Struggling to get the hang of leg hangs?
Here are some simple conditioning drills you can try which will help you to practice and condition leg hang positioning—from the comfort and safety of the floor! Yey! At the end, I’ll explain how to programme them all into a workout.
These floor-based drills will allow you to:
- Get used to the contact points for leg hangs
- Condition your legs to the pain (it gets easier, I promise)
- Drill the movement pattern so it becomes automatic – then, when you eventually get upside down on the pole and you’re not sure which way is ‘up’ or what your name is anymore (I know, the struggle is real), you’ll automatically know what to do. ❤
- Become an expert in the basics – building a solid foundation in these movements ultimately means prettier, bendier, stronger leg hangs and smoother transitions on the pole.
Never, EVER be afraid to go back to basics.
1. Leg Hang Conditioning Drill 1 & 2 – Floor Hangs
This is actually how I always start coaching leg hangs to beginners, before even thinking about doing it up the pole. But these two simple drills are also great for general conditioning, too—even if you are already inverting but just want to perfect your inside and outside leg hangs, or if you want to do a little more conditioning work on your non-dominant side.
2. Leg Hang Conditioning Drill 3 – Side Plank Leg Hangs
This is harder than it looks! The positioning is a bit different to your inside and outside leg hang, but it’s another great way to condition and strengthen your leg grip for pole.
Make it easier >>> If you can’t take the hand off the pole or the bottom foot off the floor at first, don’t worry – just keep the hand on/foot down until you get the strength and confidence to move up to the next level.
Make it harder >>> If you find this easy (go you!), you can add small pulse lifts with the lower leg.
3. Leg Hang Conditioning Drill 4 – Cupid Crunches
Another great way to get used to gripping the pole for dear life with your legs is the cupid crunch – and it includes a Brucey Bonus – oblique work, yey!
Make it easier >>> If you struggle with this exercise, you can take the movement out and simply hold (with one hand on the pole, if you need to) until you feel confident enough in that leg grip to lean out.
Make it harder >>> If you want an extra challenge, you can add a weight to this exercise – hold the weight with both hands close to the chest. You won’t need to go too heavy – they burn!
LEG HANG CONDITIONING CIRCUIT
As promised, let’s put these exercises into a little conditioning circuit…
INSTRUCTIONS
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| Exercise 1 | Outside leg floor hangs | X 5 each side (3-5 second holds for each one) |
| Exercise 2 | Inside leg floor hangs | X 5 each side (3-5 second holds for each one) |
| Exercise 3 | Side plank leg hangs | 20 to 30 second hold each side (or, if you can’t make it to 20 seconds, as long as you can – try to increase your time every workout!) |
| Exercise 4 | Cupid lifts | 10 crunches each side |
Please let me know if you try! And any questions – just gimme a shout!
Neo x
PS. I’m a personal trainer and strength coach specialising in strength building for pole. If you’d like to geek out more with me on the anatomy of pole dance, or you want more details on how to programme these exercises, check out my book – Strength and Conditioning for Pole – which is available now in hard copy or as a downloadable ebook!
Questions? Just ask! + Please tag me on social media with your Leg hang wins – I love to celebrate with you all! I’m on insta @ptthepole and Facebook @thepolept
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