This Pilates ab exercise is easy yet very effective. You can do this whenever and wherever you sit (at your work-desk, on a bench in the park, or while commuting by car, bus, plane or train). Try it and let me know how it works for you!
Just to be sure, please do NOT try this while driving! A strong abdomen is important but your health and safety is far more important.
I am thankful that I don’t have a job that requires me to sit a long time, because sitting is my worst enemy. I have scoliosis, so when I sit for a long period of time I feel compression on my lower back/top of the pelvis, especially on the left side. Then my buttocks feel numb. So whenever I am trapped in a seat, such as a car or plane passenger seat, I have to get myself mobile every half an hour or so. This exercise is one of the moves I often do. It gets the abdominal and back muscles to work (very hard) to stabilize the torso. At the same time, the hip flexors work hard to mobilize the legs. The move looks almost too easy, but trust me, your ab will scream after a minute of doing it (if you do it properly). Make sure you turn on the volume if you watch the tutorial video so you can hear my cues or simply follow the written instructions. By the way, it’s my 13-year old son who is the model in this video clip. If he can do this, anyone can; it’s that easy!
Instructions:
- Move slightly forward toward the front of your chair. Place both hands on the front of the chair. Your hands are just for support, so do not grab tightly, let the abdominal and back muscles do their work. If you ‘hang on for your life’ with your hands then the abdominals and back won’t have to work much or at all. Eventually, when stronger, you won’t need your hands at all.
- Sit up taller.
- Keeping upper and middle back lengthened and widening the chest, now pull the belly in and flex the lower back slightly. Inhale, hold this position.
- Exhale, lift one knee up. Inhale, hold it there.
- Exhale, lift the second knee up. Inhale, hold both legs there.
- From here, with control lower and lift one leg at a time. Keep the breath even and smooth. Maintain the lower back in slight-flexion.
Do 10-20 repetitions.
Modifications:
-For weak abdominal and/or back: have toes touching the floor. Lift and lower one leg at a time, keeping body position as instructed above.
-For more advanced: let go of the hand grips; try lower and lift both legs at the same time.
Below is a video clip of me doing another version of this exercise on the pier. This is more like the Single Leg Stretch version where you lean back more and extend legs further forward. It is only effective when you have enough space to extend your legs completely.