Difference between hanging knee raise and hanging leg raise?

[Chris Correia]

I mostly see, in routines, the hanging knee raise (raising/bending knees and curling hips up to chest). Occassionally I see (and I usually do) hanging leg raises, with the legs kept straight and raising them up so they point up about 45 degrees or more (and still emphasizing hip curl up/ab contraction). I've always looked at the leg raise as simply a more advanced version of the knee raise, hitting the same muscles. Am I right? Are there any differences I should know about or of which I should be conscious? Should I be doing knee raises as well?

[Simon.]

No, the only difference is that with knee raises you have an easier 'lever', and I personally find knee raises way to easy to get a good workout.
Besides that, you train at Taekwondo from what I've seen around here thus your interest is to improve strength/muscle endurance/speed/whatever with a straight leg, right?

[kuri]

I'm not aware of any physiological differences between the two, but there may well be some.

That said I think both get the job done. What I usually do is leg raises until I can't do any more than continue with knee raises.

Considering your MA applications I would think that the leg raises would be beneficial for TKD movements.

Just wondering, do you feel the need for supplemental ab work apart from your MA training?

I ask that because I've been trying to find an answer myself.

[OldGuy]

According to exrx.net they hit the same muscle group.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...gHipRaise.html

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...tLegHipRs.html

But this is not the same:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...tLegRaise.html

[GqArtguy]

Its just a way of adding more resistance. Since your legs are extended, you need more leverage to bring the legs up. They hit the same muscle group, but if knee raises are getting too easy, do straight legged raises, or if youre supremely badass, put a DB in between your feet and do hanging leg raises.

[Chris Correia]

Originally posted by GqArtguy:
Its just a way of adding more resistance. Since your legs are extended, you need more leverage to bring the legs up. They hit the same muscle group, but if knee raises are getting too easy, do straight legged raises, or if youre supremely badass, put a DB in between your feet and do hanging leg raises.

Well, I can do sets of 10 or 12 on the leg raises so maybe it is time to add that dumbell!

I figured the only difference is the lever resistance. Just wanted to check facts and opinions.

Simon G: I still do ab/core work 2-3 times a week; that may or may not include ab/core work done in classes, in addition to the TKD action. At home I do, on some basis (not all of them every week): hanging leg raises, stability ball weighted crunches, incline board situps, front and side planks, and stability ball medicine ball throw situps. In classes, some of the ab/core work we do are full situps, front & side planks, T-pushups, medicine ball throw situps, lying leg raises where a partner "throws" your legs back down after you raise them, and back arches (lying on stomach).

Thanks, all, for the replies.

[Simon.]

Well I don't know about you but I always felt my Taekwondo sessions were plenty of ab work and needed no real supplementation, besides the occasional 150 situps the trainer had us do at the end of a training session.
How often do you train? I used to do it 5 days a week (yeah I was pretty serious) for 1.5 hours per session. If you still feel you need some extra ab work it definitely shouldn't be preformed with your bodyweight, and shouldn't exceed something like 5 sets of work, and you should only do this on your off days (if you have any). Taekwondo a great sport around to work your core, and doing too much extra ab work could be counter-productive to your MA training...
That OR, I have absolutely no idea of what the hell is it I'm talking about.
Either one man!

[Chris Correia]

Originally posted by Simon Glumcher:
Well I don't know about you but I always felt my Taekwondo sessions were plenty of ab work and needed no real supplementation, besides the occasional 150 situps the trainer had us do at the end of a training session.
How often do you train? I used to do it 5 days a week (yeah I was pretty serious) for 1.5 hours per session. If you still feel you need some extra ab work it definitely shouldn't be preformed with your bodyweight, and shouldn't exceed something like 5 sets of work, and you should only do this on your off days (if you have any). Taekwondo a great sport around to work your core, and doing too much extra ab work could be counter-productive to your MA training...
That OR, I have absolutely no idea of what the hell is it I'm talking about.
Either one man!

None of the work in taekwondo classes, whether situps or kicking action, is weighed; it's all bodyweight and high repitition. My work at home is generally two days and is focused on weighted/lower rep/explosive movement. I might do hanging leg raises at the end of one weight workout and weighed stability ball crunches at the end of another. That's about the extent of the out-of-class work. But it's focused on overload and speed.

I must be doing something right, because I can generally out-kick, endurance-wise and speed-wise, all of my teen/adult students, and I'm at least 25 years older than almost all of them.