Hanging straight-leg raise

Pull-up bar, dead hang

Also called straight leg hanging raise

Hang from a bar with straight arms, keep the legs straight, and raise them toward parallel, then lower slowly.

Movement

Main movers get full credit for a set, helpers half.

Upper body

Core

Lower body

Scores 1-5 averaged over sources. Tap a rating for the claims behind it. Claims are our summaries of the linked sources, fact-checked by AI.

Muscle growth higher is better2.5
Solid; a reasonable default. 2 sources.
- 1/5 D tier: longer lever raised hip flexor activity about 40% with barely more ab activation. Jeremy Ethier, It's Weird, But Destroyed Every Ab Exercise I Tested @ 6:09videoExpert opinion2026checked by AI
- 4/5 One of four best weighted ab exercises; targets lower abs and allows progressive loading with a dumbbell between the feet. Jeremy Ethier, Why Weighted Abs Training is a MUST (4 Best Weighted Abs Exercises) @ 1:31videoExpert opinion2017checked by AI