Captains Chair Workout: An Effective Exercise For Stronger Abs

Do you want stronger abs? Have you thought about the captains chair workout?

This powerful exercise is a great way to tone and strengthen your core muscles, using minimal equipment and very little space.

Not only is this move effective, but it’s also pretty simple to do!

What Is The Captains Chair

Technically, the captains chair is an armchair with a saddle seat and a low curved back with vertical spindles.

In terms of exercise, the captains chair is a great tool for targeting the core muscles of your abdomen, including your rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques.

Why is it used for strengthening core muscles?

The captain’s chair exercise is one of the best exercises for toning your obliques and second only to another exercise in strengthening your abs, according to a study done by the American Council on Exercise (ACE).

ACE’s longstanding belief has been validated by this study: you don’t need to spend over $150 on a single piece of equipment to work effectively on strengthening your abs.

Benefits of Captains Chair Workout

One of the benefits of the captains chair workout is that:

✔︎ It engages your core muscles in a way that other exercises cannot. This is because it targets all layers of abdominal muscles, as opposed to focusing on a single layer at a time.

✔︎ It requires very little space, making it perfect for those who are tight on workout space.

✔︎ It’s easy to do at home or in the gym, using just a captains chair and your own body weight as resistance.

Safety and Precaution

As with any exercise routine, it’s important to consult your doctor before starting the captains chair workout. This is especially true if you have any pre-existing medical conditions or injuries.

To avoid injury and maximize the effectiveness of this workout, be sure to follow proper form and technique. This includes engaging your core muscles throughout each repetition and maintaining proper posture throughout.

Exercises such as captain’s chair hanging leg raises engage your upper body and core muscles. You may need to avoid them if you:

• Have lower back pain.
• Are pregnant, still recovering from pregnancy.
• Have diastasis recti , an abdominal separation usually caused by pregnancy, or one-sided weakness of the transverse abdominis muscles.
• Had any recent surgery or injury.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

When it comes to working out, the captains chair is a great piece of equipment to use.

However, there are a few common mistakes that people make when using this exercise machine.

1. First of all, don’t hold your breath. When you lift weights, it is important to time your breaths so that you do not hold your breath, as your muscles need oxygen in order to perform at their best.
2. Secondly, don’t forget to keep your core engaged (and before lifting your legs) while you’re working out. This will help you get the most out of your captains chair workout and avoid injuries.
3. Control movements. Be sure to control your movements when doing the captains chair exercise. This means that you should focus on slow and steady movement, rather than using momentum to get through your reps.
4. Finally, make sure that you have good posture when doing the captains chair exercise, be careful not to arch your back too much while you’re exercising. This can cause pain and discomfort in your lower back.

How To Do The Captains Chair Workout

The following are the three most effective captain’s chair exercises:

1) Leg Raise

2) Hanging Leg/Leg Raise

3) Knee Raise

To do the Leg Raise:

1. Start in a slightly bent knee position
2. Slowly raise your legs until they are at a 90-degree angle.
3. Hold this position
4. Then, release back to the starting point. As you lower your legs, be sure to engage your abs so that your legs don’t drop below parallel.

To do the Hanging Leg/Leg Raise:

1. Start by gripping the bar in a stable position at shoulder length (or, depending on your preference – a little bit narrower).
2. Next, slowly raise the legs up (to about 90 degrees) while breathing out, which will help keep the pace as you’re doing the movement.
3. Pause for a moment, then lower legs to the starting position in a controlled manner.
4. Once your legs hit the bottom, exhale and repeat the movement.

To do the Knee Raise:

1. Start by gripping the arm rest of the captains chair and securing yourself in place.
2. Next, lift your knees up towards your chest as high as you can, keeping your abs engaged throughout the entire movement.
3. Pause at the top of the motion, then lower back down to starting position.
4. Be sure to keep proper form and control during this exercise – avoid using momentum to get through your reps.
5. Repeat this movement for several repetitions, aiming for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps each.

