Knee raise on captain's chair

Exercise overview

Primary muscle group: Legs

Exercise type: Bodyweight

Exercise goal: Strength

Key metric: Repetitions

Average reps per set*: 11

Description: Climb into the captain’s chair. Rest your forearms on the pads and grasp the handles with your hands. Your back should be against the back support and your legs hanging straight down. Press your lower back against the back support, engaging your core muscles for stability. Keep your feet together and exhale as you raise your knees towards your chest. Flex your hips and knees to bring your knees as close to your chest as possible. Hold your knees at chest level for a count of two, focusing on engaging your abdominal muscles. Inhale as you slowly lower your feet back to the starting position, maintaining control and stability throughout the movement. Repeat the exercise by exhaling and raising your knees towards your chest again. Continue to perform the exercise for the desired number of repetitions, maintaining proper form and control with each movement.

Exercise ID: 00172

Community rating:

*Remark: The average values are calculated based on exercise data from the Blaze community. For more statistics and analysis, please download the Blaze app.

Exercise tips and tricks

Brace Your Core: Before you even begin the exercise, engage your core muscles. Think about pulling your belly button towards your spine to activate the muscles more effectively.
Controlled Movements: Instead of swinging your legs, lift them in a controlled manner. This ensures that you're working your muscles effectively and reduces the risk of injury.
Exhale on Lift: Breathe out as you lift your knees up towards your chest. This helps maintain stability and keeps your core engaged.
Inhale on Descent: Breathe in as you slowly lower your knees back to the starting position. Doing this helps you maintain a steady, controlled movement.
Avoid Swinging: Make sure not to use any momentum. Every lift and descent should be done slowly and deliberately to maximize muscle engagement.
Grip Firm: Keep your grip on the handles tight but relaxed to stabilize your upper body. This will help you focus more on your core muscles.
Keep Shoulders Stable: Don’t let your shoulders creep towards your ears. Keep them relaxed and down to avoid unnecessary tension.
Proper Alignment: Ensure your back is pressed against the pad and your body is straight throughout the exercise. This helps in targeting the intended muscles more effectively.
Increase Difficulty Gradually: Start with a few sets of lower repetitions and gradually increase both as you build strength and endurance.
Engage the Hip Flexors Minimal: Try to keep the engagement of your hip flexors to a minimum by truly focusing on your abs to do the work.
Avoid Excessive Arching: Try not to let your lower back arch excessively during the lifts. Keeping a slight curve is natural but avoid overdoing it.
Leg Variation: If you're experienced, you can try performing leg raises with straight legs instead of bent knees to increase the difficulty and engage different muscles.
Mind-Muscle Connection: Focus mentally on your abdominal muscles working throughout the exercise. This helps increase the effectiveness of the exercise.

Exercise overview

Exercise tips and tricks

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