Hanging Pike
From an overhand hang with the knees tucked to 90 degrees, you pull the legs all the way up until the shins nearly meet the bar, straightening them as they rise. Where a leg raise stops at horizontal, this keeps going through full trunk compression — and getting there needs the lats to pull the bar down, not just the abs to fold.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Take an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder width, feet and knees together throughout.
- Hang actively with the shoulders pulled down; a slack hang costs you the lat pull you need at the top.
- Bend the knees to 90 degrees and bring the thighs forward until they are parallel to the floor — this is the start, not a dead hang.
- Tilt the pelvis back before the first rep and hold that tilt like a brace.
- Kill all swing. Start every rep from complete stillness, even if it costs you five seconds.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Inhale in the tuck, exhale hard from the moment the legs pass horizontal; the forced exhale drops the ribs and is what lets the trunk compress. Two seconds up, one second at the top, four seconds down.
Before you load it
- Use straps or chalk rather than hanging on by your fingertips at the top — the top position pulls hardest on the grip precisely when losing the bar would drop you flat on your back.
- Skip this if your shoulders hurt in an overhead hang. The bottom position loads the shoulder at end range, and a movement this demanding is not worth aggravating a cranky joint over.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
You need 10 strict straight-leg hanging leg raises before this makes sense. Then progress: bent-knee pikes to the bar, one leg straight, both straight, then a two-second hold at the top, then a six-second lowering. Eight strict straight-leg reps is an advanced standard. Added weight is rarely the right next step here — the range and the tempo have far more left in them.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Pause two full seconds in the tuck between reps and start from stillness. Drop the rep count to whatever survives that pause — usually three or four — and rebuild from there.
Actively pull down on the bar with straight arms as the legs pass horizontal. Practise a strict straight-arm scapular pull-down from the hang as a separate drill until it is automatic.
Log only reps you finish with the legs near straight. A bent-knee finish is a shorter, easier rep — if that is all you have, do bent-knee raises honestly instead of a half-straightened fudge.
Count four seconds down and never arrive at a full slack hang. The eccentric is where most of the compression strength is built, and a slack arrival puts all of it into the shoulder joint.
Why bother
Above roughly 90 degrees of hip flexion the abs have almost no leverage left, so the movement is finished by rolling the pelvis under and pulling the torso back and down with the lats. That is why the hanging pike trains something a leg raise does not: full-range trunk compression, the same shape a front lever or a V-sit demands.
It also punishes momentum harder than any other ab movement. Because the legs travel through a large arc, any backswing at the bottom converts into a huge swing at the top, and you end up throwing your feet at the bar rather than lifting them. A rep that starts from a dead stop is worth five that do not.
Where it fits
First in your ab work, on a day when your grip and lats are fresh — never after heavy rows or deadlifts. Three to four sets of 4-8, twice a week. Treat it as a skill lift more than a volume lift: sets stop the moment the reps get scrappy, and the strength is built in the slow lowering, not in the count.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
How is this different from a hanging leg raise?
Range. A leg raise finishes at horizontal, roughly 90 degrees of hip flexion. The pike keeps going to full compression with the shins near the bar, which needs the pelvis to roll under and the lats to pull the torso back. The extra half of the range is a genuinely different skill, not just more of the same.
Why can't I get my legs above horizontal?
Almost always because your arms are passive. Above hip height the abs are out of leverage and the finish comes from pulling down on the bar with straight arms so your torso leans back. Practise that straight-arm pull-down on its own, then add it into the rep.
Is toes-to-bar the same movement?
The CrossFit toes-to-bar is usually a kipping version built for speed and reps, where the swing does much of the work. This is the strict cousin: dead-stop start, no swing, slow lowering. Both put the feet near the bar; only one builds the strength to get there without momentum.
Should I add weight?
Not for a long time. Ankle weights and dumbbells between the feet make swinging almost inevitable and turn a technical movement into a thrash. Add a top-position hold or extend the lowering to six seconds first — both are harder than 2 kg on your feet and neither costs you the position.