Convict Conditioning - Paul Wade

168 COBVICT COBDITIOBDIG
Performance
\.t~f.lNf. 111~N'r
~
~
J11J1ISI~S
Grab an overhead bar so that your body is in a straight line and your feet are clear of the
ground. Your hands should be approximately shoulder width, and your shoulders kept nice and
tight. Now bend at the knees until your knee joints are angled off straight by around forty-five
degrees. This will put your feet a few inches behind the rest of your hanging body. This is the start
position (fig. 74). Smoothly raise your legs at the hips until your feet are opposite your pelvis. This
is the finish position (fig. 75). Pause and reverse the motion, before repeating. Only move at the
hips; keep your knee angle "locked" into place. Exhale as you raise your legs, inhale as you lower
them. Keep the abs tense.
Exercise X-Ray
Hanging bent leg raises are a harder extension of hanging knee raises. In hanging knee raises,
the knees are bent at ninety degrees, in hanging bent leg raises they are at forty-five. The increased
leverage this provides makes the exercise the hardest in the series yet, and it develops the midsection
accordingly. The abdomen, waist, serratus and hip flexors all get stronger.
Traini n!
• Beginner standard:
• Intermediate standard:
• Progression standard:
Goals
1 set of 5
2 sets of 10
2 sets of 15
Perfecti ng Your Technique
At first, you may find it difficult to keep your knees "locked" at the correct angle throughout
the motion. There will be a tendency to straighten the legs out a little as you lower them. Try to
avoid this, because resetting the correct angle as the legs are raised tends to impart momentum
which leads to a swinging motion. If you have trouble with the exercise from the start, simply
increase the angle of the knee bend from forty-five degrees to closer to ninety degrees. As you gain
strength from workout to workout, gradually extend the legs until you meet your goal of fortyfive
degrees.