Hanging Knee Raise

Core training, but now you're hanging. You grab a pull-up bar with straight arms and pull your knees up to your chest without swinging. The hanging position makes it much harder than a floor exercise: gravity wants to swing your body, your grip has to hold your entire weight, and your shoulders have to stay packed the whole time.

This is also where grip strength quietly becomes a factor. Building a solid hanging knee raise habit now pays off massively later — it's the foundation for hanging leg raises, toes-to-bar, L-sits, and eventually front-lever work.

How to do it

Grip the pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart. Let yourself hang with active shoulders (not shrugged) and a still body. Without swinging, bend at your hips and knees and pull your knees up toward your chest, curling your pelvis slightly under you at the top. Lower your legs slowly back to a still dead hang before the next rep.

Target

3 sets of 10 reps with controlled movement — no swinging.

Key tips

• Start from a dead hang with a still body
• Raise your knees to chest height, not just hip height
• Tuck your pelvis at the top — the hip flexors shouldn't do all the work
• Lower your legs slowly — don't just let them drop
• If you're swinging, you're using momentum; pause between reps

Progression

Before this: own a 30-second Hollow Hold on the floor first. The hollow shape is exactly the shape your torso wants in the hang.

Next step: once 3×10 is smooth, work toward holding the top position — knees tucked and hips under — for a few seconds. That's the entry into the Tuck L-Sit in Level 4.