Knee raises feel like I am rolling directly on my bones without cushion#1625

Absolutely no equipment available. Laying on carpeted floor. Knees bent at easiest level as I am new. When I raise and lower my legs it feels like I am rolling on my bones directly without any cushion of fat or muscle at all in the middle of my pelvis. Rolling a towel to place under my lower back is too high, a pillow to sit my but on arches my back too much for me to be stable. Is there any way I can modify this exercise to do it or will I HAVE to buy equipment or be shit out of luck?

Hey. This is Chrys, one of the trainers at Hybrid.

What you’re feeling is the pressure on your tailbone when your pelvis rolls directly against the floor. That’s super common when starting out, especially if you don’t have much natural padding there. You don’t have to buy equipment, but you will want to tweak the setup. A couple things work well: instead of a rolled towel under your back or sitting on a pillow, slide a folded blanket, yoga mat, or even a thick hoodie under just your hips. That gives enough cushion without forcing your spine into an arch. Another option is to keep the motion smaller—don’t lower your legs all the way down. Even a short range can train your core without grinding your pelvis into the floor.

If it still feels rough, you can flip the movement: do seated knee lifts while sitting upright in a chair. That trains the same muscles without any direct pressure on your tailbone. You’re definitely not out of luck—you just need to adjust the setup so your pelvis isn’t fighting the floor.

Thank you!! I’ll definitely try those out and if not I’ll do the chair.