Knee/Hip Raise on Parallel Bars

Execution

1. Step up onto the foot rests, press yourself up on your hands, then set your forearms on the pads and take the handles.
2. Press your back into the rear pad, brace your belly, then take your feet off the rests so the body hangs straight and still before the first rep.
3. Exhale and lift your legs, knees bending slightly, until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor.
4. Pause for one beat at the top without using momentum to get there.
5. Inhale and lower the legs back down under control, stopping before they start to swing.
6. Keep the lower back against the pad the whole time rather than arching it to gain height.
7. At the end of the set put your feet back on the rests first, and only then let go of the handles and step down.

Quick cues

• Low back stays on the pad.
• No swinging to throw the legs.
• Thighs to parallel is enough.
• Forearms pressed into the pads.
• Pause one beat at the top.

Common faults

• Fault: Swinging the torso to build momentum for the lift

  Fix: Come to a complete stop between reps until the body is still, and halve the rep count until it stays that way.

• Fault: Arching the lower back off the pad to gain height

  Fix: Pin the low back to the pad and stop the lift there even if the legs have not reached parallel yet.

• Fault: Only lifting the legs a short distance and calling it a full rep

  Fix: Aim for thighs parallel to the floor and check it with a side-view video.

• Fault: Gripping the handles too hard so the shoulders shrug up

  Fix: Relax the grip slightly and pull the shoulders down away from the ears.