Front Leg Raise

The importance of the leg raising exercise cannot be over-emphasised. The correct execution of this movement has a very complex involvement of many muscle groups. The natural movement of the leg is to move inwards as a result of the action of the adductor muscles in the leg. The deliberate outward swing of the leg is to work against this action training them in a dynamic stretch. The result is lengthened adductors.

The hip abductor on the standing leg pulls downwards thereby exerting an upward movement of the pelvis on the unsupported leg. If the abductors are not functioning correctly then the hip will drop and the leg cannot swing without touching the floor. This is known as Trendelenberg's sign. The complex process by which the leg raise is performed can be illustrated as follows:

The hip flexors raise the leg upwards and at the same time the hip abductors maintain the leg position angled slightly outwards throughout the entire movement. The hamstrings are stretched dynamically at the full height of the raise and this stretch is enhanced by keeping the foot and toes pulled back towards the shin. Full knee extension by quadriceps contraction ensures the antagonist muscles (hamstrings) are relaxed. The adductor muscles are relaxed or should be and are dynamically stretched at the full upward and forward position. The downward movement is controlled by gradual relaxation of the and hip flexors as the opposite muscle, the hip extensor, takes over in a contraction. The hip abductors are partially flexed all the time to keep the leg outward against the inward pull of the adductors - those muscles being dynamically stretched. The hip abductors of the opposite leg are in continuous partial flexion to maintain the pelvic position. As the leg moves to the rear the hip flexors play out more as control is transferred to the gluteus maximus extensor muscle for the rearward movement.