Q: I’ve studied your top ideal-exercise factors in Old Man, Young Muscle. To me it seems like hanging leg raises for abs would check most of the boxes, equal to dumbbell curls for biceps. Both have good resistance at stretch and the legs move the same way as the forearms on dumbbell curls. Why do you not recommend hanging leg raises, but you do like dumbbell curls as an ideal exercise?
A: While straight legs on hanging leg raises do mimic the action of the forearms on curls, notice the resistance curve…
On biceps curls, the resistance falls off at the top contracted position, which is ideal—early phase loaded, late phase unloaded.
On hanging leg raises, however, the resistance increase at the top as you try to pull your thighs toward your chest—it’s just too damn hard at the top, especially if you try to curl your hips toward your torso.
The reasons are the long lever of your legs and gravity pulling your torso straight down as you try to lift your legs up…
Yes, you could just do the bottom half of the movement, training the stretch phase of the abs’ stroke—and the hip flexors—but there’s a better, more comfortable exercise: flat or incline hip rollups…
You still involve the hip flexors, as you do on hanging leg raises, but the resistance curve is much better. You get the most resistance at the bottom stretch position and as you roll your hips toward your torso, the resistance falls off.
Incidentally, the photo above shows me on a flat bench, but these days I put a riser under one end to get my head higher and provide a bit more resistance at contraction…
Keep in mind that this is an add-on exercise, not the ideal. The incline crunch, head at the TOP of the incline to load the stretch and unload the contraction where the muscle is weakest, is the ideal move. (See Old Man, Young Muscle for start/finish photos of the key ideal and add-on exercises.)
Sculpt your perfect physique: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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