Among the key factors in enhancing and maintaining the abdominal muscles is consistency of training. Those who don't have time for the gym or home workouts need not despair. The abs are as "portable" as any set of muscles in the body, and you can exercise them while you're stuck in traffic, watching television, delayed in the airport--or at your desk.
Simple and Easy
Sit up straight in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Press your lower back into the chair and squeeze your abs. Hold for up to a half minute. Repeat as desired. This exercise works specifically upon the rectus abdominis, the muscle which runs the length of the torso.
Contracting the Abs
Sit up tall in your chair. Use your stomach to "inhale" as you breathe, pulling your abdominal muscles in and holding for 10 to 20 seconds. Repeat 10 times. Do this throughout the day, even when away from your desk. This exercise also targets the rectus abdominis.
Your Chair as a Prop
This exercise affects all the muscles of the abdominal area--the rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis, and the internal and external obliques. Your chair must be stationary for this exercise. Sit up straight and stretch your arms out above your head, palms facing each other. "Lift" your torso up and out of the hips. Having made your back long, bend forward from the hips and place your hands on the floor. Hold for a few seconds, then slowly return to original sitting position. Repeat as desired.
Variation of a Sit-Up
This exercise also works the entire abdominal muscle complex. Move forward near the edge of your chair. Sit tall with your back straight. Grasp arms of the chair with your hands. Lean slightly back, lift your legs up and out to contract your abs. Hold two seconds. Place your feet back on the floor and relax. Repeat for the number of repetitions desired.
More Chair Work
Sit tall on the edge of your chair. Grasp the edge with fingers pointing to your knees. Contract your abdominals and lift your toes 2 to 4 inches from the floor. Lift your posterior from the chair. Hold this position for five to 10 seconds. Lower yourself to chair and repeat. Repeat for number of repetitions desired. This exercise embraces the entire complex of abdominal muscles.
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