Lying Leg Raise

Muscles worked by the Lying Leg Raise

Primary

Hip FlexorsHip Flexor MusclesAbsRectus Abdominis

Secondary

ObliquesOblique AbdominalsDeep CoreTransversus Abdominis

Also called: hip flexor, iliopsoas, psoas, iliacus, hip flexors, abs.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Lying Leg Raise

1. Lie flat on your back with legs straight and hands under your lower back or gripping a stable surface behind your head.
2. Keeping your legs together and core braced, raise them to vertical (or as high as flexibility allows).
3. Pause briefly at the top.
4. Lower your legs slowly toward the floor without letting them touch.
5. Repeat for the desired reps.

Form tips

• Press your lower back into the floor throughout to protect the lumbar spine.
• Avoid swinging — control the descent to maximize tension.
• Bend the knees slightly if hamstring flexibility is a limiting factor.

At a glance

Lying Leg Raise in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Ab Wheel Rollout
• Bicycle Crunch
• Bird Dog Hold
• Cable Crunch
• Captain's Chair Knee Raise
• Captain's Chair Leg Raise
• Crunches
• Dead Bug

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "lying-leg-raise",
  "name_en": "Lying Leg Raise",
  "name_de": "Liegendes Beinheben",
  "name_es": "Elevación de Piernas Acostado",
  "description_en": "A floor-based core exercise that targets the lower abs and hip flexors by raising straight legs from a supine position.",
  "description_de": "Eine Bodenübung für die untere Bauchmuskulatur und Hüftbeuger, bei der die gestreckten Beine aus der Rückenlage angehoben werden.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de suelo para el abdomen bajo y los flexores de cadera que consiste en elevar las piernas rectas desde posición supina.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "hip_flexors",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "obliques",
    "transverse_abdominis"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core_focus"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie flat on your back with legs straight and hands under your lower back or gripping a stable surface behind your head.",
    "Keeping your legs together and core braced, raise them to vertical (or as high as flexibility allows).",
    "Pause briefly at the top.",
    "Lower your legs slowly toward the floor without letting them touch.",
    "Repeat for the desired reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Flach auf dem Rücken liegen, Beine gestreckt, Hände unter dem unteren Rücken oder an einem Griff hinter dem Kopf.",
    "Beine zusammenhalten, Rumpf stabilisieren und die Beine senkrecht heben.",
    "Kurz oben halten.",
    "Beine langsam Richtung Boden absenken, ohne sie abzulegen.",
    "Gewünschte Wiederholungsanzahl ausführen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca arriba con las piernas rectas y las manos bajo la zona lumbar o sujetando una superficie estable detrás de la cabeza.",
    "Con las piernas juntas y el core activado, eleva las piernas hasta la vertical.",
    "Pausa brevemente arriba.",
    "Baja las piernas despacio hacia el suelo sin llegar a apoyarlas.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Press your lower back into the floor throughout to protect the lumbar spine.",
    "Avoid swinging — control the descent to maximize tension.",
    "Bend the knees slightly if hamstring flexibility is a limiting factor."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Den unteren Rücken während der gesamten Übung auf dem Boden halten.",
    "Nicht schwingen — kontrolliertes Absenken für maximale Spannung.",
    "Bei eingeschränkter Hamstring-Flexibilität die Knie leicht beugen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén la zona lumbar pegada al suelo durante todo el ejercicio.",
    "Evita el balanceo — controla el descenso para maximizar la tensión.",
    "Dobla ligeramente las rodillas si la flexibilidad de los isquiotibiales lo requiere."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/lying-leg-raise-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/lying-leg-raise-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "lying-leg-raise");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.