Artem Orel's Blog

Learning Leg Lifts: A Proven Method (And How to Adapt Without Wall Bars)

I’ve just trained my first student to master leg lifts from scratch—and he’s already a third of the way to his first full hanging leg raise (straight legs touching the bar overhead).

We are using an inclined board attached to wall bars—the most effective tool for studying the exercise. Unlike bent-knee raises (where progress is murky), this method makes improvement undeniable: you simply move to higher bars as you advance.



On stall bars, a first vertical raise takes two months to achieve from scratch. Once a first perfect leg raise is done, you no longer need the board and start doing the exercise in a vertical position, hanging on wall bars.

Need help in learning the exercise or have questions? Email me at wallbarslegraises@pm.me and I will help you for FREE. But you’ll need an easy access to wall bars - at home or at a street workout spot near your location.

Don't have an easy access to wall bars? Use a single pull-up bar spaced 5cm from the wall. Just know: training on a standalone bar is less satisfying and might take slightly longer to start performing hanging leg raises on wall bars.

Here is my FREE guide on learning vertical leg raises: Enhancing the Benefits of Nauli with a Key Exercise for Abdominal Muscle Strength: Second Edition

When a One-Arm Pull-Up Master Met the Leg Lift Challenge

A kettlebell sport champion once trained with me in a sports gymnastics group. Despite his ability to do one-arm pull-ups, he struggled with even a single straight leg lift on the horizontal bar. Still, he persisted, determined to improve. What fascinated him most was the elegance of hanging leg lifts, performed on wall bars—the fluidity of the movement and the full-body coordination it demands.

He considered the exercise to be something more than regular pull-ups, push-ups, etc. He saw the exercise as more than just pull-ups or push-ups—it was a magic movement that demanded grace, control, and full-body synergy. He expected to gain results beyond the physical level.

4 Surprising Facts About Nauli, You Probably Didn’t Know

1. Some texts describe nabho nauli, where practitioners do nauli in combination with khechari mudra to enhance pranic flow.
2. Some kalari payattu (India's ancient martial art) warriors use nauli to forge a battle-ready core.
3. Freedivers have adopted nauli to extend breath retention underwater.
4. Done incorrectly, practice of nauli can disrupt vata dosha, leading to its imbalance.

Drop a comment below to share info about nauli, most practitioners don't know!

Eliminate Obesity with Ease: My Upcoming Book on Wall Bars Leg Raises & Nauli for Fat Loss

Obesity and excess weight are among today's most pervasive health challenges — but what if the solution isn’t another fad diet or exhausting workout regimen, but a combination of two targeted, transformative exercises: wall bars leg raises and nauli?

In my upcoming book, I'll demonstrate how wall bars leg raises and nauli can completely transform your body by melting away excess fat — particularly abdominal fat — until your navel vertically aligns with your nose.

Hanging leg raises, when combined with nauli, target abdominal fat so effectively that with consistent practice, it disappears completely. Just three sets performed two days out of three, with gradual, effortless progression from beginner to full movements, accompanied by daily practice of nauli, will allow you to lose up to 4 kilos (9 lbs) of fat per month until you achieve your ideal physique!

In my ebook, I'll provide:
- A step-by-step exercise guide (from beginner to advanced levels)
- An easy-to-follow diet plan (personally tested twice — I've used it two times to lose 18-20 kilos (39-44 pounds) in 4-5 months and continue to use its light version for weight maintenance
- The science behind this method’s effectiveness and how it helps you maintain results indefinitely

Priced at up to $100 (because it delivers a solution), this book is a worthwhile lifelong investment in your health and quality of life. Stay tuned for the release!

P.S. While waiting for the book, you can start practicing the two foundational exercises: nauli and vertical leg raises — using my free guide: Enhancing the Benefits of Nauli with a Key Exercise for Abdominal Muscle Strength: Second Edition.

My blog in Russian on progressing in wall bars leg raises and pull-ups

https://workout.su/forum_thread/21980...

100 Yoga Students to Master Nauli & Wall Bars Leg Raises by 2026 – Follow for Results!

By January 1, 2026, the first 100 yoga students practicing nauli will master "wall bars leg raises", performing them multiple times in a set. They’ll then share their feedback on the combined effects of the two powerful exercises.

Curious about the results? Follow me on Goodreads for updates!

Alternative to Wall Bars: A Single Bar Solution

If you don’t have access to wall bars, you can install a single bar attached to the wall. Here’s how to set it up for effective core workouts and hanging leg raises:

1. Height: Position the bar about 4 inches (10 cm) above your reach when standing upright with your hands raised.
2. Distance from the wall: The bar should protrude 2 inches (5 cm) from the wall. This ensures the wall behind you prevents body swing.

When performing straight leg raises (touching the bar with your feet), this setup will feel very similar to using traditional wall bars. It’s a space-efficient solution for mastering toes-to-bar progressions and enhancing your nauli practice.

