Decline Knee Raise

The decline knee raise targets your abdominal muscles while also engaging your hip flexors.

To perform the exercise:

  1. Lie on a decline bench with your legs hanging off the end.
  2. Grip the bench for support.
  3. Raise your knees towards your chest, contracting your abs.
  4. Lower your legs back to the starting position without swinging.

How to perform the Decline Knee Raise

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Decline Knee Raise using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your abdominals.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your abdominals rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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