Most often, chairs are a tool for sedentary tasks, like working at a computer, eating dinner, or binging Netflix. But they can also be used to level up your core strength. Yes, really.
In fact, doing chair exercises for abs can be a surprisingly great and convenient way to show your core some love after you’ve just spent a bunch of time sitting.
The chair is also a smart exercise prop for folks who are new to exercise, since many common ab-igniting moves–like push-ups, planks, and mountain climbers–can be made less challenging by elevating your hands on the chair instead of the ground.
To boot, using a chair can provide tactile feedback that boosts overall core activation. Take the TA bracing drill, for instance: This is a simple yet effective core exercise that Becca Revier, CPT, a personal trainer and Pilates instructor at Life Time Lakeville in Minnesota, has clients do in a chair to hone their ability to fire up their transversus abdominis (TA), a deep core muscle that stabilizes the spine. The chair is a key part of the exercise, providing a tangible support for good form.
Chair ab exercises are also clutch for people who want to strengthen their midsection but can’t (or don’t want to) get on the ground to do so. That may include folks with mobility limitations as well as those whose floors have seen cleaner days. (No judgement.)
Basically, using a chair can make core exercises more accessible to more people, Revier tells SELF. In that spirit, we rounded up five awesome chair exercises you can do at home to fire up your abs. You can do these as one-offs in between Zoom meetings as a way to add more core-focused movement to your day, or string them together for a full-body circuit. Katie Pierson, CPT, a Montana-based personal trainer, suggests starting with three sets of 8 to 10 reps of each exercise. Increase that volume over time as you build your strength.
Last thing: However you approach these exercises, make sure to use a stable, stationary chair. Your rolling swivel chair is not the smart choice here. “You definitely want a chair that’s going to keep you where you need to be,” Pierson tells SELF.
Katie Thompson