Hanging Leg Raise

The hanging leg raise is an advanced ab movement that hits the lower abs hard while building grip and hanging strength at the same time. Hanging from a bar, you raise your legs in front of you, and it's the slight tuck of the pelvis at the top — not just lifting the legs — that pulls the lower abs into the work, while your grip and shoulders fight to keep you steady and stop you from swinging. That combination of demands makes it a genuinely tough, full-package core exercise that also strengthens everything involved in hanging. It needs nothing but a bar, which is part of its appeal. The honest caveats are that it's demanding on the shoulders and grip and too advanced for most beginners, who are better served building up with planks and knee raises first, and that swinging or using momentum instead of control can strain the lower back. Move slowly, tilt your pelvis to curl the legs up, and resist the swing on the way down. For serious lower-ab work, it's one of the best.