The supine leg raise is a floor-based bodyweight exercise performed on your back, raising straight legs toward the ceiling to train the lower abdominals and hip flexors. Supine simply means face up, so this is the same movement the library lists as thelying leg raise, described here under its clinical name. Compared with a hanging version, the floor fixes the pelvis and lets you stop the set the moment the lower back leaves the mat. Lifters use it as a late core accessory or as a warm-up before loaded trunk work.
What Muscles Does the Supine Leg Raise Work?
- Primary: Rectus abdominis (lower abs)
- Secondary: Iliopsoas and rectus femoris (hip flexors)
- Tertiary: Transverse abdominis, obliques, adductors
How Do You Set Up for the Supine Leg Raise?
Lie face up on a mat with your legs straight and together, arms at your sides and palms pressing into the floor. Slide your hands under your glutes if your lower back tends to arch. Flatten the lumbar spine into the mat by tilting the pelvis back, set your chin slightly toward your chest, and lift both heels a few inches so the abs are already loaded.
How Do You Perform the Supine Leg Raise?
- Tilt the pelvis back and press the low back into the mat before the legs move.
- Raise both legs together toward the ceiling, keeping the knees locked out and the ankles touching.
- Stop when the legs are near vertical or at the point where the back is about to lift.
- Hold one count at the top, curling the tailbone up a fraction to squeeze the lower abs.
- Lower over three counts until the heels sit a few inches above the floor.
- Stop short of the mat with the back still flat, then begin the next rep.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Ribs pulled down toward the pelvis: hold that shortened distance for the whole set rather than letting the torso stretch open at the bottom.
- Heels lead the way up: think of pushing the heels at the ceiling so the legs stay long and the hip flexors do not grab first.
- Keep the hands quiet; pushing hard through the palms hides a loss of pelvic control.
- Let the exhale finish as the legs pass halfway down, the hardest point of the rep.
- Keep the neck relaxed with the head resting on the mat.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Lowering further than you can hold flat: the pelvis tips and the lumbar spine extends under the weight of both legs, which loads the low back instead of the abs; stop the descent where the mat contact ends.
- Swinging the legs up: momentum from a fast start carries them past the sticking point, so the abs skip the hardest range; begin each rep from a dead stop.
- Resting the heels on the floor between reps: tension drops out and the set becomes a series of singles; keep the heels hovering.
- Bending the knees without meaning to: the lever shortens as the set gets hard, which quietly makes the reps easier; keep the knees locked or pick the bent-knee version on purpose.
- Pulling with the arms: pressing the palms down turns it into a lat push; keep the arm effort light.
What Are the Best Supine Leg Raise Variations?
- Bent-knee leg raise: knees at 90 degrees shortens the lever for lifters whose back lifts.
- Flat Bench Lying Leg Raise: hips at the end of a bench let the legs drop below the torso.
- Reverse crunch: lifting the hips off the mat at the top adds spinal flexion to the hip work.
- Alternating leg raise: one leg at a time, so the trunk resists a small rotation.
- Weighted leg raise: a light dumbbell squeezed between the feet adds load without changing the path.
How Do You Progress the Supine Leg Raise?
- Squeeze a 5 pound dumbbell between the feet once you finish every set with the back flat.
- Build from 10 reps a set to 20 before adding weight.
- Add a fourth set once three no longer leave the lower abs cramping.
- Slow the lowering phase to five counts, or pause two seconds with the heels an inch off the mat.
How Should You Program the Supine Leg Raise?
Place the supine leg raise at the end of a training session, after any loaded trunk work such as cable crunches, three to four times a week. Run 3 to 4 sets of 10 to 20 reps with 30 to 60 seconds of rest, and end the set at the first rep where the back lifts. Pair it with a plank so the abs also train to resist extension isometrically.