Leg lowering with a tummy draw-in is a harder core control exercise done lying on your back. You bring both legs up to tabletop, with your knees over your hips, then straighten one leg out long toward the floor without touching it, bring it back and switch. A gentle hold low in your stomach keeps your lower back from arching as the leg moves away.

How to do the leg lowering with a tummy draw-in

Lie face up on a mat, knees bent and feet flat, with a folded towel or small block under your head. Put your hands on your lower stomach, just inside your hip bones, and let your lower back rest in its small natural curve.
Tighten your pelvic floor lightly. Let your lower tummy draw in gently with it, without pulling it in hard.
Breathing steadily, raise one knee until it is over your hip, then bring the other up to join it, so both shins are about level with the floor.
Slowly straighten one leg out long and lower it toward the floor, stopping with the heel a few inches up, or sooner if your back starts to arch.
Draw that knee back in over the hip, then do the same with the other leg.
To finish, lower one foot to the mat and then the other.

What you should feel

Steady work deep in your stomach that gets stronger as the leg reaches away, and effort at the front of the hip on the moving leg.

Common mistakes

Letting the lower back lift and arch as the leg goes out. Keep the leg higher.
Rocking the pelvis from side to side as you switch legs.
Holding your breath, or bracing so hard that your stomach domes up.
Dropping both feet to the floor at once when you finish.

How often

Many programs start with 1 to 3 sets of 4 to 8 slow lowers with each leg, on most days, with a rest between sets. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Lower back pain that builds with each lowering, even when you keep the leg higher.
Pain, tingling or numbness that spreads down a leg.
A ridge or doming down the middle of your stomach, or pressure or heaviness low in your pelvis. Stop and let your physio know.

From the clinic

How low the straight leg goes sets how hard this is. The closer it gets to the floor, the more your stomach has to work to stop your back arching, so start with the leg pointing well up and bring it lower over the weeks. If holding tabletop is already a struggle, practice the tabletop leg lift or supine marching first. The dead bug is a close relative that brings the arms in. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every repetition and never hold your breath.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try leg lowering. Some operations limit this kind of work for the first months, so the timing depends on your surgery.

With a hernia, or after stomach or back surgery, get your physio's advice before you begin, because a long, straight leg adds a lot of load for your stomach wall to control. If you have recently given birth, including by cesarean section, or you have a gap down the middle of your stomach muscles (diastasis recti), ask your physio, midwife or doctor first. If you are pregnant, check with your midwife or physio before you start. If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Leg lowering with a tummy draw-in