I can do about 15 good form hanging leg raises from a high bar. Absolutely no swinging, straight legs, all the way up. But on stall bars, I can only manage about 4 to 5! Why is that? And how can I train these without stall bars? I have got a pull up bar at home, but that's it.
I am really curious!
Hanging Leg Raises- stall bars vs free?
Started by lisiflex, February 4, 2014 · 23 Replies · 11,855 Views
You aren't able to lean back to make the movement easier on highbar.
everytime you are doing high bar hll you have the possibility to lean backward over hands level as Daniel said. By doing that you are engaging the lats and the lift will be easier. stall bar puts a limit in your rom if you have poor flexibility in shoulders flexion and low strength on active hips compression.
At home there are a lot of ways to make hanging leg raises more difficult, even if you don't have a spotter to hold your back in place. Lower only half way down, add small weights, make circles or perform them with 1 arm instead of two. Of course there is still no replacement for stall bars.
I have been using these:
Lifeline Power Up Chin-up or you can DIY (Ross Enamait)
If you have your bar hanging on a doorframe, just hang on one side with a neutral grip and have your back against the frame. That way you dont need a stall bar.
I'm not really a fan of 'free' hanging leg lifts. I only have rings, and the swinging element gets quite wild. They're really two completely separate exercises.
Try L hangs. I find they engage the core in a similar way to stall bar hanging leg raises.
Well you can do Eagle Grip leg lifts.
Don't allow your body to hit vertical in the hang. Start in a slightly hollow hang and lift toes to bar. Repeat.
I'm curious if you can mimic a stall bar by having a spotter - If so, how would you coach your spotter to do this/what would they do?
Matthew777 said:I'm curious if you can mimic a stall bar by having a spotter - If so, how would you coach your spotter to do this/what would they do?
Yes. Support person at the lower back.
Daniel Burnham said:Yes. Support person at the lower back.
I thought it was upperback, to stop the shoulders from moving backwards?
dmcmanam said:Lower only half way down
These are harder, but I can't understand why? Shouldn't full range of motion be harder?
Not when everything below L amounts to rest time. V to L is good medicine
ForzaCavaliere said:I thought it was upperback, to stop the shoulders from moving backwards?
These are harder, but I can't understand why? Shouldn't full range of motion be harder?
Yes. Sorry my mistake. Upper back is better. Really any where you can keep them from laying back.
Daniel Burnham said:Yes. Sorry my mistake. Upper back is better. Really any where you can keep them from laying back.
Cool, that makes sense.
there is a good way to emulate the stall bar. if you have access to an high bar you ca use a wood bar (i suppose the distance from vertical poles is not too wide) held exactly behind your shoulders (you need to fix it with some tape). look to the photo.
you need only to fix it, ideally when you try to push back to lift the legs you are pressing it to the vertical components and it's not needed a lateral strong support.
I have been using a squat rack with pullup handles at the top, and I place the barbell at shoulder blade height. Works pretty well, very similar to what Alex posted above except the rack I use allows you to place the actual barbell that high.
I'm kind of wondering what I'm going to do when I get to leg raises. I might be able to rig something up in the garage which would work during the warmer months.
The Hansenator said:I might be able to rig something up in the garage which would work during the warmer months.
Hey, some of us have to workout in the snow! Uphill both ways..... 
Bipocni said:Hey, some of us have to workout in the snow! Uphill both ways.....
Ha ha!
I know, if I really wanted I could make it happen. When I come home from work I'm usually pretty cold already and the thought of going outside in the snow just doesn't appeal. Today the temp reached 5 degrees F or -15 C.
The Hansenator said:Ha ha!
I know, if I really wanted I could make it happen. When I come home from work I'm usually pretty cold already and the thought of going outside in the snow just doesn't appeal. Today the temp reached 5 degrees F or -15 C.
Yeah, ABH sucks....
Use a doorway pullup bar, and put your back against the closed door.
Biggs said:Use a doorway pullup bar, and put your back against the closed door.
I had a question about that. Is it necessary for your legs to be straight for this? My legs would have a pretty good bend in them if I was hanging from a doorway pullup bar. What kind of pullup bar would work for this? I've seen the ones that hook around the top of the frame but I don't think the door would close. Anything that can't be easily removed won't work out.
True, I can only lower to 45 degrees; but, as Jon Douglas said, everything below 90 is rest.
The bar is the threaded telescoping type. This exact one, actually. http://www.amazon.com/Sunny-Health-Fitness-Door-Chin/dp/B0016BNDXI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1392155125&sr=8-3&keywords=pullup+bar
This setup is poor, especially at 6'2" and 215 pounds, but it is holding me over until I get stall bars.
Eddie said:I have been using a squat rack with pullup handles at the top, and I place the barbell at shoulder blade height. Works pretty well, very similar to what Alex posted above except the rack I use allows you to place the actual barbell that high.
That's clever. I'll be trying that. Not sure if the squat rack at my gym allows you to set the bar high enough, but we shall see