We know what you’re thinking:
“The captain’s chair exercise can transform my abs, huh? That’s a pretty bold claim.”
While it might sound too good to be true, it’s not.
According to a recent study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the captain’s chair exercise is one of the most effective exercise for strengthening the obliques, and the second most effective exercise for strengthening the abs.
How’s that for proof?
Whether you’re running, jumping, climbing, or lifting, stable, sturdy abs help you maintain great form and prevent injuries across the board.
If you haven’t added this compound ab exercise into your arsenal, you’re missing out! Fortunately, it’s never too late to get started…
What exactly is a Captains Chair?
There’s a good chance that you have used a Captains Chair at the gym. Or maybe you walked right by it and didn’t know what it was. Basically, it’s a tall, seatless chair. A seatless chair? Now that doesn’t sound too comfortable. Would it help if we told you that it has a backrest and some armrests? Think about your leg raises that you do from a pull-up bar, but with back support–that is essentially what this chair is. Plus, there are a ton of chair exercises you can do with the Captains Chair. Those six-pack abs that you have been wanting are waiting at this machine. Literally, jump on the chair and the six-pack abs appear. We promise.
How To Do The Captains Chair Exercises
First, if you want to start practicing this essential exercise at home, you’ll have to invest in a knee raise station.
If you’re satisfied with just practicing this at the gym, work on these variations.
The three most effective captain’s chair exercises are as follows:
- Leg Raise
- Knee Raise
- Weighted Knee/Leg Raise
Here’s how to do each:
1. Captain's Chair Leg Raise
- Step into the captain’s chair and place your back against the support. Rest your forearms on the pads and grip the handles firmly.
- When you’re in position, let your legs hang toward the floor. Keep your back against the support and contract your core to keep your upper body straight.
- Raise your legs in front of you with your knees slightly bent. Raise your legs until they’re parallel with the floor (90-degree angle). Hold at the peak for 1 second.
- Slowly lower your legs in a controlled motion. Don’t let your legs drop! Engage your abs while you lower them back to the starting position.
2. Captains Chair Knee Raise
Steps 1-2 are the same as the leg raise.
- Raise your knees upward towards your chest. Once they pass your hips, hold for a full second.
- Slowly lower your knees back to the starting position.
3. Captains Chair Weighted Leg/Knee Raise
In the video, Scott is doing a hanging dumbbell raise.
This engages the core more, and is a great option if that’s what you’re looking for.
Follow Scott’s same tips for performing this exercise, just use the captains chair to support your upper body while your engage your core:
- Get into the knee/leg raise position.
- Wrap your feet around a dumbbell on the floor.
- Lift in the same slow and controlled manner.
- Lower in the same slow and controlled manner.
Captains Chair Exercise Tips
- Keep your core engaged throughout the entire exercise. Don’t go limp or hold your breath.
- No swinging! Don’t swing your legs to build momentum to perform the leg raise. This defeats the effectiveness of the exercise because it doesn’t engage your core muscles.
- Lift slowly and deliberately. It’s better that you do 10 leg raises with perfect form than 50 with sloppy form.
Progressive Plan | Captains Chair Workout
This progressive captains chair workout plan will help you build muscle and form as efficiently as possible.
We recommend starting with the knee raise first. Once you can do this comfortably, you can move on to leg raises.
If you’ve been doing a leg raise for a while, you may need high reps to “Feel the burn.”
When you reach the point where you’re doing about 20-30 reps, it’s time to begin weighted leg raises.
Follow a progressive overload workout routine to continue building your abdominals.
Begin with a 10 lb. dumbbell. Once you can easily do 3 sets of 8 – 10 reps at this weight, increase the weight to 15 lbs.
When you can do 3 sets of 8 – 10 reps at 15 lbs., increase the weight to 20 lbs. Continue this progressive captains chair workout to transform your entire core.
What Muscles Are Used With The Captain's Chair Exercises?
The variations of the captains chair exercise can target the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis), hip flexors, and external obliques.
If you don’t feel these muscles engaging, take a look at your form.
When you swing your legs instead of engaging your core, you’re just going through the motions without reaping the benefits.
Take your time with each repetition and feel the contraction. It’s better that you do 5-10 high-quality reps than 25+ crappy reps!
Once you’ve mastered this exercise and have strengthened your core muscles, you can move on to hanging leg/knee raises.
After that, you get to the granddaddy of them all—the hanging dumbbell knee raise (as demonstrated in the video above).
This exercise will strengthen your core rapidly, but it’s still essential to build up to it using the captain’s chair. If you want to avoid injury and overload, don’t rush into it!
Our team at The Fitness Tribe often collaborates together to produce content. Many times the content is not written by a single author, instead it is usually a team effort.