How To Perform The Captains Chair Ab Exercise

The captains chair ab exercise is quite simply the best exercise to use for six pack abs.

As you go about the hunt for a set of six pack abs, it's important that you do take the time to consider all the various exercises that you can add into your workout program. Those who are looking for a top notch exercise that will target all areas of the abs will not want to overlook the captains chair ab exercise.

This movement is quite challenging for most people but fortunately there are a number of different ways that you can perform it that will accommodate to anyone of any strength level.

Let's take a closer look at the captains chair ab exercise and how you can go about performing it correctly.

Position Yourself Correctly

The first thing that you should be doing as you go about executing this exercise is making sure that you get into the machine properly. You want your back to be pressed flat against the back pad so that all the emphasis is placed on the ab muscles.

If you ever notice that you begin leaning forward or are not maintaining that position, that's your cue that you're struggling with the exercise and need to break for a while until you can rest and regain form.

If you don't keep the back against the pad, back pain could develop over time.

Consider The Style Of Raise You Wish To Perform

Second, the next thing to think about when it comes to performing these exercises is the type of raise you want to do. Beginners will be best just focusing on bringing the knees into the chest and won't want to try and extend the legs out in front of them. The longer the lever you create with your body as you go about this exercise, the harder it's going to become.

Those who are more advanced will want to use the straight leg approach and may even want to add weight to their ankles as they do. This will really up the resistance that you feel while doing the captains chair ab exercise and help you get that much better benefit from it.

Finally, the last style that you can perform is the side to side twist in which you'll bring the knees up but rather than bringing them straight into the chest, you twist them to the side of the body so that you're actually hitting the oblique muscles as you do this exercise.

Avoid Momentum

The third thing to note as you go about performing the exercise is that you must not let momentum guide you. Many people do make this mistake and while they may still get some ab activation when doing so, it's going to be a great deal lower than what they'd see if they didn't.

It can be hard to resist the use of momentum but as you get better at it and really focus in on just making sure that it's only the ab muscles that are contracting and bringing the legs upwards, it will get easier.

Do note that if you do find that you are starting to use momentum at any point through this exercise, that's your sign to stop for a while, rest, and then start up again.

Adding The Captains Chair Ab Exercise Into Your Workout Program

If you really want to up the intensity of your workout program and make good use out of this exercise, one thing that you may want to consider is actually adding this exercise in between some of the other weight lifting exercises you're doing.

So let's say you have a set of squats lined up. You would go and perform one set of squats and then move over and perform a set of the captains chair ab exercise. Continue to alternate between the two until all your sets of squats are completed and you're on to the next exercise.

Because one muscle group is working while the other is resting, this not only allows you to move through your workout program faster but will up the overall calorie burn as well.

So do keep these points in mind. If you want fast and effective results from your workout program, be sure that you do add the captains chair ab exercise.

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