Hanging !

Build A Leaner, Stronger Core In Minimal Time With Just One Mighty Move

By Rob Akers

http://www.akersofstrength.com

(C) 484.356.6442~ (E) [email protected]

Publisher’s Notice: Copyright 2016. Rob Akers/Akers Of Strength LLC. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act without permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Requests for permission or to obtain a private label rights license should be directed to [email protected]. Neither the author nor the publisher may make any expressed or implied warranties concerning the legal or ethical appropriateness of any of the marketing documents, materials, or instructions in or enclosed with this newsletter and/or your use of the same. If in doubt about the appropriateness or legality of any materials or instructions, you should obtain competent guidance, just as you would with any marketing documents, materials, or marketing plans you have developed or would develop on your own. All rights are reserved by the publisher.

Preface

I’d like to dedicate this book to my dog, Brandy. Thanks for making my childhood a joy and for eating my lima beans.

A Little About Maestro Rob Akers:

On top of 20 years of accumulated experience in movement and environments, I cook a killer brisket.

I am the owner of Akers Of Strength in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and Publisher of the AOS Inner Circle, a monthly Newsletter dedicated to helping people reach their goals and sustain them for the rest of their lives.

Shoot me a message on Facebook (Facebook.com/robakers), and let’s chat about your goals.

The Hanging Leg Raise When I was 18, my guidance counselor told me that going to school for “the arts” would be a bad idea. It’s funny how humans are seemingly hard-wired to do the opposite of what they’re told. So I went to school for singing. Opera Singing. To this day I’m very happy about this decision except I was really bad at the singing part.

It sucks to suck at something, so I thought I’d find myself a new hobby. One day I walked into a martial arts in the town near my school. Little did I know how this random visit would forever change my life, as corny as that may sound.

I loved this place. I was amazed at how little there was in this gargantuan, caverness, warehouse. There were just a few kettlebells, barbells, iron plates, two pull-up bars, bamboo sticks, ninja swords, and a box full of things that looked like bowling pins. I later found out that these were Indian Clubs.

I thought to myself, “Ha…here’s something to do.”

Now one day, I saw this guy who was actually my size. This is a rare occasion you see. In fact, I almost didn’t see him because I spend most of my life looking up. This guy was thick in muscle but not at all bulky. He looked like a gymnast: Hard, lean, and limber. His knuckles looked like they had smashed through a few hundred cinder blocks. What I saw next is what REALLY caught my attention.

He jumped up to a bar that was nearly twice his height from the ground. He effortlessly raised his legs to the bar with the expression of a Samurai Warrior on his face. Then he did it ten more times. THEN he performed another ten sets of the same thing.

I had to learn this...whatever it was! So I went to the other pull up bar to give it a try. First of all I couldn’t reach the bar so I went and found myself a box. I tried with all my might but to no avail. Finally my grip came loose and I fell on the mats below. When I opened my eyes, Somnath stood over me shaking his head. Turns out, that guy was the owner of the gym.

He was kind enough to show me how he learned the hanging leg raise. First of all, we started on the floor. I never would have thought to do this. I found it’s nearly impossible to take a fall when you’re on the floor already.

I learned proper coordination, body tension, breathing, and the correct movement patterns to make effective and safe progress. Within weeks so many things changed simply from getting on the floor and practicing these drills. My body composition became more athletic-looking, my rib cage tightened up, my abdominal garden began to sprout, and my butt began to rise.

One month later, the day before Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday), I performed my first hanging leg raise with the expression of a Samurai Warrior on my face. Then I performed ten more.

My Samurai ancestors wept. Nailing A Legit HLR

The hanging leg raise is the ultimate abdominal .

The benefits of learning this move are enormous. In addition to looking like a Greek God (or Goddess) the HLR trains your ab wall to carry out it’s primary tasks: Movement while flexing forward and protecting your lower back.

The HLR will train your legs and to work together with your midsection and knit it to your upper body. It pulls the whole machine together into one solid piece while simultaneously building and strengthening all the muscles in your .

