If you experience occasional back pain, you can roll a towel and place it under the arch of your back, just above your hips. Additionally, if you lay on a workout bench instead of on the floor, it will improve your range of motion and allow you to lift/lower your legs farther. [2] X Research source
Be sure to contract your abdominals to push your lower back into the floor; there should not be any gap between them. This helps you target the abdominal muscles while protecting your spine. Lift your chin, and keep your eyes and face directed at the ceiling and avoid the temptation to strain your neck to look at your legs. This will help you avoid pain in your neck.
To make it more challenging: skip Step 2 and raise your legs to the ceiling without bending them. This increases the effort needed to complete the rep, and works both your legs and core harder.
Remember to breathe throughout the exercise, and resist the temptation to let your feet touch the floor. This will ensure you get the best workout possible. Keep your lower back pressed into the floor to engage your abdominals and protect your spine. This will get harder the closer your feet get to the floor, so only lower as far as you can while not arching your back. If you feel your lower back arching up off the floor, don’t lower your legs down as far. As your abdominals get stronger, you will be able to lower your feet closer to the floor using proper form.
To make it more challenging: practice raising your feet about 20%, holding for one second, raising them 20% more, holding for one second, and continuing this until you get them as high as they need to be. To make it easier: raise only a single leg at a time, while keeping the other flat on the floor. If you opt for this method, do 3 sets of 10 lifts for each leg, for a total of 6 sets.
Keep your other arm in front of you with your palm facing down. [7] X Research source
You can keep your free hand either on your hip or on the floor in front of you for some additional support. Make sure you keep your hips stacked and your torso still.
To make it more challenging: Lower your leg, but keep it about an inch away from the bottom leg to feel an extra burn in your side.
To make it more challenging: wear ankle weights or wrap a resistance band around your ankles to add opposing force, making your thighs, butt, and core work harder in the process. This is a great exercise to build leg muscles, reinforce your hips, and shape your butt![11] X Research source Most leg lifts are focused on working out the front of your body, so this is a great way to get that full-body workout!
Start small, with a medicine ball of 2–3 pounds (0. 91–1. 36 kg), increasing the weight when you feel you need the extra challenge. You can also use a dumbbell, which happens to be a bit easier to grip between your feet.
Be careful not to drop the ball. If you feel uncertain about your grip, lower the ball to the floor and readjust.
This is a great workout for your abdominal muscles, though it can take a bit more effort than regular leg lifts.
If you’re at a gym, the bar may have extra handles to support your hands. This version of the leg raise targets your core and your lats, and has the added benefit of training you for things like deadlifts and squats, if you want to expand your workout.
You may not be able to raise your legs all the way up at first. That’s okay! Raise them as high as you can, and over time you’ll build up enough strength to do the full workout.
Make sure you lower your legs slowly so that you are doing the work instead of relying on the momentum of your legs dropping.
The hanging variation of the leg lift exercise is better for people with back problems because it does not put the same amount of pressure on your back as it does when you do them lying down.
To make it more challenging: Wear ankle weights to add resistance as you raise your legs.
Standing leg lifts are great for people just starting to build core and leg strength, or people with physical impairments that don’t allow traditional leg lifts.
Take about 3 seconds to raise your leg, then hold it in the air for another 3 seconds.
