Toes to Bar
What Is the Toes to Bar?
Toes to Bar is a compound exercise that primarily targets the core, working the rectus abdominis hardest while the hip flexors, obliques and lats also contribute. It is an advanced-level movement performed from a dead hang on a pull-up bar, where you lift your legs and curl your pelvis until your toes touch the bar between your hands. The version shown here is the strict toes to bar, done without any swing, so the abs and hip flexors have to lift the full length of the legs from a still hang.
The exercise trains trunk flexion through a very long range, from a fully stretched hang to a tight pike with the feet at the bar, which is why coaches use it to build the compression strength behind bodyweight skills such as the L-Sit. It is also a staple of CrossFit workouts, where it is usually performed kipping for higher reps. Strict reps are commonly programmed as accessory core work, or as a standard to meet before an athlete starts kipping.
The last part of the lift is what separates it from a Hanging Straight Leg Raise. Stopping with the legs level with the hips leaves much of the work to the hip flexors, while carrying the feet all the way to the bar forces the pelvis to tilt back and the lower spine to round, which works the rectus abdominis through its shortened range. Pressing the bar down with straight arms brings in the lats and lets the hips travel behind the bar, and that is what makes room for the feet to reach it. In the kipping variation, a controlled swing through a hollow and arch position supplies much of the lift, so each rep costs less core strength and more reps fit into a set.
It suits trainees who already hang comfortably and want a harder core exercise than knee or leg raises. If you cannot reach the bar yet, build up with the Hanging Knee Raise and then the Hanging Straight Leg Raise, and use the Dead Hang to build the grip to stay on the bar for a full set. Tight hamstrings also cap the range, since the legs have to fold toward the torso near the top, so a slight knee bend is an acceptable way to reach the bar while your flexibility improves.
Muscles Worked
- Rectus Abdominis
- Primary
- Rectus Abdominis (Lower)
- Primary
- External Oblique
- High
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Flexor Carpi Radialis
- Medium
- Flexor Carpi Ulnaris
- Medium
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Medium
- Sartorius
- Medium
- Tensor Fasciae Latae
- Medium
- Teres Major
- Low
Instructions
- Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and hang with your arms fully straight and your feet off the floor.
- Bring your legs together, point your toes and brace your abs so your body hangs still without swinging.
- Keeping your arms straight, press the bar down toward your thighs to engage your lats and draw your shoulders away from your ears.
- Breathe out and raise your legs in front of you, keeping them together and nearly straight, until they pass hip height.
- Keep lifting by curling your pelvis toward your ribs and letting your hips move behind the bar, so your legs continue up toward your hands.
- Touch the bar with your toes between your hands, with your body folded into a tight pike.
- Breathe in and lower your legs slowly under control to the starting hang.
- Let any swing settle before starting the next rep.
Common Mistakes
Swinging between reps
Letting the body swing after each rep turns a strict rep into a partial kip and takes the work away from the abs and hip flexors.
Bending the arms
Pulling with bent arms keeps the hips in front of the bar and blocks the feet from reaching it, where pressing the bar down with straight arms lets the hips travel behind it.
Stopping short of the bar
Ending the rep with the feet below the bar skips the final curl of the pelvis, the range that separates this exercise from a hanging leg raise.
Dropping the legs
Letting the legs fall back to the hang wastes the lowering phase and jolts the shoulders and lower back at the bottom.
Tucking the knees too far
Pulling the knees to the chest and flicking the feet up shortens the lever and turns the rep into a knee raise, so bend the knees only as much as your hamstrings require.
Injuries
Toes to Bar is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The strain concentrates in the shoulders, which carry your full body weight in an overhead hang, the lower back, which rounds as the legs rise past the hips, and the front of the hips, where the hip flexors work against a long lever. Grip is the other limit, since hands that give out near the top of a rep can drop you off the bar.
Lifting your legs from a hang also compresses the spine. When researchers measured 14 men performing the closely related hanging straight leg raise, it produced roughly 3000 N of spine compression, compared with under 2500 N for the body saw, along with rectus abdominis activity above 130% of a maximal contraction. If you have a history of back pain, build up gradually with the Hanging Knee Raise and lower every rep under control rather than dropping your legs.
Warm up your shoulders and hamstrings first, keep your arms straight and your shoulders engaged throughout the set, and stop any swing at the bottom so each rep starts from a still hang. If the full range is out of reach, regress to the Hanging Straight Leg Raise or allow a slight knee bend near the top. Once strict reps are solid, progress by slowing the lowering phase, pausing with your toes on the bar, or learning the kipping version for higher-volume work.
Stop if you feel a pinch or sharp pain in the front of the shoulder, pain in your lower back, or a sharp pull or cramp in the front of the hip, and come off the bar as soon as your grip starts to fail. Anyone with a current shoulder impingement or an acute back strain should skip the exercise until it has settled.
- Primary Focus
- Core
- Equipment
- Pull-up bar and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between strict and kipping toes to bar?
The strict toes to bar starts every rep from a still hang, so your abs and hip flexors lift your legs without help. The kipping version uses a rhythmic swing through a hollow and arch position to carry the legs up, which lets you link reps quickly but places high demand on the shoulders during the arch and depends on a well-practiced kip swing.
- Q: Should I learn strict toes to bar before kipping?
Yes, in most cases. Coaches commonly teach the strict version first because it builds the core strength and control that the kipping version relies on, and a kip added on top of weak compression tends to break down after a few reps.
- Q: Why can't my feet reach the bar?
The usual limits are tight hamstrings, which stop your legs from folding toward your torso, and bent arms, which keep your hips in front of the bar. Press the bar down with straight arms so your hips can travel behind it, and allow a slight knee bend near the top while you work on hamstring flexibility.
- Q: Is toes to bar harder than a hanging leg raise?
Yes. It covers a longer range than a Hanging Straight Leg Raise, which usually stops with the legs at hip height, and the last part of the lift asks you to curl your pelvis while your legs are at their longest lever. Smooth sets of hanging straight leg raises without any swing are a good sign you are ready to start practicing it.
- Q: Does grip strength limit toes to bar?
Often, yes. Hanging for a whole set taxes the forearms, and a fading grip lets the shoulders disengage and the body start to swing. Adding Dead Hang holds for time builds the endurance to stay on the bar.