Now Here’s The Thing…

The HLR is like being a professional opera singer. Like my buddy Speedo Greene. Yes his name is Speedo. He looks like an NFL linebacker and has a voice that would will bring tears to your eyes and shatter bulletproof glass. You don’t need the voice of God to make millions of dollars but you DO need general musicianship, refined vocal technique, solid work ethic, and the will to deal with the world’s biggest assholes. That being said, the hanging leg raise is a fun, impressive looking, and phenomenal goal to shoot for but not the filet of the dish. If your goal is to move more athletically and finally have your abs shown, the groundwork for the HLR may be all you need.

The breakdown, progressions, and drills in learning and owning the HLR serve as a systematic blueprint for developing a stronger, harder, more functional core.

The steps we’re about to dive in to are also helpful for building up to and improving pull ups, chin ups, handstands, tumbling, climbing, and increasing overall motor control in locomotive movements. Let’s jump in.

Hollow Position Hold

Start With The Hollow Position Hold:

1. Lower back position is crucial. Lay on your back with your hands at your sides. Put your ankles together and raise your knees up to the height of your hips. Your knees and hips should be bent at 90 degrees.

2. Lift your head and lightly raise your shoulders from the floor while simultaneously squeezing your armpits and fully extending your arms downward. You should feel your lower back press hard into the floor. 3. Take some time here to repeat the set up. As we progress, your lower back should never leave the floor. Breathe deep into your belly and generate as much tension as you can in your glutes and armpit muscles (lats).

4. Fully extend your legs while keeping your glutes stabilized and lower back tight. Squeeze your heels together. Squeezing a rolled up towel between your ankles is useful. Let your legs descend only as far as you can keep your lower back essentially “glued” to the floor. 5. Now we’ll work on bringing our arms over our head as if to grab a pull up bar. Your body should look just like a banana. Ankles squeezed together, glutes are tense, ab wall tight, lower back is “one” with the floor, head and shoulders up, arms reaching for an imaginary pull up bar behind your head.

ð Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Whole Break Down

Hollow Position Leg Raise

Then Move To The Hollow Position Leg Raise:

1. You will need a dowel rod for this drill. In my studio we use broom- handle sticks from Home Depot. Quite possibly the cheapest piece of training equipment I own. Position your hands on the dowel shoulder width, maybe a smidgeon wider, and push it to zenith.

2. Pick your head up, lightly raise your shoulders, and fully extend your legs pointing your toes to the sky. This is the neutral (starting) position. 3. Now get a violent grip on the dowel as if you are trying to break it in half. With control, “push” your legs and arms down to the hollow hold position and “pull” them back to neutral. 4. Your grip on the dowel forces your lats to stay engaged throughout the entire movement that will simulate the coordination and body tension required for executing this from a hanging position.

 Click here for a video demonstration of the hollow position leg raise

Two Workouts To Build The Foundation

Workout #1

60 Seconds Hollow Hold + 60 Seconds Push Up Position + 30 Seconds of Rest

3-5 Cycles

Workout #2

5-10 Hollow Position Leg Raises

Every Minute, On the minute, FOR 10 minutes.

That’s 50-100 Leg Raises in 10 Minutes.

Start Hanging!

Time To Start Hanging Out:

Now that we’ve taken the time to address the groundwork and build the foundation, it’s time to find us a bar and start hanging out.

Where To Begin:

Start by hanging on a bar and find that hollow position again. If you’re already strong, the main thing you’ll need to work on is your and lower back flexibility.

For right now, you can lift your legs as high as you’re able and descend back to the hanging hollow position. Below are a few progressions to build a full hanging leg raise. Hanging Bicycle

-Very simple. Hang on the bar and get “hollow”. Raise one knee at a time at height.

ð Click Here For Video Demonstration Hanging Knee Raise

-Get hollow, squeeze your knees together, and raise them to hip height or higher.

 Click Here For Video Demonstration

Half Hanging Leg Raise

-Get hollow, squeeze your ankles and knees together and raise your legs straight out in front of you to hip height.

 Click Here For Video Demonstration

Hanging Leg Raise

-Now the goal of the hanging leg raise is to get your ankles to the bar. Keep your legs and arms straight at all times. Don’t make the mistake of bending your knees or trying to violently swing your legs to the bar. This is a false sense of brilliance and not true strength.

-Depending on your flexibility, your head may SLIGHTLY lean back on the very top of the move. This is fine. I’ve met very few who can keep their head completely still at the top and I am not one of those people. However, do not lean until your feet rise to the level of your eyes. Otherwise it’s wrong.

 Click Here For Video Demonstration