Seated Flat Bench Leg Pull-In
The seated flat bench leg pull-in is a beginner bodyweight core exercise done from the edge of a flat bench. You brace your torso with your arms, then pull your knees toward your chest by flexing your hips and curling your pelvis, working your abdominals through both the pull-in and the controlled extension back out.
Why it works
Because you support your weight through both arms while your legs move in space, your abdominals have to control your hips and pelvis without the floor helping stabilize the rest of your body. That extra balance demand is what separates this from the floor version, and it trains your core to control your pelvis and spine any time your legs move while your torso stays still.
Set up
- Sit near the end of a flat bench with your hands gripping the edge behind your hips, fingers pointing forward or wrapped around the sides.
- Extend your legs out in front of you and lean your torso back slightly, keeping your arms straight to support your weight.
- Find a stable position where your hips feel anchored to the bench before you start moving your legs.
How to do it
- Flex your hips and curl your pelvis under to pull your knees in toward your chest.
- Keep pulling until your knees are roughly above your hips, or as close to your chest as feels controlled.
- Pause briefly at the top, then extend your legs back out to your starting position without letting your feet touch the floor.
- Repeat for your target number of reps, keeping your torso braced against the bench the whole time.
Form cues
- Keep your arms straight and your shoulders pulled down and back the whole set.
- Curl your pelvis under as you pull your knees in, don't just bend at the hips.
- Move slow enough that your legs never swing or use momentum to travel.
- Keep your chest lifted instead of collapsing forward as your knees come in.
Breathing: Exhale as you pull your knees in toward your chest, and inhale as you extend your legs back out. Try not to hold your breath through the pull, it only makes it harder to curl your pelvis.
Common mistakes
Only bending at the hips instead of curling the pelvis, so the knees come in but the lower abs barely engage.
Fix: Focus on tilting your pelvis under you as you pull, like you're trying to bring your tailbone toward your belly button.
Letting the shoulders creep up toward the ears to compensate for a tired core.
Fix: Reset your shoulders down and back before each rep, and shorten the range if you can't hold that position.
Using momentum to swing the legs in and out instead of a controlled pull.
Fix: Slow the tempo down so you feel your abdominals working through the whole rep, instead of only at the start.
How to program it
- Because this is bodyweight-only work with no external load, your abs recover from it fast, so you can place it at the end of several training sessions during the week instead of saving it for one dedicated ab day.
- Start with sets of 8 to 12 controlled reps, and add reps or slow the tempo before you look for a harder variation.
Safety notes
- Keep your wrists and shoulders in a comfortable, straight-arm position, and stop if your lower back rounds hard against the bench edge instead of staying gently braced.
- If keeping your seated balance while pulling your legs in feels too demanding right now, the floor version lets you build the same movement pattern with more support.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Pull
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a special bench for this exercise?
No, any flat, stable bench works as long as it won't tip or slide while you lean back on it.
What if I can't pull my knees all the way to my chest?
Pull in as far as you can control. A smaller range done with a curled pelvis works your abs better than a bigger range done by just bending your hips.
Is this exercise enough on its own for core training?
It's a solid piece of a core routine, but pairing it with different movement patterns, like planks or rotational work, covers more of what your core does.