Laying Hip Raise

Directions:

Preperation/body position

1. Place mat on floor.
2. Lay on mat (face up), hands placed by sides for greater support, or behind head.
3. Legs should be extended.

Excution/Movement

1. Raise legs by flexing at hip, whilst bending at the knee also, so that upper thighs are brought up perpendicular to the floor.
2. Continue to bring the knees towards shoulders by flexing the waist.
3. Once peak contraction is reached, slowly control legs back to starting position.
4. Repeat for desired amount of repetitions.

Comments

The laying hip raise is a great outlet for those who have limited equipment, and wish to add variety to their abdominal training. The initial phrase of the exercise will recruit the hip flexors as the legs are raised off the floor, but the rectus abdominis will be strongly recruited in the latter portion of the concentric phrase of the exercise, when the knees are brought closer to the shoulders.

The laying hip raise will provide stimulus for potential hypertrophy to occur. The exercise will not aid in fat reduction to the abdomen region, as spot reduction fat loss is not possible. If your goal is to create a trimmer 'toned' midsection then diet and cardiovascular activities have to be addressed to bring down overall body fat levels.