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Leg Raises (Advanced)

The advanced leg raise extends the standard version with slower eccentrics, deeper hovers, and no rest at either end of the range — the legs never stop working from first rep to last. It suits trainees whose regular raises are clean through a full range and who want the ceiling raised. Coached by Maddy (NASM-CPT) — these are the exact form cues he gives on every client's first week.

Muscles worked

Abs · rectus abdominis Hip flexors · iliopsoas Obliques Deep core · transverse abdominis

Sets & reps by goal

Goal	Sets × Reps	Rest
Strength	4 × 3–5 (5-second descents)	2 min
Muscle	3 × 6–10	90 s
Endurance	2–3 × 10–15	60 s

Level — Advanced

Advanced — the version where the descent, not the rep count, is the achievement.

Proper form — 5 cues

Establish the hollow — lower back pressed down, ribs tucked — before the legs move.
Lower the legs over a full five seconds, resisting every degree.
Hold the low hover for two counts, heels barely off the floor.
Raise without any bounce out of the hover — the transition is the test.
Keep the arms light on the floor; every set should feel trunk-driven, not hand-braced.

Breathing: Long controlled exhale across the five-second descent, quick inhale at the top.

The 3 mistakes Maddy corrects most

The hover quietly rising over the set. As the abs tire, the 'just off the floor' hold drifts up to shin height, easing every rep. Fix: Fix a visual marker — a rolled towel under the heels' target height — and hit it.

Rushing the eccentric to reach the easier lift. The five-second descent is the entire point of the advanced version. Fix: Count out loud; if five honest seconds are impossible, return to the standard raise.

Ribs flaring as the arms reach overhead. Some advanced variants add overhead arms; a flared ribcage undoes the hollow beneath. Fix: Keep ribs knitted down; shorten the arm reach until the trunk can hold both.

Common questions

What separates this from regular leg raises?

Density of tension. The standard version allows micro-rests at the top and bottom; the advanced one deletes them — five-second descents, a held hover, and a dead-stop lift. Rep counts fall by half while the difficulty roughly doubles. It is the same movement with the escape hatches welded shut.

When should I progress to this version?

When three sets of fifteen standard raises with a full slow range and constant back contact feel manageable. If that benchmark is not yet routine, the advanced constraints will simply push you into an arched back — which trains the wrong thing more intensely, not the right thing better.

What comes after advanced lying raises?

The pattern's ceiling moves off the floor: hanging knee raises, then hanging straight-leg raises, which add grip, shoulder, and swing control to the same pelvic anchoring job. The lying advanced version remains a permanent tool though — it is where you refine strictness that hanging work tends to erode.

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