7 Chair Exercises That Will Reduce Your Belly Fat While You Sit

So you have that 9 to 5 job, but that’s no excuse.

At least, it shouldn’t be anymore.

Traditional office hours can notoriously eat into our potential free time. By the time you make it home, drained and ravenous, the thought of faithfully heading to the gym doesn’t exactly produce the same reaction as the thought of, say, having a pizza and watching How I Met Your Mother reruns. The point is, instead of divesting it on cold, hard, and icky smelling machines, that precious free time at the end of your long day would better be spent with your family or else, Barney, and his sexist (but hilarious) commentary. But that’s just my good opinion.

“But what about getting my daily exercise?!” Relax, my friend, I’ve found a way for us to have our proverbial cake and eat it as well. Yes, it is absolutely possible to have the best of both worlds. You can enjoy the end of your day while simultaneously possessing an enviably toned and sculpted body.

The oh-so-simple solution? Just exercise at the office, right at your desk, with the help of your chair!

Unless you work for Hitler, you probably have an office chair at your disposal. Perform this set of simple, but powerful fat-shredding chair exercises recommended by fitness experts, and watch as your happy little Buddha belly transforms into the gut of a lean, mean machine.

1. Chair Running

• Sit on your chair and extend out your legs. Keep your toes pointed and your arms bent at your sides.
• Tense your abs in tightly and hinge backwards until you feel your shoulder blades lightly grazing the back of your chair.
• Bend your right knee upwards, towards your chest, and turn your left shoulder inwards, in the direction of your knee. You will feel your right elbow pull slightly behind. Now, quickly switch to your other side.
• Keep repeating the move as fast as you can. Do 15 reps for each side.

2. Chair Squats

•  Stand right in front of your chair, and lower your backside as if you’re about to sit down.
• Hold your arms straight ahead of you, parallel to the floor. Keep your palms facing downwards.
• Push your hips slowly behind with your knees fully bent and take a seat.
• Don’t get too comfortable, though. Lift yourself back up and return to your original standing position.
• Ideally, aim for 2 sets x 15 reps.

3. Chair Crunches

• Scoot over towards your chair’s edge. Use your hands to grip the sides of your chair’s bottom. Your fingers will be facing the floor.
• Lean back until you can feel your abs engage.
• Slowly extend out both your legs. Bend your knees and pull them towards your chest.
• Do 1 set of 15 to 20 reps.

4. Skater Switch

• Seat yourself right at your chair’s edge. Bend the left knee out sideways, extending your right leg out in a straight line, with your toes pointed.
• Extend your arms in front of you, leaning forward slightly. Get your right arm to reach the inside of your left foot while simultaneously raising your left arm up and behind your body, causing your torso to twist. Now, rapidly switch sides.
• Do 15 reps for each side.

5. Seated Oblique Twist

• Sitting in your chair, place your hands behind your head and twist your left elbow to meet your uplifted right knee. You should bend slightly forward to feel your abs tense.
• Return to sitting position and repeat for the next side.
• Do 3 sets x 10 reps.

6. Standing Kickback With Chair

• Stand up and keep a few feet’s distance between you and the back of the chair.
• Place both hands on the chair’s back and bend forward from your waist.
• Kick back your left leg, extending it upwards, and stretch out behind you.
• Bring back your left knee, bringing it close to your left shoulder. Pause. Swing it back behind you, once again. This entire move equals 1 rep.
• Do 20 reps for each side.

7. Plank Knee Cross

• Begin with both the forearms placed on the seat of your chair and step behind, getting into the plank position.
• Raise the left knee up to meet the insides of your left arm. Pause for a few seconds and then repeat on the opposite side so that your right bent knee touches your right arm.
• This full movement for both sides will equal 1 whole rep. For best results, do 15-20 reps without any breaks. Always remember to hold those hips low and keep your core engaged through the course of the exercise.

Now you know just how to turn your office desk into a mini-home-gym during breaks. No more excuses, it’s time to win the war against fat. Best of luck!

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• Author

Emaan Shah

Emaan is a voracious and rather indiscriminate reader. She is also a writer, history buff, insomniac, amateur doodle artist, terrible poet and a self-professed philosopher (but only after 3 am). Currently, she is pursuing a degree in medicine.