benefits of leg raise
Most of the workouts involve demanding exercises that target your abs or core, but some will stretch your body and help you improve flexibility. One is the leg raise. This simple exercise is one of the oldest, so it has been tried and tested all these years. Even though it looks easy, this workout is quite challenging, which is one of the reasons why it is effective.
Leg raises are helpful because they work the muscles on your lower abdomen, commonly associated with reducing belly fat. This workout also targets other muscle groups around your waistline, hips, and thighs to ensure that your entire midsection is toned up. It will help you improve flexibility and strengthen muscles surrounding the spine, shoulders, and hips.
Leg raise exercises are usually performed by lying down or sitting at a 90-degree angle with legs flat on the floor or raised with knees bent 90 degrees. The latter type starts from a plank position where you lift both legs simultaneously for a short period before putting them back down onto the ground, then repeat this same motion many times.
They are usually performed with bent knees for safety reasons because it reduces stress on the lower back and neck.
Leg raise is an excellent workout so that both beginners and expert fitness enthusiasts can do it. It targets muscles that improve strength and allow you to increase your flexibility in a big way since most of us lack flexibility in some areas of our bodies.
This simple workout is not only great for improving the appearance of your abs, but it will also come in handy when exercising later on at higher levels. To become more creative, add some variation into this workout, such as hanging leg raise positions from flat on the ground to raised with knees bent, adding weights when performing leg raises or changing tempo from slow to fast.
Benefits of leg raise:
Table of Contents
– Improves strength and flexibility
– Tones your midsection, including the lower abdominal muscles, hips, waistline, and thighs
– Helps you lose belly fat
– Can be performed by beginners to advanced fitness enthusiasts
What is leg raises good for?
The leg raise is an exercise that serves multiple purposes. First of all, it’s great for toning your midsection, including the lower abdominal muscles, hips, waistline, and thighs. It also improves strength and flexibility, which come in handy when exercising at higher levels.
Last but not least, this simple workout helps you lose belly fat thanks to targeting muscle groups usually associated with reducing belly fat.
To get the most out of this exercise, either by improving your results or just doing it safely, always keep these three essential points in mind:
1) Keep your back straight while performing this workout to avoid stress on the neck and spine, so if you cannot complete it correctly, try raising legs bent 90 degrees instead of flat on the ground. This way, it will reduce stress on the lower back and spine.
2) To get a deep stretch of leg muscles, either when they are raised bent 90 degrees or flat on the ground, extend your legs so you feel a good time in them without feeling any pain or discomfort. This way, you will avoid injury, which can compromise your workout routine for days, weeks, and even months.
3) Make sure your breathing is always under control while performing this exercise. If it becomes difficult to breathe at some point, then stop doing it that way until you improve your skills and build enough endurance to perform more reps with a good breathing pattern.
Once you have achieved that, add weight to your chest instead of just bodyweight, which proves too challenging.
Learn more about leg raises:
– Benefits of the bicycle crunch exercise for your abs
– Difference between leg raise and hanging knee ups targets muscles surrounding the spine, shoulders, and hips more efficiently.
– How to perform a leg lift safely for beginners?
– The plow exercise is excellent for toning up core muscles, but it is also dangerous if not done correctly!
Can leg raises reduce fat?
We all want to know how to lose belly fat fast, which is why people often turn to leg raises. The truth is that this exercise alone won’t burn fat from your midsection or make you lose weight but used correctly, it can help you reduce the size of your waistline.
This means, of course, if you combine a proper diet with a cardio workout like running, swimming, cycling, etc. If your goal is to lose fat everywhere on your body, try implementing some strength training into your routine because muscle weighs more than fat, making leg raises useful only for women who want toned abs.
Who should not perform a leg raise?
Due to its level of difficulty, this workout cannot be recommended for everyone unless they stick to more accessible variations such as performing it with extended arms instead of legs which reduces the load on the abs.
This exercise is unsuitable for pregnant women in their third trimester, people suffering from hernias in the stomach area, glaucoma, heart problems, etc.