Hanging Knee Raise vs. Hanging Leg Raise

[That70sShowDude]

which is better?

[drpcnow]

should be hanging leg raises, your giving your abs more weight
however they make my hips pop so i stick with hanging knee raises

[Lector606]

I don't think either are particularly good, but i feel like it's a lot easier to not involve the hip flexors with knee raises done almost in a sitting position with the feet touching each other. Either way these make my hips feel tight and I don't like it.

[Rest-Pause-HIT]

i like to start with leg raises till im fatigued then continue on with the easier knee raises

[matt297]

i think leg raises provide more resistance, so in essence they are 'better'.

do knee raises if you struggle until strong enough, then progressively move on to leg raises

[Bydded_Gryf]

I do knee raises because I find they involve the hip flexors to a lesser extent

[ProTec]

I do knee raises because I find they involve the hip flexors to a lesser extent

They also involve the abs to a lesser extent....

[Lector606]

They also involve the abs to a lesser extent....

My opinion: do neither. There are about 20 other ab exercises that are better. Planks - front and side, weighted and non weighted - and cable rotations with a lot of care taken to keep the hips square are more than enough for most people.

[ProTec]

My opinion: do neither. There are about 20 other ab exercises that are better. Planks - front and side, weighted and non weighted - and cable rotations with a lot of care taken to keep the hips square are more than enough for most people.

Problem with planks is, they are great for the abdominal wall, but they are also an isometric excersize. Your abs will be very strong because of them, but only when you're in the same position (straight). Nevertheless, Planks, I think are superior for core strenght.

Inverse crunches, bicycles and weighted trunk roll ups will cause thicker abs.
Hanging leg/knee raises will as well, but they are a bit advanced maybe. If your abs are weak, the mayority of the work will be done by hip flexors. Once you get stronger, they will be less involved.

I love them! They leave me with a burn in the lower section of the abs every time I do them! I do 6 sets of 10 reps, and pretty much do a 'drop set' version, starting with 1 set knee raises for warm up, then do leg raises till I fail, then continue with knee raises till I am done. Awesome feeling!

[Lector606]

Problem with planks is, they are great for the abdominal wall, but they are also an isometric excersize. Your abs will be very strong because of them, but only when you're in the same position (straight). Nevertheless, Planks, I think are superior for core strenght.

Inverse crunches, bicycles and weighted trunk roll ups will cause thicker abs.
Hanging leg/knee raises will as well, but they are a bit advanced maybe. If your abs are weak, the mayority of the work will be done by hip flexors. Once you get stronger, they will be less involved.

I love them! They leave me with a burn in the lower section of the abs every time I do them! I do 6 sets of 10 reps, and pretty much do a 'drop set' version, starting with 1 set knee raises for warm up, then do leg raises till I fail, then continue with knee raises till I am done. Awesome feeling!

I don't think I agree. I very rarely do hanging leg raises but when I do I do them hanging off a chinup bar and I can easily do 25 reps in a set without swinging. Most of my core work lately has been weighted planks (45-90lbs), the ab roller (standing now ), weighted v ups, and heavy overhead squats. Nonetheless, when I do decide to do crunches I am very good at them, and I wasn't before I started doing all that other stuff, so I imagine that what I have been doing has developed my RA etc just as much as my TA.

I don't think it's a question of strength with hip flexors either. I'm not sure if you mean abdominal or hip strength but my deadlift is just under 3 times my bodyweight so I don't think I have a weakness in either, but I still feel leg raises in my hip flexors big time. I don't believe there is such thing as a "lower abdominal" exercise because the RA is just one set of muscles - I think that what most people call a lower ab exercise is actually a hip flexor exercise. It sounds to me like the same nonsense about "inner chest" and exercises to lengthen the rib cage and such... don't see how it makes sense physiologically.

For what it's worth I've also pretty much never seen someone's abs become noticeably thicker - the RA is such a thin sheet of muscle. Obliques or lower back, sure, but not the actual abdominal wall. I'm sure it's possible but I doubt something like bicycle crunches (which I see hundreds of paper thin girls doing every day) are going to make them thicker . I could definitely be wrong about this one though. I am just not one of those people who really believes that different exercise develop a muscle differently - i.e. an exercise for biceps peak or something - unless it actually targets a distinct muscle group (as is the case, say, with certain exercises working the brachialis more than the brachii or whatever).

[russo54]

one is harder than the other,haning knee raises put small stress on your lower abs
leg raises put alot more stress because your lower abs now have to support the weight of your legs in the air now,they significantly harder than knee raises

if you choose to you can a set of knee raises and at the end of each set you can do one long leg raise untill you reach failure,its a very good way to conditon your core

wieghted knee raised will not only strengthen your lowers abs but also shape and create more of a rounded look for them

[MWheatley]

Physics says leg raises would be more difficult.

[lefthookright]

Standing ab wheel wins for abs