Also known as “the stork exercise,” the Captain Morgan exercise is a beginner-friendly move that challenges you to stand on one leg while keeping your core and hips ultra-tight and steady. It’s a go-to for improving:
→ Hip stability
→ Core control – especially those obliques
→ Pelvic alignment
→ Balance and proprioception (your body’s awareness of its place in space – I love a rhyme)
In this article, I’ll cover how to do the Captain Morgan exercise (with a ball and without), why it’s a PT rehab favorite, its ability to mega boost your gluteus medius activation, and much more.
How to Do the Captain Morgan Exercise (With a Ball and Without)
This move may seem simple, but when executed correctly and with A+ form, it can super engage your core, glutes, and deep stabilizers. Here’s how to do the Captain Morgan exercise with solid form – both in its classic version that I use and with a ball for some added activation:
→ Basic Captain Morgan Exercise (Bodyweight Only)
What you need: Just your body and a mirror (optional, but it really is helpful for alignment).
1) Stand tall and proud near a wall or other sturdy surface – this is for extra balance.
2) Shift your weight onto your left leg and gently lift your right foot off the ground, bending your knee to approximately 90 degrees – as if you're about to step onto a large box.
3) Next, push that elevated leg up against the wall.
4) Fully engage your core and squeeze your glutes. Try not to do any leaning or swaying here. Your pelvis needs to stay level, with your weight centered over the standing leg you’re on.
5) Hold this position, staying centered, for around 20 to 30 seconds. While holding, focus in on your breathing and keeping everything tight and still. Embody Captain Morgan’s iconic stance, if it helps you.
6) Switch legs and repeat the movement again. You can aim for about 2 to 3 sets per side.
→ Captain Morgan Exercise With a Ball (Advanced Activation)
What you need: A small exercise ball, yoga ball, or even a rolled-up towel will work excellently.
1) Stand next to a wall, facing perpendicular to it (this means your side is facing said wall).
2) Lift your outside knee – the one farthest from the wall – into that same 90-degree bend.
3) Place a small ball or rolled-up towel between your raised knee and the wall, keeping your hips square. Press gently into the wall with your knee to activate your outer hip and core.
4) Super activate your gluteus medius and obliques by pressing the ball or towel firmly into the wall without shifting your torso. You should feel the outside of your standing hip get fired up.
5) Hold this for 20 to 30 seconds while maintaining your core tension and upright posture.
6) You can repeat the Captain Morgan with a ball on both sides for 2 to 3 rounds per side.
Pro Tip: Start slow, and don’t be surprised if your glutes or hips feel a little shaky when doing the exercise. That’s your stabilizers turning on – exactly what this move is designed to train!
The Top Captain Morgan Exercise Benefits
Take a look at the top Captain Morgan exercise benefits you could experience by doing a few:
→ Strengthens Your Gluteus Medius: This small but mighty muscle on the outside of your hip helps keep your pelvis level and your knees stable. Strengthening it reduces the chance of hip, knee, or lower back pain, especially during everyday movements like walking or jotting up stairs.
→ Improves Balance and Stability: Standing on one leg forces your body to stay ultra-steady and aligned. That builds way better balance over time, which can help prevent falls, reduce ankle injuries, and make movements like lunges or step-ups feel smoother and more controlled.
→ Trains Core Control: To hold the Captain Morgan stance without any wobbling, your core (especially your obliques and deep stabilizers) has to stay fully engaged the whole time. That itself can help build stronger abs and teach your body to move as one solid, coordinated unit.
→ Supports Pelvic Alignment: If your hips tend to tilt, hike, or rotate when you move, this exercise may help train your body to hold a neutral pelvic position. By doing that, you reduce excess strain on your lower back and hips and improve your posture, both at rest and in motion.
→ Boosts Proprioception (Body Awareness): By practicing this slow, controlled movement, you can teach your body to better sense where it’s at in space. That heightened awareness can sharpen your coordination, improve athletic performance, and help you feel much more stable.
→ Great for PT Rehab and Injury Prevention: Because it’s low-impact yet deeply activating, the Captain Morgan move is a fave in PT rehab. It helps rebuild strength, control, and joint alignment after hip, knee, or low back injuries – without putting stress on other vulnerable areas.
The Main Captain Morgan Exercise Muscles Worked
Here are the main muscles worked by doing the Captain Morgan exercise:
Primary Muscle Worked
Secondary Muscles Worked
→ Obliques
→ Transverse abdominis
→ Psoas
→ Calves (stabilization)
→ Ankle stabilizers (peroneals + tibialis anterior)
Why the Captain Morgan Exercise Is a PT Rehab Fave
In PT rehab, the Captain Morgan (or the “stork exercise”) isn’t just a quirky pose with a fun name – it’s a tool for restoring balance, pelvic alignment, and neuromuscular control.
