If you’re tired of doing crunches to build a solid core and shredded midsection, there’s another basic bodyweight ab exercise you should incorporate into your workout routine. It’s a leg lift.
Lifting your legs off the ground from a supine position will target your lower abdominal muscles and give you another tool to achieve a six-pack.
We’ll show you how to perform leg raises with proper form and variations.
Leg lift: step-by-step instructions
- Lie on your back with your legs straight, neck up (or relaxed on the floor), and your arms at your sides or under your hips to support your lower back.
- Tighten your core and press your back into the floor. Keeping your legs straight together, slowly raise them until they are perpendicular to the ground.
- Pause and slowly lower your legs until they are about 1 to 2 inches off the floor, keeping your legs straight and core engaged.
How to make leg raises easier
Raise and lower your legs one at a time, or raise your legs while bending your knees.
In this variation, keep your lower legs parallel to the ground and your knees over your hips.
For more support, you can also place your arms on the floor with your arms straight out by your sides (your body will form a “T” shape).
How to make lifting your legs more difficult
Leg raises can be done in a captain’s chair (something called a leg lift machine) or by hanging from a bar and lifting your legs until they are parallel to the ground.
“The hanging aspect of the leg lift increases grip strength and increases the difficulty of the movement,” says Alexa Cohen, a personal trainer at Crunch Union Square in New York City.
Leg lift variations
These variations of traditional leg lifts can add an extra challenge or change the angle of attack to emphasize different muscles.
1. Stability ball leg lift
In addition to adding extra weight, you have the challenge of squeezing the ball with your leg muscles to keep it from dropping.
2. Side leg lift
- Lie on your left side with your legs and hips stacked together, legs straight, and head resting on your left arm. This is the starting position.
- Slowly raise your right leg as high as possible without rotating your hips, keeping your core engaged.
- Pause, then lower your right leg back to the starting position.
- Complete all repetitions, then switch sides and repeat.
3. Alternate leg raises (scissors)
- Lie on your back, pull your knees toward your chest, and wrap your arms around your legs.
- Lift your head, neck, and shoulders off the ground. Place your hands behind your neck and extend your legs so they are perpendicular to the floor. Point your toes.
- Lower your right leg 45 degrees, keeping your head and shoulders up.
- Quickly switch legs so that your right leg is perpendicular to the floor and your left leg is lowered at a 45-degree angle.
- Continue switching legs for the desired number of repetitions.
Benefits of leg lift
“Leg lifts build a strong core and hip flexors while increasing balance and stability,” explains Cohen.
This exercise targets your rectus abdominis, your “six-pack muscle,” and also works your hip flexors and obliques. “The abdominal muscles are used isometrically to stabilize the body during movement,” says Cohen.
But toning your abdominal muscles isn’t just about leg raises.
Your core is also your back. By increasing your core strength, lifting your legs also increases support for your spine and back, which may lower your risk of back injuries, Cohen adds.
