Seated Abdominal Exercises

I’m excited to share 3 seated core strengthening exercises you can do sitting whenever you need a quick routine to activate and engage your core.

If you’re experiencing lower back or hip pain, getting yourself on the floor to exercise and work on your core can feel very challenging. Sometimes it feels impossible. You have no idea if you’ll be able to get back up.

There are many other reasons why getting on the floor to work on the core or glutes can be challenging. Things like joint pain, injuries, or extra-weight.

Bowflex Seated Ab Crunch By Mark S.

I heard from many subscribers who have been avoiding strengthening exercises specifically because of these challenges. And I completely understand these concerns.

There are always new exercise variations to still accomplish the same results without aggravating the pain, compensation, or putting yourself at risk of injuries.

Even if you don’t have any issues getting on the floor to exercise you can do these at work in your office. They’re effective and very challenging.

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Below you’ll find a full workout video tutorial of these seated deep core exercises, images, and a PDF download of the exercises to take with you anywhere.

The last thing you want to do is pull your abs in. You want to let your belly out and breathe deep into it and let it expand.

Your deep core acts like a belt to protect and support your spine. Here’s a photo of how it looks like. You want to feel the transverse abdominis expanding with each breath.

Yoga For Abs

This is a great exercise you do every day to tap into your inner core. This alone can be enough to start activating your core.

From here, keep breathing, and tighten up your core as if you’re expecting a stomach punch. This is a trick I always use to quickly brace my core to get it ready to do work.

You know you’re doing this right when you can feel like there’s a thick wall behind your external abs. Again, avoid pulling your abs in, just tighten up your belly as if someone is coming to punch your belly.

Seated Abdominal Crunches

First, you want to keep breathing throughout the exercise. Many people automatically hold their breath when the exercise gets challenging. Keep breathing deeply.

Second, you want to hold the brace as you’re doing the exercise. This way you’re working on your inner core and not just using your external abdominals.

My full system to fix chronic lower back pain, piriformis syndrome, and hip pain. Includes premium coaching videos, tutorials on how to get back in shape safely, and how to keep the pain from coming back.

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The core is not just the external visible abs. It’s much more than that. If you’re interested in learning about the deep core, I highly recommend my blog post here on how to strengthen a weak core.

Hey there, I'm Sofia. Welcome to my blog! I'm here to help you get permanent relief from piriformis, hip, and lower back pain without spending years in pain suffering through information overwhelm or temporary fixes. I've been through the chronic pain journey myself. I know how lonely and hard it can get... Click here to read about my story and how I healed after 7 years of chronic pain, against all odds.

I help women and men break free from chronic hip and lower back pain (without spending years suffering through temporary fixes) while teaching them how to keep the pain from coming back. My prior chronic pain journey inspired me to create this blog. And, I'm SO glad you're here!

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Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.This article was co-authored by Landis Owens. Landis Owens is a Personal Trainer and the Owner of Almighty Personal Training Studio in Tempe, Arizona. With over 15 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Landis specializes in weight loss, nutrition, and core and strength training. Landis received a football scholarship to Mesa Community College where he studied Engineering and Sports and Exercise. He is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer and also holds certifications in Nutrition, Youth Sports, Injury Stay Free, and CPR. Landis also competes in bodybuilding competitions.

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Busy schedules and family commitments can keep you from exercising. An important part of exercises is strengthening your abdominal and core muscles. This can improve your posture and protect your back from injury. But you may not always find the time to go to the gym. Instead, use times you’re sitting to work your abs. You can exercise your abs while sitting by doing targeted movements and using chair cardio.

Shopping >seated Abdominal Exercises Big Sale

This article was co-authored by Landis Owens. Landis Owens is a Personal Trainer and the Owner of Almighty Personal Training Studio in Tempe, Arizona. With over 15 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Landis specializes in weight loss, nutrition, and core and strength training. Landis received a football scholarship to Mesa Community College where he studied Engineering and Sports and Exercise. He is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer and also holds certifications in Nutrition, Youth Sports, Injury Stay Free, and CPR. Landis also competes in bodybuilding competitions. This article has been viewed 683, 690 times.

To exercise your abs while sitting, do a modified ab crunch by leaning back in your chair with your knees together and bent at a 90 degree angle. Place your fingers behind your head and tighten your abs. Then hinge your chest forward and return to the starting position just grazing the back of the chair. Also try some seated cardio by engaging your core muscles, tilting back from the waist, and scissor kicking your extended legs quickly for 30-50 reps. This will work your core and increase your endurance. If you want to learn more, like how to use an exercise ball to engage your core, keep reading the article!