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Exercises

Exercises for lower abs for men: reverse crunches, hanging raises and harder holds

Published October 29, 2026

The best exercises for lower abs for men are the reverse crunch and lying knee raise on the floor, the captain's chair knee raise and hanging knee raise once you have a station or bar, and the hanging leg raise and dragon flag when those get easy. Your abs are one muscle from ribs to pelvis, but curling your pelvis toward your ribs, instead of your ribs toward your pelvis, works the lower part hardest. The key is the tilt at the top of each rep: if your hips only swing your legs up, the abs barely work. Do two of these for 3 sets of 8 to 15, 1 to 2 reps short of failure, two or three times a week.

  1. Reverse Crunch Abs
  2. Captain's Chair Knee Raise Abs
  3. Hanging Knee Raise Abs
  4. Hanging Leg Raise Abs
  5. Lying Knee Raise Abs
  6. Dragon Flag Abs
  7. L-Sit Hold Abs

Floor exercises that teach the pelvic curl

Start here even if you are strong. On the floor you can feel your lower back press down and your hips lift, which is the movement every harder lower ab exercise depends on.

Lower abs, pelvis to ribs on the floor

Reverse Crunch

Abs

It is the clearest way to feel the lower abs work: knees stay bent, and the only job is rolling your hips off the floor. Own it before you hang from a bar.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, hands by your sides, knees bent and feet lifted.
  2. Pull your knees toward your chest and keep going until your hips peel off the floor.
  3. Lower your hips one vertebra at a time, then let your feet drift back to just above the floor.

Cues

  • Hips peel up
  • Slow way down
  • No swinging

Common mistakes

  • Throwing the legs back for momentum: the hips should curl up, not get flung.
  • Stopping when the knees reach the chest: the rep counts once the hips lift.

Swap for: Lying Knee Raise, Hanging Knee Raise

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Lower abs, knees to chest from flat

Lying Knee Raise

Abs

Each rep starts with your feet out low and heels just above the floor, so the lower abs hold a longer lever than in a reverse crunch while the knees stay bent. A good second floor exercise for home sessions.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up on a mat with your knees bent, feet flat and fingertips resting lightly behind your head.
  2. Press your lower back into the floor and lift your feet.
  3. Draw your knees in toward your chest, keeping them bent.
  4. Lower your feet back out until your heels hover just above the floor, then repeat.

Cues

  • Low back down
  • Knees in
  • Heels hover

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back as the legs go out: shorten the range until you can keep it flat.
  • Dropping your heels to rest between reps: keep them hovering so the next rep starts under load.
  • Pulling on your head: your hands only rest there.

Swap for: Reverse Crunch, Captain's Chair Knee Raise

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Lower abs, one straight leg at a time

Alternating Leg Raise

Abs

Moving one long leg at a time teaches you to keep your back flat against a long lever, half the load of a double leg raise. Useful for men whose back lifts on full leg raises.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back, legs straight, fingertips resting lightly behind your head.
  2. Press your lower back into the floor and lift both heels a few inches.
  3. Lift one straight leg toward the ceiling while the other stays just off the floor.
  4. Lower it as the other one comes up, switching legs in a smooth scissor.

Cues

  • Back stays flat
  • Long legs
  • Slow switch

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back lift off the mat: keep the bottom leg higher until it stays down.
  • Rushing the switch so the legs swing rather than lift: count two seconds up and two down.
  • Pulling on your head: your hands only rest there, elbows wide.

Swap for: Lying Knee Raise, Hanging Leg Raise

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Whole abs, top and bottom meet

Jackknife

Abs

Arms and legs rise together, so the lower and upper abs both shorten hard. It ends a floor session with a high-effort set and no equipment.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up on a mat, legs long and arms resting straight beside you.
  2. Brace and lift your shoulders and your straight legs off the floor at the same time.
  3. Reach your hands toward your feet as your body folds into a V over your hips.
  4. Lower both ends back to a light touch on the floor over two seconds, then repeat.

Cues

  • Fold, then unfold slowly
  • Hands meet feet over the hips
  • No bounce at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Swinging your arms to throw yourself up: lift your shoulders and legs with your abs, then reach.
  • Crashing back to the floor: lowering is half the rep, so take two seconds.

Swap for: Reverse Crunch, Hanging Knee Raise

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Knee and leg raises on a station or bar

Hanging or resting on a captain's chair puts your whole leg weight on the abs. Bent knees come first; straight legs double the lever and the difficulty.

