Hanging Oblique Knee Raise
What Is the Hanging Oblique Knee Raise?
Hanging Oblique Knee Raise is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the core and also engages the hip flexors, the lats and the grip. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you hang from a pull-up bar and raise your bent knees toward one side and then the other, so each rep combines a knee raise with a sideways curl of the pelvis.
It is the side-angled version of the Hanging Knee Raise, and the straight-up version already works the sides of the waist hard. In an EMG study of 21 healthy adults, a hanging knee-up done in arm straps was among the exercises with the highest rectus abdominis and external oblique activity. Angling the knees adds side bending and rotation of the pelvis, actions the obliques produce, so they also steer the legs to each side. It is still a knee raise first, with the rectus abdominis and hip flexors lifting the legs, rather than an exercise that isolates the obliques.
It fits as accessory core work, usually near the end of a session or paired with an upper body exercise that does not tax the grip. Calisthenics athletes and lifters who already own a steady hanging knee raise use it to add a rotational and side-bending demand without leaving the bar, and it builds toward harder hanging work such as the Hanging Straight Leg Raise.
Build a still, active hang with the Dead Hang and slow, swing-free straight-up knee raises before adding the side angle. If hanging is not possible yet, the Parallel Bar Knee Raise supports the body on the forearms, and floor work such as the Cross-Body Crunch trains the obliques without the bar.
The mind-muscle connection matters here. Think of drawing one hip up toward the lower ribs on that side rather than tossing the knees sideways, because a sideways swing of the legs can look like the exercise while the trunk does very little.
Muscles Worked
- External Oblique
- Primary
- Rectus Abdominis (Lower)
- Primary
- Rectus Abdominis
- High
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Flexor Carpi Radialis
- Medium
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Medium
- Tensor Fasciae Latae
- Medium
- Sartorius
- Low
Instructions
- Grip a pull-up bar overhand with your hands about shoulder-width apart and hang with your arms straight and your legs together.
- Draw your shoulders down away from your ears and brace your abs so your body hangs still.
- Exhale and bend your knees as you raise them up and toward your right side, curling your pelvis up so your right hip moves toward your lower ribs.
- Lift until your thighs reach at least hip height, keeping your chest and shoulders facing the bar.
- Pause briefly, then inhale and lower your legs slowly back to a full hang.
- Let any swing settle, then raise your knees toward your left side in the same way.
- Keep alternating sides until you finish the same number of reps on each side.
Common Mistakes
Swinging Between Sides
Going straight from one side to the other without settling into a still hang turns the set into a pendulum that momentum, not the core, keeps moving.
Tossing the Knees Sideways
Pushing the knees out to the side without curling the pelvis up moves the legs but leaves the abs and obliques with little to do.
Turning the Upper Body
Letting the chest and shoulders rotate with the legs loses the twist through the waist, so keep the torso facing the bar and let the pelvis turn.
Dropping the Legs
Letting the knees fall from the top throws the lower back into an arch and starts the next swing, so lower them as slowly as you raised them.
Hanging Passively
Sagging into the shoulders with the ears between the arms loads the shoulder joints instead of the muscles and makes the body harder to keep still.
Injuries
Hanging Oblique 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 drop or swing behind the body, and the grip, which usually tires first. The side angle adds one more: switching sides quickly turns the body into a twisting pendulum that the lower back and shoulders have to stop.
Hang actively, with straight arms and the shoulders drawn down away from the ears, and return to a still hang before every rep. Raise the knees to the side by curling the pelvis up rather than flinging the legs, lower them under control, and pause at the bottom before switching sides. If your grip fails before your abs, chalk or lifting straps let you finish the set without losing control of the bar.
If the side angle sets off a swing you cannot stop, go back to the Hanging Knee Raise until straight-up reps are steady, or train the movement with the Parallel Bar Knee Raise or the Cross-Body Crunch. Build the hang itself with the Dead Hang and Hanging Scapular Shrug. Once controlled reps to both sides come easily, the Hanging Straight Leg Raise is a harder next step with a longer lever.
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 or twisting the legs makes worse should check with a physical therapist or doctor before doing hanging work.
- Primary Focus
- Core
- Equipment
- Pull-up bar and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Hanging Oblique Knee Raise
The Hanging Oblique Knee Raise is also known as:
- Twisting Hanging Knee Raise
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Does angling the knees to the side turn this into an oblique exercise?
Only partly. The obliques already work hard in the straight-up hanging knee raise, and angling the knees adds side bending and rotation of the pelvis, actions they produce, but the rectus abdominis and hip flexors still lift the legs on every rep.
- Q: Should I alternate sides or do all my reps on one side first?
Either works. Alternating, one rep to each side, is the usual way and keeps both sides even, while finishing all reps on one side first makes it easier to stay still between reps; whichever you choose, do the same number of reps to each side.
- Q: How do I stop swinging when I switch sides?
Lower the knees all the way to a full hang and pause for a moment before raising them to the other side. Keep the shoulders drawn down and the legs together, and if the swing still builds, slow the lowering or go back to the Hanging Knee Raise for a few weeks.
- Q: What should I do if my grip gives out before my abs?
Chalk or lifting straps let you finish the set without losing control of the bar. Train the grip separately with the Dead Hang so it stops cutting your core work short.
- Q: Will this exercise slim my waist?
No. Training the obliques strengthens them but does not burn the fat over them specifically, so a narrower waist comes from overall fat loss, not from any one core exercise.