How To Properly Do Leg Raises (Lower Ab Exercise)

What's going on, everyone? Welcome to today's video. It's Kyle here from Closset Fitness, and I'm gonna show you how to do a proper laying down leg raise, which is something a lot of you are probably doing from home. So basically, you're gonna want a nice surface where you can kind of lay down in here, get nice and comfortable, use carpet, use whatever you can. And basically, proper setup looks like this. I like to personally take my hands and put them underneath my butt. I find it reduces a little bit of back pain, and it just kind of keeps me a little bit more grounded and just controlled within this movement, okay? So laying back, all you're gonna do is just raise your legs up and then down, okay? Up and then down. I like to personally point my toes. I find it just contracts the abs nicely, but just doing a bunch of these reps are an awesome ab exercise, and it's great to really target the lower stomach. Now we're gonna jump into three common mistakes. So first common mistake, I find a lot of people do this just because they don't have that overall core strength built up, and they just kind of want to cheat the reps, just like a lot of exercises within the gym. As you can see on the screen, I'm constantly hitting my legs up and down. The goal of this exercise is to create a lot of tension with the core and help you stabilize and just establish a lot of control. If you're constantly hitting up and down, you're not gonna have much control. It's not gonna do a whole lot for you. You will strengthen them a bit, but if you're doing this at home with the purpose of getting a nicer, stronger, and just overall better core, do these properly. And common mistake number two is just improper positioning of the legs. So on top of what I just added about a lot of people hitting the ground, I find most people don't go all the way up to get a nice, proper contraction. You know, half reps lead to half measures. I'm not saying you have to go all the way up, as you can see on the screen there. You don't have to do that, but I'm just saying do a full range of motion. And past that, really try to keep your legs straight. If you're constantly bending them, you're not gonna get as much out of this exercise, and it's just not gonna be doing a ton for you. So, you know, listen to these tips and start, you know, stop making these mistakes. And third mistake, once again, this may be easy for some people, it may be tough, but I find a common mistake, along with a lot of people, is just constantly rushing the motion. You know, a lot of times, exercising in the gym, they're just flailing their legs up and down. There's no tension. So, really, I encourage you to get a stronger core and just stabilize better. Try to count two to three seconds on the way down, okay? Focusing on the eccentric for any exercise will really help you build stabilizing muscles, create more time under tension, and it's absolutely fantastic. So, basically, three variations. Number one I wanted to show you is a lying down leg raise with a bit of a kick up, okay? So, this is one of my favorites, and you can do it at home, okay? So, basically, just lying down, and do a bit of a kick at the top, okay? Up, okay? Up, up, creates a little bit more tension. It's a bit more challenging. On to the next progression. And next up is just basically doing a captain's chair leg raise. So, obviously, just using one of these dip things, great for challenging the core a little bit more in terms of stabilization. So, jumping up, keeping that core tight, leg straight, all the way up, all the way down, okay? Once again, it's a little too easy. Go up, and then control two to three seconds, okay? Up, control. This one's a fantastic progression. And then, last but not least, moving into number three, just simply doing a hanging leg raise. This is gonna be the most challenging one. Just doing the exact same thing, keeping that core tight at all times, you're good to go, okay? This is great, because it's also gonna challenge the grip a little bit more, but that's your full A to Z of how to do a proper laying leg raise, along with a bunch of progressions if they're super tough. So, hey, thank you so much. We're the number one online fitness coaches. If you're looking to get proper programming, proper nutrition, and just take your results to the next level in 2021, hit us up. First link in the description, we'll take care of you. As well as, second link in the description is our full-form playlist for literally every single exercise in the gym. We appreciate your support, and we'll see you in the next video. Peace.