FREE Sample: The Introduction

Dynamic “leg raises on wall bars” (alternatively referred to as “leg raises” hereafter) with straight legs touching the crossbar above the head is a key strength exercise for abdominal muscles. Considered one of the most challenging bodyweight exercises for this muscle group, it is also one of the most effective. By performing this exercise alone, a practitioner becomes capable of performing dozens of other strength exercises for these muscles, rendering them unnecessary. The exercise engages the same abdominal muscles as nauli, primarily the rectus abdominis.

Video of the exercise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udHk7...

While nauli fully reveals the hidden potential of the rectus abdominis muscles for spatial movement, leg raises fully engage their strength. By manipulating the same muscles in different ways, leg raises
and nauli complement each other perfectly. Nauli is known for its ability to enhance blood circulation
in the abdominal organs by causing negative pressure. In turn, leg lifts achieve the same effect, but in
the opposite way—by increasing pressure.

Regularly practicing leg lifts drastically enhances the benefits of nauli, particularly its therapeutic
effect, which is enabled by its physical and physiological influence. This occurs due to the proximity
of the abdominal muscles to these organs, separated only by a layer of fat and fascia. All exercises
that are therapeutically effective for internal organs have a powerful systemic effect, since those
internal organs ensure the vital activity of the entire body. They contribute to the elimination of dosha
imbalances. By combining nauli with leg raises, one can achieve a powerful therapeutic effect on the
vital internal organs in the abdominal cavity (including those of the digestive, urinary, and lymphatic
systems) that is not possible with either exercise alone.

For the deepest physical and thus therapeutic impact, it is necessary to apply maximum strength
throughout the full range of motion. Maximum strength of the rectus abdominis muscles is attained
when they lift the greatest weight of your body vertically upwards, resisting the force of gravity in the
direction opposite to the movement.

Leg lifts on wooden wall bars (also known as a gymnastic ladder, stall bars, or Swedish wall) are
considered the gold standard in core strength training in gymnastics worldwide. Performing this
exercise is the primary purpose of the stall bars equipment (the most supplied apparatus in any
gymnastics facility) in this sport. There is even a specialized modification of the bars designed solely
for this exercise in gymnastics; details of this modification are described in a later chapter.

Wall bars transform regular hanging leg raises into an exercise in which the strength of the core
muscles is trained separately. An athlete does not need to expend additional effort to keep their body
straight, which would otherwise decrease the number of leg raise repetitions they could perform.

The bars behind the back prevent the use of swing and momentum instead of strength, which is
inevitable when performing the exercise on a horizontal bar (thereby critically reducing the power and
effectiveness of the exercise). Shoulders serve as a foothold, stabilizing the body and simultaneously
preventing the upper back from moving backward, which would reduce the range of motion and make
the task easier. For maximum effectiveness, the exercise should be performed using strength alone
throughout the entire range of motion.

Muscles are utilized to execute any movement and maintain static positions. There are only two
actions muscles can perform: passive extension and active contraction. When complemented by
dedicated core and upper body training, the most challenging asanas and vinyasas are performed with
substantially greater ease and proficiency.

The repetitive movements transform leg raises into a kind of strength yantra, capable of accumulating
and balancing prana in the body, filling the dan tian, and energizing the body’s channels. It is highly
likely that leg lifts help to reverse apana and keep semen in the body, preventing accidental leakage.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
- Body Weight Exercises Are as Natural as Asanas
- Far-Reaching Therapeutic Benefits of Nauli and Leg Raises
- Enabling and Controlling Abdominal Breathing
- Performing Leg Raises in the Absence of Nauli Proficiency
- The Role of the Body’s Center in Power Transmission
- Modified Wall Bars for Leg Raises in Gymnastics

LEAD-UP EXERCISES
- Method 1: Using a Board Attached to Wall Bars
- Method 2: With Bent Legs in a Hanging Position

THE MAIN EXERCISE

AUXILIARY EXERCISES
- Pull-Ups or Chin-Ups (Choose the One You Like More)
- Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)

EXPERIMENT!

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX 1: Little-known Facts About Nauli
- Nauli in Yantra Yoga
- Variations of Nauli for Imbalances of Vata (Air) and Kapha (Phlegm) and Their Prevalence in Prakriti
- Unclassified Facts

About the Author

Book Description ("Enhancing the Benefits of Nauli with a Key Exercise for Abdominal Muscle Strength: Second Edition")

This ebook explores the powerful synergy between nauli (a yogic abdominal manipulation) and leg raises on wall bars (the main exercise for the core in gymnastics).

Together, these exercises:
- Complement yoga’s abdominal arsenal while rivaling nauli’s therapeutic effects — especially for gastrointestinal health, excess weight and hypertension.
- Engage different aspects of the rectus abdominis muscles, creating unique benefits neither exercise can achieve alone.
- Include two step-by-step ways to master hanging leg raises from scratch, plus auxiliary exercises for accelerated progress.

The appendix reveals some lesser-known facts about nauli, collected by the author.