Lower abs, supported knee raise

Captain's Chair Knee Raise

Abs

The pads hold your forearms and back, so grip never ends the set and there is no swing. It is the best gym lower ab exercise for adding a dumbbell between the feet.

How to do it

  1. Stand on the step, press your back to the pad and set your forearms on the pads.
  2. Lift your knees to hip height or higher and curl your pelvis up off the pad at the top.
  3. Lower your legs slowly until they hang straight.

Cues

  • Pelvis curls
  • Slow lower
  • Back on the pad

Common mistakes

  • Lifting the knees without curling the pelvis, which leaves the abs half used.
  • Swinging the legs up and dropping them.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Reverse Crunch

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Lower abs, hanging knee raise

Hanging Knee Raise

Abs

A pull-up bar at home or in a park is enough. It is the bridge from floor work to the hanging leg raise, and your grip gets a bonus set.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms and your legs together.
  2. Draw your knees up toward your chest and curl your pelvis up at the top.
  3. Lower your legs slowly until they hang straight and still.

Cues

  • Curl the pelvis
  • Stop the swing
  • Slow down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging into each rep: pause at the bottom until you are still.
  • Lifting the knees only to hip height, which works the hip flexors more than the abs.

Swap for: Captain's Chair Knee Raise, Reverse Crunch

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Lower abs, straight-leg hanging raise

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

The longest lever you can lift with bodyweight alone. Getting 10 strict reps with the pelvis tilting at the top is a fair test of strong lower abs.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar, legs long and pressed together.
  2. Lift your legs, keeping your knees straight, until your feet reach at least hip height.
  3. Tilt your pelvis up at the top, then lower under control.

Cues

  • Legs locked
  • Pelvis tilts
  • No kip

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees as you tire: switch to knee raises for the rest of the set.
  • Using a swing to get the legs up.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Lying Knee Raise

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Holds and advanced moves

These keep the lower abs working while your legs stay long and away from you. Use the plank and hollow hold as the step before the L-sit and dragon flag, which take most men months of practice.

Abs, plank with arms far forward

Long Lever Plank

Abs

Setting your elbows a few inches in front of your eyes makes a plank much harder, and holding it forces you to keep the pelvis tucked, the same position a leg raise ends in.

How to do it

  1. Get into a forearm plank, then shift your elbows forward until they sit a few inches in front of your eyes.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and tuck your tailbone slightly so your lower back flattens.
  3. Hold your body in a single line, head to heels.
  4. End the hold when your hips begin to sag, rest, and go again.

Cues

  • Glutes tight, ribs down
  • Elbows forward, not wide
  • Short, hard holds

Common mistakes

  • Raising your hips to take the strain off: keep the line and hold for less time.
  • Holding your breath: breathe short and steady through the hold.

Swap for: Plank, Ab Wheel Rollout

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Abs, loaded hollow body hold

Plate Hollow Hold

Abs

The hollow position is the base of the L-sit and dragon flag. Holding a plate overhead lets you load it once a bodyweight hold reaches 40 seconds.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up holding a light plate with straight arms above your chest.
  2. Press your lower back into the floor.
  3. Lift your shoulders and straight legs, pushing the plate up over your chest.
  4. Hold the shape without letting your back lift.

Cues

  • Back flat
  • Long and tight
  • Breathe shallow

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back peel up.
  • Starting with legs too low: raise them to make it easier.

Swap for: Dead Bug, Landmine Hollow Hold

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Lower abs and hip flexors, straight-leg hold

L-Sit Hold

Abs

Holding your legs out straight with your hips off the ground is hard on the lower abs and the front of the hips. Start with one leg bent and stretch it out over weeks.

How to do it

  1. Set a hand on each parallette, low dip bar or sturdy chair, arms straight.
  2. Push down hard through your hands so your shoulders drop and your body lifts.
  3. Raise your straight legs in front of you so your body makes an L, and hold.
  4. Lower your feet and rest when your legs start to drop.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Knees locked, toes pointed
  • Tuck one knee to start

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging your shoulders: press down until your neck looks long.
  • Holding past the point your legs fall: short, clean holds build it faster.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Dragon Flag, Jackknife

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Whole abs, advanced lowering

Dragon Flag

Abs

Lowering your straight body from the shoulders down is about as hard as ab training gets. Do only the lowering part at first, slowly, and stop when your hips bend.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up on the floor or a bench and grip a sturdy post, rack upright or the bench behind your head with both hands.
  2. Roll your hips and legs up until your body points toward the ceiling, resting on your upper back.
  3. Lower your straight body slowly toward the floor, keeping your hips in line with your shoulders.
  4. Stop just above the floor and raise back to vertical, or lower only and roll back up with bent knees.

