Flat Bench Lying Leg Raise

How to perform

1. 01Lie with your back flat on a bench and your legs extended in front of you off the end.
2. 02Place your hands either under your glutes with your palms down or by the sides holding on to the bench. This will be your starting position.
3. 03As you keep your legs extended, straight as possible with your knees slightly bent but locked raise your legs until they make a 90-degree angle with the floor. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement and hold the contraction at the top for a second.
4. 04Now, as you inhale, slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position.

Form cues

• —Lead with the elbows and finish by squeezing the target muscle.
• —Control the lowering phase — that is where most of the growth stimulus lives.

Common mistakes

• —Using momentum instead of the target muscle.
• —Cutting the range of motion short to add load.