Do leg raises burn belly fat?

No single exercise burns fat from one spot. Leg raises build the abdominal muscle underneath; the fat layer over it comes off through your overall calorie balance and training volume.

Why do my hip flexors take over?

Because the pelvis is tipping forward. Tuck the tailbone and press the low back down before the legs move, and shorten the range until you can hold that position.

Lying or hanging leg raises?

Start lying to learn the pelvic tilt. Move to hanging once you can do 12 clean straight-leg reps on the floor — hanging adds grip and shoulder demand as a bonus.

Core · Bodyweight or pull-up bar

Leg raises: how to do them and what they actually train

Leg raises are the best-known ab move and the most commonly butchered: done right they train the lower abs to resist your spine arching, done wrong they are a hip flexor exercise with a sore back attached.

Muscles worked: Rectus abdominis, Obliques, Hip flexors

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How to do it

Lie on your back with the hands under your glutes, or hang from a bar with the shoulders pulled down away from the ears.
Before moving the legs, tilt your pelvis so the low back flattens (or the tailbone tucks under when hanging).
Raise straight legs until the hips are at 90 degrees, keeping the low back glued down the whole way.
Lower over three seconds and stop the moment the low back starts to lift — that is your true range.
Reset the pelvic tilt between reps rather than letting the legs swing.

Mistakes to avoid

Letting the low back arch off the floor, which hands the work to the hip flexors.
Swinging on the bar so momentum, not the abs, raises the legs.
Chasing height instead of control — a slow half range beats a fast full one.

Sets and reps

Goal	Prescription
Core strength	3–4 sets of 8–12 controlled reps
Endurance	3 sets of 15–20 reps with a 2-second lower
Progression	Bent knee → straight leg → hanging → hanging toes-to-bar

Swaps and alternatives

Dead bug — Same anti-extension demand with zero low-back risk.
Hanging knee raise — The step before straight-leg hanging raises.
Ab wheel rollout — Loads the same pattern from the top down.

Common questions

What people ask about leg raises

This guide covers leg raise form, how to do leg raises correctly, leg raise muscles worked, leg raise sets and reps for muscle growth, bodyweight or pull-up bar rectus abdominis exercise and the swaps to run when a rack or bench is taken.

Training the same muscles from another angle? Start with the full exercise library or let the free workout plan generator slot leg raises into a four-week block.

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