Captains Chair Straight Leg Raise

A high-intensity abdominal exercise targeting the lower rectus abdominis and hip flexors. It requires significant core stability to prevent swinging.

Exercise Details

Level
Intermediate
Body Area
core
Type
core
Required Equipment
Captain's Chair
Captain's Chair
Target Muscle Groups
Primary
Abs
Secondary
Lower Back

Setup

Position yourself in a captain's chair station, resting on your forearms with your back against the pad. Grip the handles firmly.

Instructions

1. Lift your straight legs until they are parallel to the floor.
2. Contract your abs to lift your hips slightly off the pad.
3. Lower your legs slowly with control.
4. Avoid swinging your body.
5. Maintain scapular depression.

Common Mistakes

1. Swinging the legs.
2. Arching the back off the pad.
3. Bending the knees.

Alternative Exercises

Wipers
Intermediate / Bodyweight-only / Abs / isolation
An advanced rotational core exercise targeting the obliques and transverse abdominis. It builds extreme rotational control and stability.
View more
Weighted Crunch
Intermediate / Dumbbells / Abs / core
A resistance-based abdominal exercise designed to build muscle thickness. Adding weight forces the rectus abdominis to work harder against gravity for maximum hypertrophy.
View more

Explore by Muscle Groups

Abductors Abductors
Abs Abs
Adductors Adductors
Back Back
Biceps Biceps
Calves Calves
Chest Chest
Forearms Forearms
Glutes Glutes
Hamstrings Hamstrings
Lower Back Lower Back
Quads Quads
Shoulders Shoulders
Trapezius Trapezius
Triceps Triceps

Explore by Equipment

Ab Bench Ab Bench
Accessories
Barbell Barbell
Bodyweight-only Bodyweight-only
BOSU Balance Trainer BOSU Balance Trainer
Box Box
Cable Crossover Machine Cable Crossover Machine
Cable Machine
Cable Machine with Rope Attachment Cable Machine with Rope Attachment
Captain's Chair Captain's Chair
Dumbbells Dumbbells
EZ Bar EZ Bar
Free Weights
Handle Bands Handle Bands
Hi-Lo Cable Machine Hi-Lo Cable Machine
Kettlebell Kettlebell
Lat Pulldown Machine Lat Pulldown Machine
Leverage Machine Leverage Machine
Loop Bands Loop Bands
Mini Loop Bands Mini Loop Bands
No Equipment
Pull-up Bar Pull-up Bar
Resistance Bands
Rings Rings
Seated Cable Row Machine Seated Cable Row Machine
Sled Machine Sled Machine
Smith Machine Smith Machine
Stability (Swiss) Ball Stability (Swiss) Ball