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Exercises

Hanging knee raise alternatives: easier, harder and no-bar swaps

Published October 23, 2026

The best hanging knee raise alternative is the captain's chair knee raise: the same move with your forearms on pads, so grip and swinging stop being the limit. With no bar, do reverse crunches, which keep the hip curl that trains your abs. If knee raises got easy, the next step is the hanging leg raise or the hanging oblique crunch on the same bar.

What a hanging knee raise alternative has to replace

The hanging knee raise trains your lower abs by curling your pelvis up toward your ribs as your knees come to your chest. Lifting your knees to hip height is mostly hip flexors; the abs do most of their work in that last curl.

A swap has to keep that curl.

How to do the hanging knee raise

Knee raises got easy: harder on the bar

Once you can do 15 slow knee raises with a pause at the top, make the lever longer, add a twist, or hold the top.

Next step up on the same bar

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

Straightening your legs makes the lever much longer, so the same pelvis curl gets far harder. Move to it once you can do 15 knee raises with a pause at the top.

How to do it

  1. Take an overhand grip on the bar and hang with straight arms and your feet together.
  2. Pull your shoulders down slightly and stop any swing.
  3. Raise your legs with soft knees until they are at least level with your hips, letting your pelvis tilt up at the top.
  4. Lower them slowly to a still hang and repeat.

Cues

  • Still hang before every rep
  • Pelvis tilts up at the top
  • Bend the knees to scale

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs up with momentum: pause at the bottom of every rep.
  • Lifting only to hip height with an arched back: if the pelvis never tilts, bend the knees more.
Build a session with Hanging Leg Raise

Same bar, more side abs

Hanging Oblique Crunch

Abs

Bringing your knees up and across toward one shoulder adds the sides of your waist. It makes knee raises harder while your knees stay bent.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms, your shoulders set down and your legs still.
  2. Bend your knees and bring them up and across toward one shoulder.
  3. Squeeze the side of your waist at the top for a second.
  4. Lower with control to a still hang and alternate sides.

Cues

  • Knees to the armpit
  • Shorten one side of the waist
  • Pause before switching

Common mistakes

  • Swinging from side to side: stop the hang before every rep.
  • Raising the knees straight up: aim them clearly to one side.
Build a session with Hanging Oblique Crunch

A hold instead of reps

L-Sit Hold

Abs

Holding your legs up in front of you trains the top of the knee raise as a static hold, on parallettes, dip bars or two sturdy chairs. Start with one knee tucked and add time.

How to do it

  1. Stand between parallettes, low dip bars or two sturdy chairs and set a hand on each, 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.
Build a session with L-Sit Hold

In the gym, without hanging

When grip or shoulders end the set before your abs, take the hang away and keep the curl.

Closest swap when grip fails

Captain's Chair Knee Raise

Abs

The same knee raise with your forearms on pads and your back against a backrest, so your grip and shoulders are out of it and you can't swing. Use the same sets and reps.

How to do it

  1. Step onto the platform, set your forearms on the pads, grip the handles and press your back into the back pad.
  2. Step off so your legs hang straight below you.
  3. Raise your knees toward your chest and curl your hips forward off the back pad at the top.
  4. Lower your legs until they hang straight again without swinging, then repeat.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, away from your ears
  • Curl the hips at the top
  • Dead stop at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Lifting your knees without curling your pelvis: at the top, tip your hips up off the back pad for a second.
  • Swinging the legs up and dropping them: lower over two seconds until they hang still.
Build a session with Captain's Chair Knee Raise

Loaded swap in the gym

Machine Crunch

Abs

It curls your ribs down instead of your pelvis up, but trains the same six-pack muscle, and the stack lets you add weight in small jumps. Pick it if hanging bothers your shoulders.