Whether you’re doing the captains chair workout at home or in a gym, always remember to maintain proper form and focus on engaging your core muscles throughout each repetition.

Beginner Captains Chair Workout

As a beginner, you should start with the simplest of all captain’s chair exercises. Start with a few reps and work your way up gradually as your strength increases.

To do the beginner captains chair workout:

1. Simply start in a slightly bent knee position and hold them together
2. Then, slowly raise your legs until they are at a 90-degree angle.
3. Hold this position for a moment
4. Then, lower the legs back down to starting position in a controlled manner and repeat.

Intermediate Captains Chair Workout

If you’re feeling confident with beginner’s captain chair workout, challenge yourself by moving on to the intermediate level.

Here are a few advanced exercises for to try.

Bicycle Crunches

If you’re used to doing this exercise on the floor, you can also do it as a variation on the captain’s chair.

To do this exercise:

• Raise one leg up so that it is at a 90-degree angle. Keep the other leg hanging.
• As you raise your second knee to the parallel position, while dropping your original leg.
• Repeat the motion continually.
• Keep an even pace, and be sure to raise each knee to the right degree. You might get sweaty from this form of exercise because you are constantly moving while suspended.

Captain’s Chair Leg Raise Alternating Side

This exercise targets the obliques and the lower abs and is perfect for those who want to sculpt their midsection.

To do this exercise:

1. Start by gripping the armrest of the captain’s chair and securing yourself in place.
2. As you raise your knees towards your chest, direct them to the right side.
3. After you lower your knees, do the same thing to your left side.

Advanced Captains Chair Workout

After you have practiced these exercises for awhile, try mixing in some challenging moves to improve your strength and tone.

Here are a few additional exercises that will make you look like an expert.

Single Leg Lifts

This is another more challenging variation of the leg raise. As the name suggests, here you are raising one leg at a time.

This allows you better control over the lift and really targets the muscles. Be sure to move slowly to ensure that you maintain the correct form.

1. Follow the steps for the leg raise exercise, but only raise a single leg.
2. Slowly lower your leg.
3. Repeat with your other leg.
4. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Weighted Leg Raises

1. Follow the steps for the leg raise exercise.
2. Place a weight between your feet. You can also use ankle weights, a sandbag, or a dumbbell.
3. Then, raise your legs slowly while maintaining control over the weight.

Criss Cross

This is a fun variation of the captains chair exercise. In this movement, you are crossing your legs and moving in an alternating motion.

To do this exercise:

1. Start by gripping the armrests of the captains chair and securing yourself in place.
2. As you lift your legs towards your chest to 90 degrees.
3. Cross your right leg over horizontally over your left leg.
4. Then, return to the starting position.
5. Repeat this at a steady pace.

Home Workout

This specific chair workout will target the lower ab muscles, which are crucial for strengthening the core.

Using a regular chair:

1. Start by placing your hands on the edge of the chair
2. Be sure to place your back against the padded support while you’re working out.
3. Tighten your core.
4. Using your arms, begin lifting both knees up off the ground at the same time
5. Do 10 reps and repeat.

Captains Chair Workout Tips

• If you’re just starting out, try to perform this exercise for 30 seconds or so at a time. As your strength improves, you can gradually build up the length of each workout.
• Make sure to keep your lower back and stomach muscles contracted the whole time you’re doing this exercise.
• Also, don’t strain yourself by holding your breath or going limp – it won’t increase the effectiveness of the exercise and can actually be dangerous.
• In addition, resist any temptation to swing your legs in an effort to get them higher; all this will do is take pressure off of your core muscles.
• Take your time raising your legs slowly and deliberately.

Conclusion

Whether you’re looking to improve your overall fitness or target a specific muscle group, the captains chair is an excellent exercise option.

This versatile workout can be used at home or in the gym and requires no special equipment or machines. Just remember to use proper form and stay focused, and you’ll start seeing results in no time.