Hanging Knee Raise

How to Perform the Hanging Knee Raise

Grip a pull-up bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder width and hang with your arms fully extended.
Engage your core and slightly depress your shoulder blades to create a stable hanging position.
Initiate the movement by contracting your lower abs to raise your knees toward your chest.
Continue lifting until your thighs are at or above parallel to the floor, curling your pelvis slightly upward at the top.
Hold the top position for a brief moment, squeezing your abs hard.
Slowly lower your legs back to the starting hanging position under control, avoiding any swinging.
Reset and eliminate any body swing before performing the next rep.

Swinging the body to generate momentum

Perform each rep from a dead hang with no swing. If you need to, pause between reps to eliminate momentum.

Only lifting the knees without curling the pelvis

Focus on posterior pelvic tilt at the top — curl your pelvis toward your ribcage to fully engage the abs rather than just the hip flexors.

Dropping the legs down quickly

Lower your legs slowly over 2-3 seconds to maximize the eccentric loading on the abs.

●Use ab straps if grip strength is a limiting factor to ensure you can fully fatigue the abs.
●To increase difficulty, straighten your legs or add a slight pause at the top.
●Focus on curling your pelvis up rather than simply lifting your knees — this is the key to ab activation.

Strength

4-5 sets of 8-10 reps (bodyweight or weighted)

Hypertrophy

3-4 sets of 12-15 reps (bodyweight)

Endurance

2-3 sets of 20-25 reps (bodyweight)

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