How to do a Leg Raise
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Leg Raise
Workouts with Leg Raise
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
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.
- Lie your back onto the ground with your legs extended and arms resting at your sides palms down.
- Slightly tilt your hips upward to position your lower back flush with the floor.
- Prevent your lower back from lifting off the floor by breathing into your stomach and flexing your abdominal muscles.
- Keep your ankles bent to 90 degrees and your legs extended with a slight bend in your knees as you raise your legs to vertical with the floor.
- Lower your legs to the starting position.
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Resting Between Reps
Keep your core engaged for the duration of the exercise, even between reps. This exercise is designed to add instability that your core needs to compensate for. Keeping your core engaged throughout the exercise will improve the effectiveness of the exercise.
Sets & Reps Calculator
Average Leg Raise standards by male, female, gender, weight, age and height
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Alternative Exercises to Leg Raise
1. Ab Crunch Machine
96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 5,555 TIMESAb 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.
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2. Plank
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3. Crunches
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4. Russian Twist
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5. Vertical Knee Raise
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6. Bicycle Crunch
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7. Cable Crunch
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