Core · Bodyweight
Captains Chair Leg Raise
How to do the captains chair leg raise, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Support yourself on the captain's chair with your forearms on the pads and your back against the rest. Let your legs hang straight down, then raise your knees toward your chest by curling your hips up, and lower under control.
- 1Your lower abs curling your hips up toward your ribs
- 2Your back pressed flat against the pad
- 3A controlled lower with your legs hanging at the bottom
Common mistakes
- Swinging your legs up with momentum
- Just lifting the knees without curling the hips
- Letting your shoulders shrug up off the pads
Muscles worked
The captains chair leg raise mainly works the lower abs, with the upper abs, hip flexors, and obliques assisting.
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- LatsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
Captains Chair Leg Raise strength standards
See how your captains chair leg raise ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.
Bronze3 reps
Silver7 reps
Gold21 reps
Platinum36 reps
Diamond44 reps
Champion52 reps
Find your rank
Enter your best set of reps.
Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.
Kovo programs the captains chair leg raise for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.