Can you do crunches sitting down?!

queenhiphop
queenhiphop Posts: 286 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My stomach is one of my main problem areas. I look like I've been pregnant with seventeen sets of quadruplets in the past year or so.

I work in an office for about 11 hours a day (and I do go to the gym during lunch hour 3ish times a week plus most Saturdays and I'm trying my very best to convince myself to do the 30 Day Shred every day - so far managed it 3 times in 8 days haha) but I'd like to know if there are any stomach exercises I can do whilst sitting at my desk?

Actually, can you do any toning exercises at the desk targetting any area of the body? My office isn't the type of place you can do bending over and spinning around in the chair or things like that so any sort of thing where I can subtly tone up would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance!
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Replies

  • LiterOCola
    LiterOCola Posts: 9 Member
    I'm bumping, because this is a great idea if something works!
  • bacamacho
    bacamacho Posts: 306 Member
    You can try scooting to the edge of your chair, grip the sides, lean back and lift your legs up, keeping them straight. Try holding it as long as you can. Or, keep your feet on the ground as you sit at the edge. you can cross your arms over your chest, lean back and crunch in your seat.
  • lippy1727
    lippy1727 Posts: 53
    Not sure about crunches but toning and strengthening your legs sit on your chair extend both legs infront of you ( under the desk and no one will notice ) Then alternate each foot and tap your toes on the floor. We do this at bootcamp lying flat, sitting is not as effective but as soon as youve done 20 ish you will feel the pull in your legs and stomach in controlling the movement and keeping it smooth and slow.
    Any other ideas people have would be great :-)
  • scottywor
    scottywor Posts: 140 Member
    Crunches are useless. IMO.
  • swthrtsmrf
    swthrtsmrf Posts: 384
    Not sure about crunches but toning and strengthening your legs sit on your chair extend both legs infront of you ( under the desk and no one will notice ) Then alternate each foot and tap your toes on the floor. We do this at bootcamp lying flat, sitting is not as effective but as soon as youve done 20 ish you will feel the pull in your legs and stomach in controlling the movement and keeping it smooth and slow.
    Any other ideas people have would be great :-)

    What a great idea! How do you do it lying flat? are your feet raised a few inches or more?
  • Witchmoo
    Witchmoo Posts: 261 Member
    Not sure about crunches but toning and strengthening your legs sit on your chair extend both legs infront of you ( under the desk and no one will notice ) Then alternate each foot and tap your toes on the floor. We do this at bootcamp lying flat, sitting is not as effective but as soon as youve done 20 ish you will feel the pull in your legs and stomach in controlling the movement and keeping it smooth and slow.
    Any other ideas people have would be great :-)

    Good grief this is hard....just tried it.....so hard I ended up grabbing/hitting the desk and spinning across the office on my wheeley chair......good though so will try again......might need to wedge the chair in place!
  • MellowGa
    MellowGa Posts: 1,258 Member
    you can do them standing up if you want, do bicycle cunches standing up.

    Also, the key is Diet
  • heatherterp
    heatherterp Posts: 239
    bump I sit a lot of my day too
  • lippy1727
    lippy1727 Posts: 53
    Not sure about crunches but toning and strengthening your legs sit on your chair extend both legs infront of you ( under the desk and no one will notice ) Then alternate each foot and tap your toes on the floor. We do this at bootcamp lying flat, sitting is not as effective but as soon as youve done 20 ish you will feel the pull in your legs and stomach in controlling the movement and keeping it smooth and slow.
    Any other ideas people have would be great :-)

    What a great idea! How do you do it lying flat? are your feet raised a few inches or more?

    When doing it lying down you legs are more raised not too high but incling upwards slightly. It's hard work but i really feel it in my stomach lying down is even harder i often find myself grabbing the carpet :-)
  • queenhiphop
    queenhiphop Posts: 286 Member
    I am not spinning around on my chair at work.. and I know the key is diet.. hence why I have lost 17 lbs so far. I just want some ideas for toning and strengthening. Crunches work for me so that's why I want more ideas on how I could strengthen my stomach. THanks for the input so far.
  • sho3girl
    sho3girl Posts: 10,799 Member
    how about just clenching/tighening your muscles .. don't think I'm explaining this very well

    staceface519 - explained better below
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
    ab vacuums can be done seated, just google.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    do ab vacuums.
  • nikki39ryan
    nikki39ryan Posts: 7 Member
    bump
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    Not sure about crunches but toning and strengthening your legs sit on your chair extend both legs infront of you ( under the desk and no one will notice ) Then alternate each foot and tap your toes on the floor. We do this at bootcamp lying flat, sitting is not as effective but as soon as youve done 20 ish you will feel the pull in your legs and stomach in controlling the movement and keeping it smooth and slow.
    Any other ideas people have would be great :-)

    Good grief this is hard....just tried it.....so hard I ended up grabbing/hitting the desk and spinning across the office on my wheeley chair......good though so will try again......might need to wedge the chair in place!

