Is this exercise suitable for beginners?

It is better suited to people with some core and grip strength, since you hold your full body weight on the bar for the whole set. Beginners can learn the movement with the Lying Knee Raise or Parallel Bar Knee Raise and build the hang with the Dead Hang first.

How do I stop my body from swinging?

Engage your core and pull your shoulder blades down before starting each rep. Slow, controlled movements help minimize swinging.

Why do I feel this mostly in my hip flexors?

The hip flexors lift the thighs on every rep, so some work at the front of the hips is normal. If that is all you feel, you are probably lifting the knees without curling the pelvis up, so slow down and finish each rep by rolling the hips toward the ribs, even if the knees come up a little less.

Should I use an overhand or underhand grip?

An overhand grip about shoulder width apart is the standard setup and the easiest to keep still. An underhand or neutral grip also works if it is kinder to your shoulders or wrists, as long as you can still hang with the shoulders drawn down.

What should I do if my grip gives out before my abs?

Chalk helps, and lifting straps or ab straps that cradle the upper arms take the grip out of the set. Train the grip separately with Dead Hang holds so it catches up.

When should I move on to the Hanging Straight Leg Raise?

Move on once you can do sets of 10 or more slow reps with no swing and a clear pelvic curl at the top. Straight legs make a much longer lever, so expect far fewer reps on the Hanging Straight Leg Raise at first.

Hanging Knee Raise

What Is the Hanging Knee Raise?

Hanging Knee Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the core and also engages the hip flexors, obliques and grip muscles. It is an intermediate-level movement, because you need enough grip strength and shoulder control to hang from a pull-up bar for a full set.

Hanging from the bar, you lift your thighs by bending at the hips, which is work for the hip flexors. The abdominals do most of their lifting work when the pelvis rolls up toward the ribs at the top of the rep, a posterior pelvic tilt. If the knees only come up to hip height while the pelvis stays still, much of the effort stays in the hip flexors and the abs mostly hold the trunk steady. In an EMG study of 21 healthy adults, a hanging knee-up done in arm straps instead of hanging by the hands was among the exercises with the highest rectus abdominis and external oblique activity, alongside exercises on the Power Wheel (an ab wheel strapped to the feet) and a reverse crunch on a 30-degree incline.

The Hanging Knee Raise is a common core accessory at the end of upper-body sessions and in calisthenics programs, and it is the usual stepping stone to the Hanging Straight Leg Raise. Bending the knees shortens the lever, so the same hip and trunk action takes far less effort than lifting straight legs. The hang also builds grip endurance, the same demand as a Dead Hang.

It suits anyone who can already hang from a bar with control for the length of a set. If the hang or the pelvic curl is not there yet, build the grip with the Dead Hang, learn the curl on the floor with the Reverse Crunch or Lying Knee Raise, or use the Parallel Bar Knee Raise, which takes the hanging grip out of the set.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Rectus Abdominis (Lower): Primary
Rectus Abdominis: High
External Oblique: Medium
Flexor Carpi Radialis: Medium
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris: Medium
Brachioradialis: Low
Latissimus Dorsi: Low
Rectus Femoris: Low
Sartorius: Low

Instructions

Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder width apart.
Hang with your arms straight and your legs straight and together, feet off the floor.
Draw your shoulders down away from your ears and brace your core so your body is still.
Bend your knees and raise them toward your chest, keeping your knees and feet together.
As your thighs pass hip height, curl your pelvis up toward your ribs so your lower back rounds slightly and your knees finish close to your chest.
Pause for a second at the top.
Lower your legs slowly until they hang straight, stopping them just in front of your body instead of letting them swing back.
Let any swing settle, then repeat for the desired number of reps.

Common Mistakes

Swinging the Legs
Momentum from a swing lifts the legs without the abs doing the work, so start every rep from a still hang and lift under control.
Lifting Only the Knees
Raising the knees to hip height without curling the pelvis up leaves most of the work to the hip flexors, so finish each rep by rolling the hips toward the ribs.
Arching the Back
Letting the lower back arch as the legs drift behind the body at the bottom strains the spine, so keep the ribs down and stop the legs just in front of you.
Neglecting Shoulder Engagement
Hanging with the shoulders shrugged up to the ears loads the joint passively, so keep them drawn down with the arms straight throughout the set.
Rushing the Movement
Fast, bouncing reps skip the controlled lowering and turn the set into a swing, so lift and lower at a steady pace.

Injuries

Hanging Knee Raise is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The main strain points are the shoulders, which carry your whole body weight in the hang, the lower back, which the hip flexors pull into an arch when the legs hang or swing behind the body, and the grip, which usually tires first.

Hang actively: keep the arms straight and draw the shoulders down away from the ears rather than sagging into the joint, and start every rep from a still hang instead of a swing. Finish each rep by curling the pelvis up rather than yanking the knees higher, and lower the legs under control so the lower back does not snap into an arch at the bottom. If your grip fails before your abs, chalk or lifting straps let you finish the set without losing control of the bar.

If the hang itself is the problem, build it with the Dead Hang and Hanging Scapular Shrug, or train the movement with the Parallel Bar Knee Raise or Lying Knee Raise. Once you can do slow, swing-free reps with a clear pelvic curl, progress to the Hanging Straight Leg Raise, whose longer lever makes it considerably harder and heavier on the lower back.

Stop the set if you feel sharp shoulder pain, a pinch at the front of the hip or pain in the lower back, and switch to a floor variation until it settles. Anyone with a current shoulder injury or lower back pain that lifting the legs makes worse should check with a physical therapist or doctor before doing hanging work.

Overview

Primary Focus: Core
Equipment: Body weight and pull-up bar
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is this exercise suitable for beginners?: It is better suited to people with some core and grip strength, since you hold your full body weight on the bar for the whole set. Beginners can learn the movement with the Lying Knee Raise or Parallel Bar Knee Raise and build the hang with the Dead Hang first.
Q: How do I stop my body from swinging?: Engage your core and pull your shoulder blades down before starting each rep. Slow, controlled movements help minimize swinging.
Q: Why do I feel this mostly in my hip flexors?: The hip flexors lift the thighs on every rep, so some work at the front of the hips is normal. If that is all you feel, you are probably lifting the knees without curling the pelvis up, so slow down and finish each rep by rolling the hips toward the ribs, even if the knees come up a little less.
Q: Should I use an overhand or underhand grip?: An overhand grip about shoulder width apart is the standard setup and the easiest to keep still. An underhand or neutral grip also works if it is kinder to your shoulders or wrists, as long as you can still hang with the shoulders drawn down.
Q: What should I do if my grip gives out before my abs?: Chalk helps, and lifting straps or ab straps that cradle the upper arms take the grip out of the set. Train the grip separately with Dead Hang holds so it catches up.
Q: When should I move on to the Hanging Straight Leg Raise?: Move on once you can do sets of 10 or more slow reps with no swing and a clear pelvic curl at the top. Straight legs make a much longer lever, so expect far fewer reps on the Hanging Straight Leg Raise at first.