Hanging Knee Tucks: Exercise Guide, Tips and Benefits

Hanging knee tucks are a powerful bodyweight exercise that strengthens the core, improves hip flexor mobility, and builds endurance in the shoulders and grip. This movement is widely used in Strength and Conditioning (S&C) programs due to its effectiveness in targeting the lower abdominals, while also training body control and active scapular engagement. Whether you’re an athlete or simply working on core strength, knee tucks from a hanging position are a worthy addition to your routine.

What Are Hanging Knee Tucks?

Hanging knee tucks involve raising your knees toward your chest while hanging from a pull-up bar. The movement requires full-body coordination: the core contracts to lift the legs, the hip flexors initiate the tuck, and the upper body remains active to maintain a strong hanging posture.

This is a progression from floor-based core work, increasing difficulty through the vertical position, added gravity resistance, and greater range of motion.

How to Do Hanging Knee Tucks Properly

1. Grab a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, shoulder-width apart.
2. Let your body hang fully extended. Engage your shoulders to prevent excessive swinging (active hang).
3. Brace your core and lift your knees toward your chest, curling your pelvis slightly at the top.
4. Slowly lower your legs to the starting position with control.
5. Perform 2–3 sets of 8–15 reps, depending on your level.

Pro Tips:

• Avoid using momentum; initiate the movement from the abs.
• Keep your torso upright and stable throughout the motion.
• Exhale as you lift the knees; inhale as you lower.

Muscles Worked by Hanging Knee Tucks

Hanging knee tucks are primarily a core exercise but also involve multiple upper and lower body muscles:

• Rectus Abdominis: Drives the tuck motion by flexing the spine.
• Hip Flexors (Iliopsoas, Rectus Femoris): Pull the knees upward.
• Obliques: Assist in stabilization and control, especially if rotating.
• Forearms and Grip: Maintain the hang and resist fatigue.
• Latissimus Dorsi and Shoulders: Engage to stabilize the upper body and prevent swinging.

This movement offers both anti-extension and active flexion, making it ideal for dynamic core development.

Benefits of Hanging Knee Tucks

• Lower Abdominal Activation: Targets the area that’s often difficult to train effectively with floor exercises.
• Functional Core Strength: Mimics athletic patterns like sprinting, jumping, and kicking.
• Grip and Shoulder Endurance: Holding onto the bar builds support strength valuable for pulling and climbing.
• Improved Body Control: Enhances proprioception and motor control under bodyweight load.
• Scalable Progression: Can be advanced into leg raises or toes-to-bar for more challenge.

These benefits make hanging knee tucks a strong choice for athletes, especially those involved in sports requiring midline stability and explosive hip power. Learn how this integrates with our Strength and Conditioning principles.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Swinging: Using momentum reduces core engagement. Stabilize your body before initiating the lift.
• Half Reps: Bringing the knees only slightly up shortens the range of motion and effectiveness.
• Relaxed Shoulders: Hanging passively strains the shoulder joint. Stay in an active hang with shoulders engaged.
• Arching the Back: Overextension at the bottom can strain the spine. Maintain core tension throughout.
• Holding Breath: Breathe rhythmically to maintain stability and avoid excessive internal pressure.

Variations of Hanging Knee Tucks

• Weighted Knee Tucks: Use ankle weights or hold a medicine ball between the legs.
• Twisting Tucks: Rotate the knees to one side at the top to target the obliques.
• Straight Leg Raises: Extend legs fully for increased core demand.
• Toes-to-Bar: Advanced movement where toes touch the bar at the top.
• Captain’s Chair Tucks: Perform the same movement supported on parallel bars instead of hanging.

Each variation allows athletes to scale difficulty based on core strength, grip capacity, and training goals.

How to Include Hanging Knee Tucks in Your S&C Program

As a Core Finisher

• 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps after lower-body or full-body days.

In Supersets

• Combine with pulling movements (e.g., chin-ups or rows) for upper-body synergy.

As Movement Prep

• Perform 1–2 sets of controlled tucks to activate the core before explosive lifts like cleans or snatches.

During Testing or Benchmark Days

• Use knee tuck reps as a measurable core endurance challenge across training blocks.

To optimize your performance and avoid overtraining, explore our guide on managing training fatigue.

FAQs About Hanging Knee Tucks

What do hanging knee tucks work?

They primarily target the rectus abdominis and hip flexors, while also activating the obliques, shoulders, and grip muscles. They’re a full-body movement with a core emphasis.

What are knee tucks good for?

They improve core strength, hip mobility, and body control. They’re especially useful in athletic training and gymnastics for developing midline stability and dynamic strength.

Do knee tucks burn belly fat?

Not directly. No ab exercise can spot-reduce fat. However, they build strong core muscles, which when combined with a proper diet and overall fat-loss program, help define the abs.

How to do knee tucks correctly?

Start from a stable hanging position. Keep the movement slow, controlled, and initiated from the core. Lift knees to chest with a slight posterior pelvic tilt, then lower with control.

Do knee tucks target lower abs?

Yes. Raising the knees emphasizes the lower portion of the rectus abdominis, which is harder to isolate with many floor-based ab exercises.

How often should you do hanging knee raises?

2–3 times per week is enough for most athletes. Focus on quality, not quantity. Overtraining can lead to grip fatigue or hip flexor tightness.

Why are hanging knee raises so hard?

They challenge multiple systems — core strength, grip endurance, and scapular control. Many struggle with body swing or grip fatigue before reaching abdominal failure.