For your abs
For your abs, hanging leg raise rates well ahead on our research criteria: easier on the joints, easier to progress.
Both are good choices, and they train the abs differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Hanging Leg Raise. Curling the pelvis up trains the abs hard, but grip and hip flexors often end the set first.
For your abs, hanging leg raise rates well ahead on our research criteria: easier on the joints, easier to progress. Both are good choices, and they train the abs differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
Hanging leg raise is easier: it takes some practice, while dragon flag needs coaching.
Dragon flag needs a bench, so a home gym covers it. Hanging leg raise needs a pull-up bar, so a home gym covers it.
Hanging leg raise: it rates Strong for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Fair for dragon flag.