How To Do The Captain’s Chair Exercise At Home

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), one of the most effective exercises to chisel and shape your ab muscles is the captain’s chair exercise. You might wonder, what’s so unique about this move that sets it apart from dozens of other ab exercises?

For starters, let us tell you that in order to see the maximum muscle growth and definition, you need to hit it from all possible angles. That can happen only when you do compound exercises. The captain’s chair exercise at home or at the gym is one of the best compound ab movements that facilitates all the muscles in your ab area in a single moment. Thus, instead of doing countless isolated exercises that target only a single muscle at a time, the captain’s chair allows you to hit all the different ab muscles at once. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Captain’s Chair Exercise: What Is It and Its Benefits

A person with defined abs, Credit: Pixabay

It is an ab exercise that targets your lower abs and obliques. At every gym there is a captain’s chair exercise equipment on which people do it. It is called the captain’s chair. Alternatively, you can also do it on a knee raise station which is either present at the gym or can be purchased by you.

The exercise also helps in stabilizing the back muscles. By making your core strong, it helps you to achieve a six pack ab, by targeting those lower ab muscles that aren’t targeted fully in conventional ab exercises like sit ups and crunches.

captain’s chair exercise at home benefits your core greatly. A strong core gained through this move acts as a safeguard against all the injuries that you may develop as a result of running, jumping, walking, or playing any other sport. It also prevents you from becoming prone to lower back pain often.

The variations of this exercise can also be performed even if you don’t have a gym membership.

How To Perform Captain’s Chair Exercise Without Equipment ?

A sturdy wooden chair, Credit: Pixabay

Follow the instructions mentioned below:

1. Place yourself on a sturdy chair. Your feet should be firmly planted on the floor.

2. Sit straight with an erect spine.

3. Place your hands on the seat of the chair on either side.

4. Inhale and exhale and pull your knees towards your chest. Hold this position for about 2 seconds.

5. Inhale and lower your legs to the starting position.

6. Do this for about 10 more times.

You can make this more challenging by not resting your hands on the seat of the chair on either side of your body. It will add more resistance and prompt your stomach muscles to work harder than before.

A person with strong core running, Credit: Pixabay

Captain chair exercise muscles worked include lower abdominals, external obliques, and hip flexors. The move is also a great option for those who hate doing sit ups, crunches, and other traditional abdominal movements.

The exercise strengthens your entire core and primes your body for executing advanced abdominal exercises like hanging knee raises. Once you’ve mastered the right form of doing this exercise, you can progress to more advanced and challenging variations of it. Make this exercise a regular part of your workout routine along with a balanced and healthy diet. It won’t take long for you to observe more definition in your abdominals.

What’s best about this exercise is that it’s home version is equally effective as its gym version. You don’t need to purchase the gym captain’s exercise equipment in order to perform it at home. The equipment tends to be on the pricier side. Grab an old, sturdy chair and reap the same benefits as you would in case you were performing it at the gym.