Why? Because it mimics the exact conditions where many people struggle, specifically single-leg stability under load, which is essential for keeping good posture while walking and standing. [1]
One of the biggest issues seen in PT rehab settings – especially post-injury or surgery – is loss of pelvic control. When your pelvis doesn’t stay neutral (due to weakness or tightness in stabilizing muscles), it can throw off everything from your stride to your spinal alignment. The Captain Morgan exercise essentially forces your body to reactivate those stabilizers safely. [2]
Research in an active journal says that closed-chain, single-leg stance exercises are insanely effective for retraining balance, joint alignment, and gluteal coordination, especially after ACL injuries or chronic low back pain. When focusing on bracing your core and firing up your glutes, the Captain Morgan move turns into a full-on reset for your nervous system and stabilizers. [3]
Doing the Captain Morgan exercise, especially early on in PT rehab, helps people rebuild:
1) Gluteal symmetry
2) Core-to-hip control
3) Pelvic awareness
4) Oblique and QL strength
How the Captain Morgan Exercise Boosts Gluteus Medius Activation
If you’ve ever felt a bit wobbly during a lunge or noticed your knees collapsing inward when you walk or squat, chances are your gluteus medius isn’t firing the way it should be. This small but essential muscle in your body, located on the outer surface of your hip, plays a huge (and I mean HUGE) role in keeping your pelvis stable – especially during any single-leg movements.
Research shows that the Captain Morgan exercise is one of the most effective ways to target and activate your prized gluteus medius, thanks to the single-leg stance and the isometric control it demands from your body. When you lift one knee and hold that iconic pose, your gluteus medius on the standing leg fires up to keep your hips level and your pelvis from tipping.
Studies in another active journal prove that frontal-plane resistance during single-leg exercises (like pressing your raised knee into a wall or ball) dramatically increases gluteus medius activation – more than traditional side-lying or standing abduction moves. This is likely because the resistance here challenges not just strength, but also control, stability, and coordination. [4]
Training your gluteus medius muscle properly can improve:
1) Lateral hip and knee stability
2) Pelvic alignment during walking, squatting, and lunging
3) Reduced compensation from surrounding muscles like the TFL or QL
4) Better load transfer through your lower body and spine
Release Before You Activate – That’s Where The QL Claw Comes In
So, you want strong, properly firing glutes. Well – release comes first, mates.
It’s true that a lot of people jump straight into doing glute activation drills like the Captain Morgan exercise. But if your hips and lower back are chock full of tension, your glute medius won’t engage fully or fire to its max potential. That’s where The QL Claw makes all the difference.
Before you dive into single-leg drills or glute work, use our proven sequence alongside The QL Claw to release any roadblocks holding your glute med back:
How to Use The QL Claw for Gluteus Medius Release – Step by Step
1) Target Your Prized Glute Med Trigger Point: Start by sitting on a semi-soft floor. Next, place The QL Claw under the side of your hip, just behind the bony part of your pelvis. The target area here is your gluteus medius, which is located at the top outer portion of your glutes.
2) Apply Some Pressure and Breathe: Gently lower your body weight onto The QL Claw until you feel a deep, localized pressure – you found the trigger point, cheers! Now, relax and take some rejuvenating, deep breaths for around 1 to 2 minutes to allow your muscles to release.
3) Scan for Other Tight Spots Around Your Body: Move The QL Claw slightly around to explore other nearby areas of your gluteus medius and upper glutes. Spend 1 to 2 minutes on each tender spot you find, using the same breathing and relaxation technique as in step 2.
4) Move to Activation: After releasing your glute med and surrounding tight spots, transition into your glute activation work (like the Captain Morgan exercise or single-leg bridges). You’ve now cleared the way for your glute med to actually fire and stabilize your pelvis super effectively.
Here's a video for instructions on how to massage your glute med!
Grab your QL Claw below and give your glute med the release it needs to perform at its best.
Other Gluteus Medius Resources to Check Out
Captain Morgan Exercise FAQs
What Muscle Does the Captain Morgan Exercise Work?
Below are the muscles that the Captain Morgan move works:
→ Gluteus medius
→ Gluteus maximus
→ Obliques
→ Transverse abdominis
→ Quadratus lumborum (QL)
→ Psoas
→ Piriformis
→ Hip flexors
→ Adductors
→ Erector spinae
→ Calves (stabilization)
→ Ankle stabilizers (peroneals, tibialis anterior)
What Is the Captain Morgan Maneuver?
The Captain Morgan maneuver, also called the Captain Morgan exercise or the stork exercise, is a single-leg stance move where one leg is lifted while the other remains fully on the ground.
You hold your lifted leg in a bent-knee position (you know – like the iconic Captain Morgan pose from the rum logo) while keeping your hips and core very stable. The exercise is often used in PT rehab to help improve balance, activate deep stabilizers, and correct pelvic alignment.
How to Do a Captain Morgan?
To do a Captain Morgan exercise with good form, stand proudly tall on one leg and lift your opposite knee to 90 degrees, holding it in front of you like you're about to step on a box. Press the lifted foot into the inside of your standing leg, engage your core, and keep your pelvis level.
For even more activation (because why not?), press your raised knee into a wall or ball to engage your glutes and obliques. Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds, then switch sides.
Is the Captain Morgan Exercise Good for Beginners?
Yes, the Captain Morgan exercise is good for beginners! It’s a low-impact, bodyweight movement that helps build foundational strength and stability, especially in your hips and core. You can use a wall for balance or modify the height of your lifted leg to make it even easier.
Resources: