7 effective exercises for abs on a chair

For those who are too lazy to go to the gym and devote time to even the simplest exercises, but want to tighten their stomachs for summer, we offer an effective complex for which you don’t even need to get up from your chair. This complex can be performed both at home and in the office during a break.

1. Seated crunches

This exercise serves as a warm-up to prepare for more difficult variations. Crunches will warm up the spinal stabilizer muscles and also tone the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles.

Technique:

1. Sitting on a chair, place your hands behind your head.
2. As you exhale, turn your torso to one side, twisting your spine in the thoracic region. Don’t move your pelvis.
3. As you inhale, return your torso to the center.
4. Exhale and twist in the other direction.
5. Perform 10-15 twists in each direction.

2. Side bends

Another exercise that will prepare the external and internal abdominal muscles for stress, increasing their tone and elasticity.

Technique:

1. Sitting in the center of the chair, place your feet across the width of your pelvis for greater stability. Place your hands behind your head.
2. As you inhale, tilt your torso in the thoracic region to the side.
3. Exhale and return to the starting position.
4. Alternately perform 10-15 bends in each direction.

3. Corner with knee extension

The technique allows you to work more deeply on the rectus ab muscle and, by holding the corner, on the transverse muscle, which is difficult to work with regular crunches. If it becomes difficult, you can extend one leg at a time.

Technique:

1. Sit on one edge of the chair or, if the back allows as in the photo, lean back slightly, maintaining the position of the spine.
2. Raise your knees to your chest and keep your hips hinged throughout the entire set, keeping tension in your abdominal muscles.
3. As you exhale, fully extend your knees, forming a corner.
4. As you inhale, bend your knees, but do not lower your feet to the floor.
5. Perform 10-15 extensions.

4. Plank on a chair

A simple but effective exercise will help strengthen the external and deep abdominal muscles, make your waist thin and your entire silhouette more toned.

Technique:

1. Place your forearms on the seat, placing your elbows under your shoulder joints. The angle at the elbows should be straight.
2. Step your feet back, placing them apart across the width of your pelvis. Line up your entire body in one continuous line. Tightening your abs, maintain your spine in one position throughout the entire approach.
3. The exercise can be performed statically by holding in one position for 30-60 seconds.
4. You can also complicate the option by exhaling, straightening one arm at a time forward, while maintaining balance.

5. Alternate knee extension

Preparatory option for folding on a chair. If the exercise becomes easy, you can make the task more difficult by extending both knees at the same time.

Technique:

1. Sit on the edge of a chair, leaning your torso back and slightly rounding your back.
2. Pull your knees toward your chest, keeping your legs suspended.
3. Alternately, as you exhale, straighten one leg at a time, without touching the floor with your feet.
4. As you exhale, return your knee to your chest, tightening your abdominal muscles.
5. Perform 10-15 repetitions on each side. If necessary, increase the number of repetitions.

6. Fold

A more complicated version of the previous exercise. If your muscles are not ready for it, skip it for a while.

Technique:

1. Sit on the edge of a chair, lean your torso back, slightly rounding your back. Hold your hands on the sides of the seat.
2. Pull your knees toward your chest, keeping your balance on your buttocks, not your lower back.
3. As you inhale, straighten both knees in front of you slightly above the level of your seat, leaning back.
4. As you exhale, pull your knees and torso toward each other at the same time, contracting your abdominal muscles.
5. At the bottom of the movement, do not straighten or arch your back. Perform 10-15 repetitions.

7. Hold with straight arms

And finally, the most difficult exercise, which requires not only static holding of the pose, but also strong abdominal and arm muscles. To begin with, you can perform the exercise for 5-10 seconds, gradually increasing the approach time.

Technique:

1. Sit in the center of the seat, grab the edges of the chair or special armrests.
2. Straighten your arms and stretch your neck, lowering your shoulders down, using your abdominal muscles as you exhale, pull your hips towards your chest.
3. Hold the pose for as long as you can, continuing to breathe freely without holding air.
4. At the end of the approach, while inhaling, slowly lower your feet to the floor.

Perform such simple exercises every other day, but not more often. Over time, the number of repetitions can be increased, as can variations of the technique, replacing easy ones with more complex ones. Try to eat no later than one hour before your workout.