Can You Do Abs Exercises on the Bed Instead of an Exercise Mat?

If you're determined to build your abs, you don't necessarily need to spend your hard-earned money on a gym membership. Home-based ab workouts are effective, and while people typically perform their exercises on the floor, it's possible to target your abs through exercises in bed. You might find exercising on a solid floor easier, but if you're lounging in bed watching TV, make the most of the moment by working your abs.

  1. Choosing Your Exercises

    • A long list of body-weight exercises can help you sculpt your abs, but to get the most benefits from the workout, perform exercises that engage your abs to a high degree. An American Council on Exercise study found the bicycle maneuver, in which you lie on your back and pedal an imaginary bike, generates the highest degree of activity in your abs, and you can perform this exercise in bed. Other effective ab exercises you can perform in bed include vertical leg crunches, reverse crunches and traditional crunches.

    Using Proper Form

    • Using the proper form as you perform your ab exercises is vitally important to avoiding an injury. The sturdy, flat floor provides an ideal surface for exercises such as the bicycle maneuver and crunches, and while you can perform these exercises in bed, ensure your form is correct. For example, when you perform the vertical leg crunch, lie flat on your back, bend at the waist and point your legs at the ceiling. Link your hands behind your neck and, as if you're performing a traditional crunch, lift your head, shoulders and upper back. Proper form for this exercise requires you to keep your back straight; if it sags due to a soft mattress, consider using a firmer one.

    Sets and Reps

    • As is the case with any muscle group, your abs need time to recover between workouts. As such, avoid performing ab exercises in bed on a daily basis; always take a day between workouts and avoid working your abs if they're still sore from a previous workout session. The reps and sets you choose depend partly on your strength and familiarity with ab exercises, but the last handful of reps in any given set should always be challenging to perform. The ACE recommends a maximum of three sets of no more than 25 reps per session.

    Adding Resistance

    • You can instantly increase the resistance of many ab exercises by holding a weight during the exercise's execution. In the gym, you have access to free weights and medicine balls, but in your bedroom, you likely don't have such items. If possible, store a weight plate or dumbbell beneath your bed or use a heavy bedroom object such as a thick book. If using a book during a set of vertical leg crunches, for example, hold the book behind your head.

    Ab Exercise Benefits

    • Performing ab exercises to strengthen your core is more than just a way to get noticed at the beach. Harvard Medical School reports strengthening your core has a number of daily benefits. These benefits include helping you achieve everyday movements such as bending and turning, improving your posture and reducing pain in your low back. Many sports and other physical activities depend on a strong core; for example, your core muscles get significant use as you swim.