Leg Lift
Trains the Glutes.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Lie face down on a bench or the floor with your hips at the edge and your legs hanging off.
- Grip the bench or rest your forearms down for support.
- Squeeze your glutes and raise both legs until they are level with your body.
- Hold briefly at the top with the legs straight.
- Lower under control until the legs hang again.
- Keep the lower back still — the movement is at the hip.
Common mistakes
- Arching the lower back to lift the legs higher. Once the hips stop travelling the spine makes up the difference, and the extra height is lumbar extension rather than hip extension.
- Doing it face up. Lying on your back makes this an abdominal and hip flexor movement; face down with the hips at the edge is what makes it glute and hamstring work.
- Swinging the legs up. A swing hides how far the hips actually extended.
- Bending the knees. Straight legs keep the lever long and the work at the hip; bending them shortens it and brings the hamstrings in at the knee.