Hanging Leg Raise vs Hanging Knee Raise
You hang from a bar in both. With straight legs the lever is long and it's hard; with bent knees it's shorter and easier.
| Hanging Leg Raise | Hanging Knee Raise | |
|---|---|---|
| Muscles | lower abs, hip flexors, grip | abs, hip flexors |
| Equipment | Pull-up bar | Pull-up bar |
| Entry bar | 2/3 give the technique a couple of weeks | 1/3 fine from your first workout |
| Pick it when | Knee raises are easy and you want to load your abs harder. | You're starting out, or straight legs only come up with a swing. |
The main difference
The knee raise is the starting version: knees come up to your chest, the weight of your legs stays close to your hips, and almost anyone can do 8–10 clean reps. The key isn't just lifting your knees — curl your pelvis up at the end, so your abs do the work and not only the hip flexors.
With straight legs the weight of your legs is far from your hips, so the load on your abs and hip flexors jumps, and your grip has to hold on longer. Don't swing: momentum does the work for you. If your legs only come up with a swing, go back to knees until the raise is slow.
Can you do both
Yes: start the set with straight legs, and when they stop coming up, finish with knees. Once you can do 15 clean knee raises, it's time to move to straight legs.
In which programs
Log both in the diary — your estimated max will show which one is growing faster for you.
Prefer Telegram? Open the bot — same diary.