Roman Chair Leg Raise
The captain's chair leg raise, also called the Roman chair leg raise, is done in a back-supported frame with your forearms on the pads, raising both straight legs to horizontal. It works the rectus abdominis, with the hip flexors lifting the legs, and because your forearms rest on pads, grip never limits the set.
Also called: Captain's Chair Leg Raise, Vertical Knee Raise, Captain's Chair Straight-Leg Raise, Vertical Leg Raise · Equipment: machine · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Step into the captain's chair, place your forearms on the pads, hold the handles and press your back against the backrest. Let your legs hang straight.
- Brace your trunk, press your low back into the pad and push down through your forearms so your shoulders stay away from your ears.
- Keeping your legs straight and together, raise them in front of you by bending at the hips.
- As your legs approach horizontal, curl your pelvis up so your low back stays against the pad.
- Pause briefly with your legs level with the floor.
- Bring your legs down slowly until they hang straight, without letting them swing.
- After the last rep, step down from the frame.
- Curl your pelvis up at the top
- Low back pressed into the pad
- Legs straight and together
- Shoulders down, forearms pressing into the pads
- Slow on the way down, no swing
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Rectus abdominis: lower | Prime mover | C |
| Hip flexors | Prime mover | C |
| Rectus abdominis: upper | Secondary | C |
| Obliques (internal/external) | Secondary | C |
| Transverse abdominis | Stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Lifting only the legs
Fix: As your legs reach horizontal, curl your pelvis up towards your ribs.
Low back arching off the pad
Fix: Press your low back into the pad before and during every rep.
Swinging the legs
Fix: Bring your legs down slowly and start each rep from a still hang.
Knees bending as the legs rise
Fix: Keep your knees straight, or use the bent-knee version for the set.
Shrugging into the pads
Fix: Press down through your forearms to keep your shoulders away from your ears.
What the research says
Muscle growth · first choiceGeneral fitnessEndurance
- Muscle activity — In an EMG comparison of 13 common abdominal exercises, the captain's chair ranked among the highest for rectus abdominis and oblique activity. EMG measures activity, not growth.
- Hip flexors — A fine-wire EMG study found the psoas is most active in hip-flexion-dominant tasks such as sit-ups, far more than in curl-ups. Leg raises are a hip-flexion movement, so the hip flexors share the work.
- Rep ranges and effort — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, with a flattening return as sets approach failure.
- Progression — A trial comparing methods found that adding reps and adding load gave similar muscle growth. Ankle weights or a dumbbell held between the feet are common ways to add load.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the roman chair leg raise in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.