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Windshield Wipers

A hanging rotational movement that swings the legs side to side, demanding significant core and grip strength together.

Setup

Hang from a pull-up bar and raise your legs to roughly horizontal. Same starting position as an advanced hanging leg raise.

Movement

Rotate your legs to one side. Keep them together, swinging them down and to the side in a controlled arc. Rotate back through center to the other side. Continue the side-to-side motion, maintaining control throughout.

Return

Keep your upper body as stable as possible. The rotation should come from your hips and core, not your whole body swinging wildly.

Common Mistake to Avoid

Attempting this before the hanging leg raise is mastered. This is a more advanced progression that builds directly on that foundational strength.

Equipment Pull-up bar
Primary Muscles Abs (obliques, rectus abdominis)
Secondary Muscles Forearms (grip), lats

Why it matters

Building on the hanging leg raise, windshield wipers add a rotational component by swinging the raised legs side to side, training the obliques under a demanding hanging position. It's an advanced movement that should only be attempted once the hanging leg raise itself is comfortable and well controlled.

How to do it

  1. Hang from a pull-up bar and raise your legs to roughly horizontal. Same starting position as an advanced hanging leg raise.
  2. Rotate your legs to one side. Keep them together, swinging them down and to the side in a controlled arc.
  3. Rotate back through center to the other side. Continue the side-to-side motion, maintaining control throughout.
  4. Keep your upper body as stable as possible. The rotation should come from your hips and core, not your whole body swinging wildly.

Common mistakes

  • Attempting this before the hanging leg raise is mastered. This is a more advanced progression that builds directly on that foundational strength.
  • Using momentum to swing rather than controlled rotation. A controlled arc trains the obliques far more effectively than an uncontrolled swing.
  • Letting the grip fail before the core does. Grip strength is a genuine limiting factor here — grip training separately can help if it's the bottleneck.
  • Rotating through too large a range too soon. A smaller, controlled range of motion is more valuable than a large, sloppy one while building toward full range.

Sets & reps by level

Beginner

Not applicable — master hanging leg raises first.

Intermediate

Not typically attempted yet — continue building hanging leg raise strength.

Advanced

3–4 sets of 6–10 reps per side once hanging leg raises are comfortable and well controlled.

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