I'm not sure how is it called correctly. When you're on a chinup bar and lift your straight legs up to your face. An old o-lifting soviet exercise. I used to do it when I wasn't lazy about training abs. 3x10 no swinging. I guess it's the hardest exercise for core. What do you think of them? They say leg raises work your hip flexors, but is it a bad thing? I feel it in my abs heavily anyway. I'm thinking it the only ab exercise actually worth doing.
I saw XTrainer did them in his log recently, so he can post his opinion. They sound brutally hard. Hip flexors are part of your core, and work accordingly. Your "abs" are getting worked too.
I think their call'd the hang pikes or something. Anyway you hang from the bar and raise your ankles to the bar while staying as vertical as possible, no swing. Probably the best abb exercise. Add windshield wipers and ab roll outs and thats all the direct work you need for abbz
It's a very good exercise. One of my favorites, but I wouldn't say it's the only one worth doing or the hardest. Harder: Front lever raises <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jfGAtWLXoYQ&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jfGAtWLXoYQ&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Human flag <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2g19Q65g_3c&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2g19Q65g_3c&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Standing ab wheel roll-outs <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fqSpCahng5c&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fqSpCahng5c&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Also good: Decline sit-ups (weight held behind head) The nice thing about the decline sit-ups is that it doesn't tax your shoulder girdle muscles like the other exercises and it won't affect your other upper body movements.
Those are stuff you have to train for a while. And that aint bad, everybody needs goals. Decline situps w/ weights are good, and somehow I feel them more in the core than in the hipflexors that get sore from regular situps. The shoulder problem is only relevant if you dont keep your shoulders thight and the blades pulled back (the beach posture works in almost every thing). By letting your shoulders relax and rise too far you'll be asking for trouble.
I can do stand ab wheel roll out no problems, but could god the human flag and front lever raises look fucking HARD. Also, to the OP- they aren't that hard. I find my grip going before my core does (girly hands)
In my opinion its only bad if it causes your hip flexors to become excessively tight (most people are already tight from sitting down too much), which can cause some back problems. So as long as you stretch it'll be more than fine.
Well I agree, compared to those brutal flags, levers and roll outs. But they're not basic in any way. I find them more exhausting for the whole body than the most heavy decline sit-ups for example.
I don't have the flexibility in my legs to bring my feet up to my face. My legs will bend and I will end up kneeing myself in the stomach. I still do leg raises, but they're only up to parallel. And I do them on the leg raise machine thingy. It's like a dip station except there's padding on the bar so you can rest your forearms on it and there's also a back rest so you don't swing. I tried doing them off a chinup bar, but I found I cannot keep myself hanging for very long plus I tend to swing a lot.
When I do them I drag my rack up to face the wall so I can keep my back against it. If you're dangling free it's impossible not to swing and so be forced to pause between reps. And yeah it's very hard to keep your legs straight all the way up. You need like, 12 year old gymnast girl flexibility in your hips and hamstrings, and no gut.