How to do it

  1. Set the seat height so the machine's pivot sits near your belly button and your feet hook under the pads or rest on the footplate.
  2. Hold the handles or place your arms on the pads with your elbows pointing forward, and sit tall with your back on the pad.
  3. Breathe out and curl your chest down toward your hips by rounding your spine, keeping your hips on the seat.
  4. Hold the squeeze for a second when your ribs are closest to your pelvis.
  5. Uncurl slowly back to upright and let the weight touch down lightly before the next rep.

Cues

  • Ribs to hips
  • Arms just hold on
  • Slow on the way back

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with your arms: if your shoulders and arms burn first, lower the weight and let your hands rest on the handles.
  • Hinging at the hips instead of curling: keep your lower back on the pad and think about shortening the distance from your ribs to your pelvis.
  • Bouncing the stack between reps: pause briefly at the top so the abs start every rep from a stop.
Build a session with Machine Crunch

No bar: on the floor

Lying down removes the swing. Curl your hips up at the end of every rep and lower slowly.

Same move lying down

Lying Knee Raise

Abs

The knee raise on your back: you pull your knees in toward your chest with the floor supporting you instead of a bar. It is the easiest swap and good for high reps.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up 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 toward your chest and let your hips curl up slightly at the end.
  4. Lower your feet back toward the floor over two seconds, stopping just before they touch, and repeat.

Cues

  • Curl the hips at the top
  • Slow on the way down
  • Feet hover between reps

Common mistakes

  • Stopping when the thighs are vertical: finish with the small hip curl.
  • Letting the feet drop fast: the slow return is half the work.
  • Pulling on your head: your hands only rest there.
Build a session with Lying Knee Raise

Best swap with no bar

Reverse Crunch

Abs

You curl your hips off the floor toward your ribs, which is the part of the knee raise that actually trains your abs. Lift your hips higher to make it harder.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up on a mat, arms flat along the floor beside you, and bring your knees up so your thighs point at the ceiling and your knees are bent about square.
  2. Press your lower back gently into the floor and breathe out.
  3. Use your abs to roll your tailbone and then your lower back off the mat, bringing your knees in toward your chest without changing the bend in them.
  4. Stop when your hips are fully curled and your weight sits on your upper back, pausing for a beat.
  5. Unroll one vertebra at a time until your tailbone touches down, keeping your thighs vertical before the next rep.

Cues

  • Curl the tailbone, not the knees
  • Knee angle stays fixed
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs to throw the hips up: if you need momentum, shorten the range and pause at the bottom of each rep.
  • Pushing hard through your hands to lift: keep your arms relaxed so the abs do the lifting.
  • Dropping the legs toward the floor between reps: stop with your thighs vertical, where the abs still hold tension.
Build a session with Reverse Crunch

Harder floor swap

Jackknife

Abs

Your arms and straight legs fold up together into a V, so your abs work from both ends. Use it when floor knee raises are too easy.

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.
Build a session with Jackknife

Floor swap for your obliques

Windshield Wipers

Abs

Lying with knees up, you lower them side to side under control, so your obliques do the work the hanging oblique crunch does. Straighten your legs to make it harder.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up with your arms out to the sides, palms down, and lift your legs so your knees are bent at 90 degrees above your hips.
  2. Keep both shoulders on the floor.
  3. Lower your knees to one side as far as you can without lifting the opposite shoulder.
  4. Pull them back to the middle with your obliques and go to the other side.

Cues

  • Shoulders stay flat
  • Lower slowly, lift with the waist
  • Straighter legs, harder rep

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the legs all the way and bouncing: stop a few inches above the floor.
  • Letting the shoulder lift: shorten the range until it stays down.
Build a session with Windshield Wipers

Easiest on your lower back

Dead Bug

Abs

Your abs keep your lower back flat while one arm and the opposite leg reach out. Start here if your back arches on other floor raises.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up on a mat, arms straight up over your shoulders and knees bent 90 degrees directly above your hips.
  2. Breathe out fully and tilt your pelvis slightly so your lower back presses flat into the floor; keep it there for the whole set.
  3. Reach your right arm back toward the floor behind your head and straighten your left leg out toward the floor at the same time.
  4. Stop when your arm and leg hover just above the floor, or sooner if your lower back starts to lift.
  5. Bring both back to the start, then repeat on the opposite pair. One rep is one side.