    Returning for more ideas later! 10 hours at a desk, I need to expend some energy.
  • Amy9293
    Amy9293 Posts: 1
    You can try scooting to the edge of your chair, grip the sides, lean back and lift your legs up, keeping them straight. Try holding it as long as you can. Or, keep your feet on the ground as you sit at the edge. you can cross your arms over your chest, lean back and crunch in your seat.
  • richx83
    richx83 Posts: 334 Member
    sit on a yoga/exercise ball instead of a chair and you will have to use your core all day to stabilise yourself
  • mynameiscarrie
    mynameiscarrie Posts: 963 Member
    if you have a spinny chair, you can use your obliques to spin you from side to side
  • staceface519
    staceface519 Posts: 167
    If you take a half an hour walk (as you should if u sit all day like i do!) . . and while walking clench your stomach muslces for 5-10 seconds and slowly release and keep doing thsi while your walking it helps. . . same thing with your butt. My friend told me this and it works . . . i also do it while im sitting at my desk. . almost like a stomach kegel exercise.
  • meglynne1987
    meglynne1987 Posts: 382 Member
    Thanks for posting this! I have been wondering the same....

    Getting on Google for Ab Vac! :smile:
  • meglynne1987
    meglynne1987 Posts: 382 Member
    http://www.abeforfitness.com/

    Also try some of these.....
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    Crunches are useless. IMO.

    I agree (somewhat). You can't crunch your way to a flat stomach. Its all about core and diet. Doing crunches alone will not work.
  • ncates00
    ncates00 Posts: 51
    Abs are made in the kitchen. You see your abs by lowering your body fat% pretty low. For men, it's around 10%. The percentage is higher for women, however, to allow women to be women! Which is a good thing! LOL You can strengthen and build your abs by doing strength training and crunches. I have been doing P90X, P90X+, 1 on 1 with Tony, Insanity, and hybrid workouts to incorporate them all. I've seen great results! If you're looking for a good ab routine, I recommend Ab Ripper 100 and 200, and later on you could try Ab RIpper X, Killer Abs, Iso Abs, and Ab Ripper X2. You don't have to buy P90X. You can probably go on YouTube or the internet to find the moves and do them yourself. Crunches are not super important. I only do about 15 minutes of dedicated ab work, but it is still important and useful to develop your body just like any other body part. Even professional bodybuilders will finish off their olympic style weightlifting with some ab work, such as weighted crunches, ab machine, or roller.
  • skydivelife
    skydivelife Posts: 83 Member
    sit on a yoga/exercise ball instead of a chair and you will have to use your core all day to stabilise yourself


    this is the best suggestion on here. you're not just taking a couple seconds to do crunches, a stability ball forces you to use your core all day long.

    you can also try keeping a weight by your desk and doing a modified "saxton side bend"


    wellfitlife.me
  • LooseWheel
    LooseWheel Posts: 211 Member
    It wont be much if you dont go that often, but when you are in the privacy of your toilet/bathroom, take the opportunity to do several squats over the loo seat. Not sitting down, but get just above it. Prob can be done at your desk too, but haven't tried that one as my office door is always open.

    Stretching is always a good thing in the office chair. Lift one leg up so your ankle is resting on your knee and slouch forward over your folded leg. Then swap legs. This stretches down either side of the back. Another move is to sit upright, place your right hand over onto the armrest or back of the left side of your chair. Leaving legs facing forward, turn your upper body around to the left. Then do the otherside on the right.

    Best of luck, oh and take the op any time it comes up to use stairs. We have bathrooms on every level of the building and i go up 2 stories just to get the steps done :)
  • kingofcrunk
    kingofcrunk Posts: 372 Member
    You can try scooting to the edge of your chair, grip the sides, lean back and lift your legs up, keeping them straight. Try holding it as long as you can. Or, keep your feet on the ground as you sit at the edge. you can cross your arms over your chest, lean back and crunch in your seat.

    What type of office do you work in where it is acceptable to do this?! This type of exercise also eliminates the possibility of actually working at the same time as your legs are flying around in the air and you are gripping the seat.
  • kingofcrunk
    kingofcrunk Posts: 372 Member
    sit on a yoga/exercise ball instead of a chair and you will have to use your core all day to stabilise yourself


    this is the best suggestion on here. you're not just taking a couple seconds to do crunches, a stability ball forces you to use your core all day long.

    you can also try keeping a weight by your desk and doing a modified "saxton side bend"


    wellfitlife.me

    I can't imagine many professional office environments allowing you to do this.
  • queenhiphop
    queenhiphop Posts: 286 Member
    No.. We don't have balls here/it wouldn't be acceptable for me to use one.. this is literally an addition to my daily exercise routine which consists of cardio and strength. It's JUST extra. My diet is very good, I exercise a lot. I just want an extra toning boost.

    I make sure that what I do is done well.

    I am going to look up the abs vac stuff!
  • rherington
    rherington Posts: 85 Member
    Dynamic resistance. tightening and holding the muscle tight. You can work your whole body this way at your desk. Just make sure you have a plan to hit the different parts and both sides. Otherwise you'll wind up Popeye on the right and Twiggy on the left.
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    sit on a yoga/exercise ball instead of a chair and you will have to use your core all day to stabilise yourself


    this is the best suggestion on here. you're not just taking a couple seconds to do crunches, a stability ball forces you to use your core all day long.

    you can also try keeping a weight by your desk and doing a modified "saxton side bend"


    wellfitlife.me

    I can't imagine many professional office environments allowing you to do this.

    I actually have a guy in my office who was approved to use his exercise ball as a chair in his ergonomic assessment. This is at one of the regional depots for a North America-wide company... I guess there is really no harm in asking, you never know.

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