Weighted captain’s chair leg and hip raise
Exercise details
- Target muscle: Rectus Abdominis
- Synergists: Internal and External Obliques, Iliopsoas, Tensor Fasciae Latae, Sartorius, Pectineus, Adductor Longus, Adductor Brevis
- Dynamic stabilizer: Rectus Femoris
- Mechanics: Compound
- Force: Pull
Starting position
- Place a dumbbell on its side inside the captain’s chair.
- Get into the captain’s chair with your forearms on the pads, your hands on the handles, and your back against the back pad.
- Press your lower back against the back pad.
- Pinch the dumbbell between the arches of your feet.
Execution
- Keeping the dumbbell pinched between your feet, exhale as you raise your knees towards your chest by flexing your knees, hips, and waist.
- Try to hold the end position for a count of two.
- Inhale as you slowly lower the dumbbell to the starting position.
- Repeat.
Comments and tips
- Do not allow momentum to build up. Keep the movement under full control.
- During the weighted captain’s chair leg and hip raise, your rectus abdominis and obliques only act as stabilizers unless, at the top of the movement, you flex your waist and raise your hips off the back pad. If you do not flex your waist, your iliopsoas acts as the target muscle.
- Apart from when you raise your hips off the pad, keep your lower back (lumbar spine) pressed against the back pad. This prevents your lower back from hyperextending when you raise your legs, which could lead to lower-back problems.
- Use the weighted captain’s chair leg and hip raise to strengthen your core and hip flexors (your rectus femoris and all of the muscles listed as synergists). Ideally, your hip flexors should be as strong as your hip extensors (glutes, hamstrings, and adductor magnus).
- For the version without the dumbbell, see the captain’s chair leg and hip raise.
- Also known as the weighted vertical leg and hip raise.
- See also the incline straight leg and hip raise.
Weighted captain’s chair leg and hip raise video
I couldn’t find a decent video demonstration of the weighted captain’s chair leg and hip raise. This video is a captain’s chair leg and hip raise without the dumbbell.
