How to do the Hanging Knee Raise
Step by step
- Hang from a pull-up bar with a shoulder-width grip and arms straight.
- Set your shoulders down and back so you are not just dangling loosely.
- Curl your knees up toward your chest by squeezing your lower abs.
- Lower your knees slowly and stop any swinging before the next rep.
The thing people get wrong
Keep it controlled instead of swinging your legs up - the abs should do the work, and letting your body swing turns it into momentum.
Coaching cue
Curl your hips up underneath you at the top rather than just lifting your thighs.
Stay safe
Drop off the bar when your grip starts to go instead of hanging on to finish the set.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Do reverse crunches lying on the floor.
- Harder: Raise the legs straight instead of bent.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Core
- Secondary: Lats, Hips
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.