Lying Leg Raise
The lying leg raise is a floor exercise in which you lie on your back and lift your straight legs from the floor towards vertical, then take them back down under control. The hip flexors are the main movers, while the abs hold the pelvis steady and curl it up at the top.
Also called: Supine Leg Raise, Full Leg Raises, Straight-Leg Raise, Lying Straight-Leg Raise · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Lie on your back on a mat with your legs straight and your hands flat on the floor beside your hips.
- Brace your abs and tilt your pelvis back so the small of your back presses flat into the floor.
- Keeping your knees straight or softly bent, raise both legs together until they point straight up.
- At the top, curl your hips a few centimetres off the floor to finish the rep with your abs.
- Bring your legs back down slowly, only as far as you can keep the small of your back flat on the floor.
- Keep your head and shoulders relaxed on the mat, and breathe out as your legs rise.
- Start each new rep from that lowest flat-back point, with no swing.
- Small of your back flat on the floor
- Legs down only as far as your back stays flat
- Curl your hips up at the top
- Soften your knees if your back starts to lift
- Head relaxed on the mat
- Slow both ways, no swing
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Hip flexors | Prime mover | B |
| Quadriceps: rectus femoris | Secondary | C |
| Rectus abdominis: lower (infraumbilical) | Secondary | C |
| Rectus abdominis: upper (supraumbilical) | Secondary | C |
| Obliques (internal/external) | Stabiliser | C |
| Transverse abdominis | Stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Back arching as the legs come down
Fix: Keep the small of your back flat and take your legs only as far down as it stays flat.
Skipping the hip curl
Fix: Finish each rep by curling your hips a few centimetres off the floor.
Lifting the head and neck
Fix: Rest your head on the mat and let your legs and abs do the work.
Swinging the legs
Fix: Move slowly in both directions and pause briefly at the top.
Forcing locked knees with tight hamstrings
Fix: Keep a soft bend in your knees, or bend them fully for the knee-raise version.
What the research says
Muscle growthGeneral fitnessEndurance
- Muscles worked — EMG research comparing the leg raise with the sit-up found the leg raise is led by the hip flexors, with less overall abdominal activity than the sit-up.
- Abdominal demand — An EMG study of abdominal exercises found the ones that loaded the abdominal wall most were those with greater mechanical demand, such as longer levers and more range.
- Endurance — Reviews of loading find lighter loads and higher reps tend to favour local muscular endurance, which is the quality bodyweight leg raises mainly train.
- Sets and reps — A common approach is 2–4 sets of 8–15 slow reps, often at the end of a session. There is no direct research on leg-raise programming.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the lying leg raise in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.