How to Get an upper body workout with hang knee tucks

Learn how to do hang knee tucks. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life.

Benefits

If you think hang knee tucks sounds like an easy exercise, you would be wrong. You'll need all the strength in your upper body to bring your knees up over your head in a tuck, and even more to lower them back down. Abs, shoulders, back, biceps—they'll all feel the burn.

Muscles Worked

Abdominals

Shoulders

Back

Biceps

Starting Position

Grab hold of pull-up high bars or any elevated hand grips with your palms facing forward, such that your arms reach directly up from the shoulder and your body is hanging supported by your hands.

Exercise

1. From the starting position, begin bringing your knees up toward your chest and shoulders. Try not to use your hip flexors; instead, contract your lower abdominals and tilt your pelvis to rotate your knees upward. Lift as high as you can, but remember that you must be able to control your downward motion as well, so go only as high as you can while maintaining form and control.

2. From the top of your tuck, slowly lower your legs back to the starting position, controlling the downward motion with your abs. Do not swing; keep your arms slightly bent and your feet down in front of you as you descend to prevent any swinging tendency. Repeat for a total of 20 knee tucks. Beginners who can't complete the 20 reps at once may rest every few reps but should still strive to complete the entire 20.