How to do a Vertical Leg Raise
Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Vertical Leg Raise
Vertical Bench (Vertical Knee Raise)
Instructions for Proper Form
Vertical 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.
- Secure yourself to the leg raise equipment by grasping the handles and placing your forearms on the pads.
- Engage your core to fold at the hips and bring your legs out in front of you. Keep your legs straight with a slight bend in your knees.
- Hold this position for a moment at the top of the movement while maintaining tension in your core.
- Slowly allow your legs to fall back into the starting position while maintaining tension in your core.
- Maintain good posture by keeping your shoulders engaged to prevent your body from sliding down and engaging your core throughout this exercise.
- You should feel this exercise primarily in your core, but may feel some tension in your hips or quads.
Common Form Mistakes
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 Vertical Leg 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.
- beginner3sets8reps1 Set Max9reps
- intermediate4sets8reps10reps
- advanced4sets9reps11reps
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Alternative Exercises to Vertical Leg Raise
1. Vertical Knee Raise
92 mSCORESWAPPED 1,562 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.
- Beginner
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2. Ab Crunch Machine
96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 1,357 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.
- Intermediate
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3. Leg Raise
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 977 TIMESLeg 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.
- Beginner
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4. Hanging Leg Raise
60.2 mSCORESWAPPED 933 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.
- Advanced
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5. Crunches
94 mSCORESWAPPED 709 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.
- Beginner
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6. Plank
92.8 mSCORESWAPPED 635 TIMESPlanks 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.
- Beginner
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7. Cable Crunch
88.8 mSCORESWAPPED 528 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.
- Beginner
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- Rope Cable
- Hi-Lo Pulley Cable
8. Russian Twist
96.2 mSCORESWAPPED 510 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.
- Beginner
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9. Bicycle Crunch
91.8 mSCORESWAPPED 501 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.
- Beginner
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10. Decline Crunch
79.5 mSCORESWAPPED 463 TIMESDecline Crunch is a more challenging variation on the more standard crunch. Similar to a standard Crunch, this is a bodyweight core exercise. The use of a decline bench forces you to lay back further than you can on a flat surface. This helps improve muscle activation.
- Intermediate
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- Decline Bench