Hanging leg raises is a form of workout that works on your abdominal muscles as well as hip flexors. When carrying out this exercise, one hangs from a horizontal bar and then raises legs so that they are completely parallel to the ground. In this article, we will teach you how to do hanging leg raises as a way of enriching your workout procedures.

Equipment Required

To be able to do hanging led raises, one needs a high bar (although this can be modified in the case of child play gyms). Ensure that it is strong enough to hold your bodyweight or that of the child using it. To improve grip, it is recommended that the bar is rounded rather than squared off. Another reason is that squared bars are likely to cause bruising on your hands unless you are wearing thick gloves.

There should be sufficient space as well for you to be able to stretch your legs. The bar should also ideally be above your head in order to work effectively. Here is a step-by-step guide to doing proper hanging leg raises.

Doing Hanging Leg Raises

Grasp the overhead bar and lift your body so that you are floating above the floor. When your feet are off the ground, extend your legs across so that they are positioned parallel to the ground. Keep your legs as straight as possible so as to exert maximum pressure on the abdominal muscles. When you are no longer able to hold the legs in this position, slowly lower them back to their normal position. You can target to do this procedure ten times in the beginning. As your body adapts to this workout, you can increase the cycles. Ideally, you should be able to do this at least 30 times.

Avoid These Common Mistakes

There are some mistakes that many people commit when performing hanging leg raises. These include swinging the legs or swaying the body when doing the workout. This is because doing this prevents the workout from impacting your abdominal muscles. You must also ensure that your shoulders are straight and held back instead of being hunched. The danger of hunching your shoulders (thus bending your back) is that you run the risk of straining your back and developing backaches.

May people also lower their legs too fast after the leg raise. In order to get the best out of this workout, ensure that you gently lower your legs slowly in order in order to get maximum benefit. If you feel back pain or discomfort in any part of your body, you should either slow down the workout or seek assistance from a workout expert.

Possible Modification

As the workout becomes easier and easier, you can make modifications in order to increase the challenge. One way of doing this is to add weights to the workout by tying dumbbells on your ankles to increase resistance. Another way of doing this is to also raise your legs beyond the 90-degree angle in order to raise the level of difficulty.

Choose Fitness Kid as your indoor playground partner. Contact us to learn more about our products and the services that we offer.