crunch is a variation on the more standard Crunch. Similar to Crunches, this is a bodyweight core exercise. By reaching across your torso, you can help isolate your obliques. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to specifically target their obliques.
4. Vertical Knee Raise
92 mSCORESWAPPED 74 TIMESVertical 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.
5. Russian Twist
96.2 mSCORESWAPPED 64 TIMESRussian Twist is one of the more common core exercises. This exercise targets multiple muscles in your core, but the reason for including this exercise is usually to target your obliques. By raising your feet off the ground, engaging your core, and twisting to each side, you can better target this specific muscle in your core.
6. Standing Oblique Crunch
24.1 mSCORESWAPPED 60 TIMESStanding Oblique Crunch is a variation of the traditional crunch that is performed from a standing position. This isolation exercise primarily targets the obliques. By performing the movement while standing, you can emphasize stability and balance, which can help in functional strength and core activation. This variation involves bending sideways at the waist to bring the elbow towards the knee, focusing on engaging the oblique muscles effectively.
7. Bicycle Crunch
91.8 mSCORESWAPPED 59 TIMESBicycle 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. Vertical Leg Raise
82.2 mSCORESWAPPED 56 TIMESVertical Leg Raise is a more challenging variation of Vertical Knee Raise. By keeping your legs straight as you raise them up and away from you, you add significantly more resistance to this exercise. Keeping your legs extended also forces you to engage your quadriceps. This is a great variation for anyone looking to make their Vertical Knee Raises more challenging.
- Intermediate
- Abs
- Vertical Bench (Vertical Knee Raise)
9. Cable Crunch
88.8 mSCORESWAPPED 47 TIMESCable 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.
10. Crunches
94 mSCORESWAPPED 44 TIMESCrunches 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.