5 Easy Couch Ab Exercises For Seniors (Great Core Workout!)

Couch Exercise 1: Seated Ab Strength Marching

Seated marching exercises are included in just about every stereotypical senior chair or couch workout.

That's not exactly what this first exercise is, but it is a version of marching.

Marching while seated on a couch can be a great ab exercise IF you do it correctly.

One of your hip flexor muscles, the psoas, attaches to the front of your spine.

As the psoas pulls your leg into a marching motion, the other end of the psoas pulls your spine into extension.

You have to use your abdominal muscles to counteract that extension pull of the psoas in order to keep your spine in a neutral position.

So this first exercise is a specific type of marching that focuses on your abdominals.

Scoot to the front edge of the couch and try to sit in an upright position.

Next, raise your leg up as close to your chest as you can.

Keep your spine in a neutral position; you don't want it excessively arched. You also don't want to allow your lower back to round out.

Hold that position for a few seconds, slowly lower, and then raise the other leg up, and alternate back and forth between legs.

Your abs are endurance muscles, so shoot for at least 15 repetitions with each leg and ideally closer to 20 or 30 reps or more.

Couch Exercise 2: Elevated Leg Crunch

For the next exercise, lie down on the couch with your legs up on the armrest.

This helps keep your lower back flat on the couch.

Do a crunch pulling your sternum toward your pelvis.

Hold for 1-2 seconds. Then relax and repeat.

Perform 15-30 repetitions.

Couch Exercise 3: Supine Abdominal Marching

The third exercise is also a marching exercise, except instead of sitting upright on the couch, you'll lie on your back with your knees bent.

Do a pelvic tilt to flatten your lower back into the couch.

Then raise one leg up and lower back down. Next raise the other leg up and lower back down.

Hold the pelvic tilt the entire time so you're keeping the lower back flat.

Much like the seated version of the marching, you're using your abdominals to stabilize against the pull of the psoas.

As you're lowering your leg, you have to use your abdominals to keep your lower back flat on the couch.

Alternate legs back and forth.

Couch Exercise 3b: Advanced Abdominal Marching

Now, if that's fairly easy for you, you can make it a little bit more difficult with the following progression.

Raise one leg up, keep that leg up in the air, and then lift the opposite leg up.

At the very moment where your second foot loses contact with the couch, that is the most difficult part of that exercise. Gravity is pulling your into a forward pelvic tilt and you have to use your abs to keep your lower back flat.

Once you get both legs lifted, lower one leg and then the other, again keeping your lower back flat on the couch.

Repeat the exercise for 15, 20, or even 30 repetitions.

Couch Exercise 4: Leg Lowering

Next, rest your legs out straight on the armrest of the couch.

Raise both legs up to a 90 degree angle with your body.

Then slowly lower back down to the armrest.

Use your abdominal muscles to keep your lower back flat.

Repeat for 15-30 repetitions.

Couch Exercise 5: Oblique Abdominal Crunch

The final exercise is for your oblique abdominals, which are on the sides of your trunk.

These muscles side-bend and twist your trunk.

To strengthen your abdominal obliques, we're going to do a twisting crunch.

This exercise is similar to the straight crunch we did earlier.  However, instead of moving your sternum to pelvis, think about moving the bottom of the right rib cage toward the left pelvis.

Then switch sides by moving the bottom of the left rib cage toward the right pelvis.

Repeat for 15-30 repetitions each side.

Conclusion

In summary, the 5 couch ab exercises for seniors are:

• Exercise 1: Seated Marching
• Exercise 2: Elevated Leg Crunch
• Exercise 3: Supine Marching
• Exercise 4: Leg Lowering
• Exercise 5: Oblique Crunch

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