You want 6-pack abs, you want it now. You want to see the definition in your abs growing and you want to see your muscles growing every time you work out. If you want to see the definition in your abs growing with every workout.
If you do not train properly for it, this can be a difficult exercise to perform. The only equipment that you need for this exercise is your body and a pull-up bar. You must also be prepared to experience the ab workout of your life!
Benefits
The benefits of this exercise are increased endurance, increased abdominal strength and increased flexibility. The amount of definition you can gain from this exercise cannot be matched by any other exercise.
This exercise is extremely intense so you will want to ensure that you perform this exercise correctly every time, and that you do not overdo it. Only complete the number of reps that your body can handle and pay attention to the way your body feels.
How to Warm-up
Warming up for this exercise is extremely important. Failing to warm up correctly can result in injured muscles, extremely sore muscles, cramps, muscle pain and damage to your ligaments and tendons.
The muscles that you will need to warm up are your abs, your thighs, arms, chest and back. You should make sure to jog for at least 10 minutes before you begin this exercise.
The Proper Form
There are a few steps to ensuring that you have the proper form. Make sure to follow each one step by step.
Ensure you have a tight grip:
The shoulder is known as the most complex joint in the human body. It is also the most unstable joint. The more stability you provided for it, the safer your exercise will be. Grab it with an overhand grip and wrap your thumbs around the bar. Hook your thumbs over your first two fingers on each hand. This grip will give you more strength and stamina because it is a strong group.
Lock Your Shoulders
Pulling your shoulders down away from your ears, hold your shoulders there. This causes your chest to cave a little bit and your upper back to round. This protects your vulnerable shoulders from injuries, like impingement syndrome, strains and tears.
Keep You Ribs Down
When you lift your legs, the movement made should occur at your hips and not at your lower back. Ensure this happens by keeping your ribcage down and in line with your hips through the entire move. If your ribs do elevate during this movement your hips will not tilt forward which will cause strain in your lower back.
Pull the Bar Down Toward Your Head
Do not just hang from the bar. Instead, you should create tension in your arms and through your core. Pull down on the bar as hard as possible. This creates tension in all of the large muscle groups under your arms and throughout your rib cage. This stabilizes your spine and over time, makes it easier to raise your legs up to your chest.
Breathe Through Your Stomach
When your legs are as high as they can go, force yourself to exhale through your stomach. This will contract your abdominal muscles and force your core to stay contracted for longer than normal. This is one of the most common mistakes that are made when doing the hanging leg raise.
How to Cool Down
In order to cool down from this exercise, you should stretch all of the muscles involved in this exercise completely. You should also jog for at least 10 minutes to ensure that all of the lactic acid is released from your muscles. This will prevent soreness later in the day, and in the days following your workout.