Tips
The Hanging Leg Raise is one of the best whole body abdominal exercises, period. However, there are several variations that stretch its versatility even further. In the standard HLR, you bring your feet up to to the bar or ring you are hanging from. In the first variation, you bring your legs up on a circular path. Switch directions on each rep. Another cool variation is to pretend you are throwing different types of kicks. Try kicking as high as possible and vary the pace of the kicks, from slow to rapid fire. Also kicking to the side or twisting your hips to throw a side kick to the front will shift the majority of the work to your obliques.
The iron cross a truly incredible feat of strength, regularly performed by gymnasts. Most people do not even have the strength to safely practice this feat without a partner for assistance. Dave Werner suggested using flex bands to build up strength in this movement. To set it up, simply loop a flex band through each handle of a ring or hang a band over a chin-up bar. With your arms locked out, try and pull the bands to your sides. If you can pull the band all the way down to your hips, then you better get a heavier band or start looping multiple bands. Eventually the pull will be heavy enough to lift you off the ground. At this point, go for the real thing! Be sure to apply all of the regular tension techniques and also try rotating your knuckles forwards so that your thumb is pointing down. This stretches the anterior deltoids and, limiting the range of motion vertically.