Cues

  • Lower back glued to the floor
  • Exhale as you reach
  • Slow is the exercise

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back arch as the leg goes out: shorten the reach, keep the knee bent more, or lower only the leg until you can hold the position.
  • Rushing through the reps: take two or three seconds to reach out and the same to come back; speed lets momentum do the work your abs should do.
  • Holding your breath: breathe out as you reach and in as you return, so you learn to brace while breathing.
Build a session with Dead Bug

Example sessions without the hanging knee raise

Session 1

Knee raises got easy

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets20 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar

You can do 15 strict hanging knee raises and want the next step on the same bar.

Hanging leg raises replace knee raises with a longer lever, hanging oblique crunches add the sides of your waist, and an L-sit hold trains the top position. Reps are lower and rests longer than on knee raises. 10 working sets.

Abs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Hanging Leg RaiseStill hang before each rep. 4 × 6–12 2 90 s
Hanging Oblique CrunchReps per side. 3 × 8–12 1 75 s
L-Sit HoldSeconds. One knee tucked to start. 3 × 10–20 2 90 s
How to run it
Twice a week, at the end of an upper-body or pull day.
How to progress
On the leg raise, add reps until every set reaches 12, then lower over three seconds. On the L-sit, add five seconds per hold, then untuck the second knee.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Gym, grip or shoulders limit you

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentAb Crunch Machine, Dip Bar

You train in a gym, and your hands or shoulders quit on the bar before your abs do.

The captain's chair takes the knee raise's place with your forearms on pads, the machine crunch adds a loaded curl, and dead bugs finish with slow, controlled reps. 11 working sets.

Abs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Machine Crunch1 warm-up set firstPause at the full curl. 4 × 10–15 1 75 s
Captain's Chair Knee RaiseCurl hips off the back pad. 4 × 12–15 1 1 min
Dead BugReps per side. 3 × 8–12 2 45 s
How to run it
At the end of two gym days a week, with a day between.
How to progress
On the captain's chair, add reps until every set reaches 15, then hold a light dumbbell between your feet. On the machine crunch, add the smallest weight jump when every set hits 15.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Home, no pull-up bar

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets36 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You train at home on a mat with nothing to hang from.

Lying knee raises copy the knee raise on the floor, reverse crunches add the hip curl, windshield wipers cover your obliques, and jackknives finish from both ends. Bodyweight only, so reps run high and sets go close to failure. 12 working sets.

Abs
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Lying Knee RaiseFeet hover at the bottom. 4 × 15–25 1 45 s
Reverse CrunchHips leave the floor. 3 × 12–20 1 1 min
Windshield WipersReps per side. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min
Jackknife 2 × 8–15 1 1 min
How to run it
Two or three times a week; keep rests under a minute.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of its range, then slow the lowering to three seconds before adding more.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What can I do instead of hanging knee raises?

The captain's chair knee raise is the closest swap. With no bar, do reverse crunches or lying knee raises, which train the same hip curl on the floor.

Which is better, hanging leg raises or knee raises?

Hanging leg raises are harder because straight legs make a longer lever. Start with knee raises and move to leg raises once you can do 15 clean reps.

Do hanging knee raises actually work your abs?

Yes, if you curl your pelvis up at the top. Lifting your knees only to hip height leaves most of the work to your hip flexors.

What to do instead of hanging knee tucks at home?

Lying knee raises are the same move on your back, and reverse crunches add the hip curl. Jackknives are harder once those get easy.

What are the benefits of hanging knee raises?

They train your lower abs with no weights, they are easier to learn than hanging leg raises, and hanging from the bar builds grip strength too.