Toes-to-Bar
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Hang from a pull-up bar, hands shoulder-width, palms forward, dead hang. Pack the shoulders down. Brace the core. Lift straight legs slowly — through horizontal, all the way up. Pull yourself slightly back/forward to angle the body — toes connect with the bar between your hands. Lower under control over 2-3 seconds back to dead hang. 5-10 strict reps. No swinging, no kipping, no momentum.
Why It Works
Toes-to-bar is the full-range progression of the hanging leg raise — instead of stopping at horizontal, you continue lifting the legs all the way up until your toes touch the bar. That extra range adds significant lat involvement (your lats pull you slightly back to create the angle), turns it into a true full-body anti-extension drill, and crushes the rectus abdominis in a way few exercises can match. The 'advanced ab' move every elite gymnast, CrossFit athlete, and rotational-sport athlete trains. For hockey, it's the gold-standard finisher — a few sets of strict toes-to-bar train both the trunk flexion that powers shots AND the grip/lat strength needed for stick battles and puck protection.
Hockey Transfer
Advanced progression of the hanging leg raise — combines full rectus chain with lat strength and grip endurance. The "advanced ab" move every elite athlete trains. Direct carryover to the trunk-flexion power needed for hard shots and fast get-ups. If you can't do strict hanging leg raises to horizontal first, sub those — toes-to-bar requires both abs AND lat strength.
Coaching Cues
- "Dead hang from a bar. Lift straight legs all the way UP — toes touch the bar between your hands. Lower under control. Strict reps only — no kipping"
- "No swinging."
Common Mistakes
Kipping for momentum — converts the exercise into shoulder cardio; abs do almost nothing. Bent knees — start with bent knees only if you're regressing to knee-to-bar, otherwise straight legs. Not lifting all the way to the bar — half-reps; that's just a hanging leg raise. Touch the bar or it doesn't count. Trying it before you can do strict hanging leg raises to horizontal — earn the prerequisite first.
Progression / Regression
Weighted toes-to-bar — light ankle weights or dumbbell between feet. Or strict toes-to-rings for added shoulder stability demand.
Hanging leg raise to horizontal — earn 12+ strict reps before attempting toes-to-bar.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Strength/neural
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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