Cues

  • Straight line from shoulders to toes
  • Lower as slowly as you can
  • Hips never bend

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips as you lower: tuck your knees until you can stay straight.
  • Letting your lower back arch: stop the set there.

Swap for: Hanging Leg Raise, Ab Wheel Rollout

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Can't do a hanging raise yet, training at home

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets14 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You have a floor and no bar, or you have a bar but your legs swing and your hips do all the work.

Three short floor sessions give 14 sets a week, enough practice to learn the pelvic curl well while each session stays easy to recover from. Each day pairs a bent-knee curl with a harder long-lever exercise.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Reverse Crunch 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Alternating Leg RaisePer leg. 2 × 8–12 2 1 min

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Lying Knee Raise 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Long Lever PlankSeconds per hold. 2 × 15–30 2 1 min

Open Day 2 in the session builder

Day 3
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Reverse Crunch 2 × 10–15 1 1 min
Jackknife 2 × 8–12 2 1 min

Open Day 3 in the session builder

How to run it
Do one session on three days of the week with a day between, at the start of your workout or on its own. Each takes about 10 minutes.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of the range at 2 reps in reserve, then slow the lowering to 3 seconds. When 15 slow reverse crunches are easy, start hanging knee raises.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

At the gym, after your upper body days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets10 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentDip Bar, Barbells, Pull-Up Bar

You lift on a split and want lower abs added twice a week, using the captain's chair and pull-up bar most gyms have.

Two exercises at the end of two sessions gives 10 sets a week. The captain's chair carries the load so you can add a dumbbell, and the hanging raise trains the longer lever.

Session A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Captain's Chair Knee Raise 3 × 8–15 1 75 s
Plate Hollow HoldSeconds per hold. 2 × 20–40 2 1 min

Open Session A in the session builder

Session B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hanging Knee Raise 3 × 8–15 1 90 s
Reverse Crunch 2 × 12–15 1 1 min

Open Session B in the session builder

How to run it
Add Session A after your first upper day and Session B after the second. Lower ab work after a leg day is fine too, but not right before squats or deadlifts.
How to progress
On the captain's chair, add reps to 15 at 1 rep in reserve, then hold a light dumbbell between your feet and drop back to 8. On the bar, move from knee raises to straight legs once you get 12 clean knee raises.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Already strong, working toward the dragon flag and L-sit

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Dip Bar

You can do 12 strict hanging knee raises and want the harder lower ab skills that bodyweight athletes train.

Advanced lower ab moves are short, heavy sets, so the plan uses fewer reps and longer rests, about 8 sets per session twice a week. The hanging leg raise builds the strength, and the L-sit and dragon flag turn it into the skill.

Day 1: Hang and hold
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hanging Leg Raise 4 × 5–10 1 2 min
L-Sit HoldSeconds per hold. 4 × 10–20 1 90 s

Open Day 1: Hang and hold in the session builder

Day 2: Lower and curl
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dragon FlagSlow lowering, 4 seconds. 4 × 3–6 1 2 min
Captain's Chair Knee RaiseDumbbell between the feet. 3 × 8–12 1 75 s

Open Day 2: Lower and curl in the session builder

How to run it
Do these at the start of a session, when you are fresh, on two non-consecutive days. They are hard on the hip flexors, so keep them away from sprint or jump days.
How to progress
Add 5 seconds to the L-sit until you hold 20, then straighten your legs further. For the dragon flag, add one slow lowering rep per week; when 6 controlled reps come easily, start pausing halfway down.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do men target the lower abs?

By curling the pelvis up toward the ribs: reverse crunches, knee raises and leg raises with a tilt at the top. The lower part of the muscle works hardest when the bottom end moves.

What is the best exercise for bottom abs?

The hanging leg raise, if you can do it with the pelvis tilting at the top. If not, the reverse crunch trains the same action and is where most men should start.

How do I flatten my lower belly pooch?

The fat there comes off with overall fat loss, not from ab exercises aimed at it. What these exercises do is build the muscle underneath, so it shows as the fat comes down.

Are lower abs hard to get?

They are usually the last part to show, because men tend to store fat low on the belly. The muscle itself trains like the rest of the abs; seeing it depends on being lean.

Can you isolate the lower abs?

Not completely, since the rectus abdominis is one muscle. You can bias the lower part with bottom-up exercises, which is why every pick on this page moves the pelvis or the legs.