Brad Shaw
A seven-minute abs workout may sound like the kind of promise usually made by someone wearing impossibly clean trainers, but for anyone whose back has been battered by kitchen-table offices and sofa-based conference calls, it may be just the tonic.
Working from home has been a blessing for some and a postural ambush for others. The commute has vanished, yes, but so has the proper chair, the decent desk, and the gentle reminder to stand up before your spine starts filing a formal complaint.
For those looking to wake up the core and give their back a fighting chance, fitness trainer Lewis Richardson has shared a simple, equipment-free abs routine that can be done on a mat in roughly the time it takes to boil a kettle and forget why you walked into the kitchen.
Why Your Core Matters When Your Back Starts Moaning
Backache is rarely just about the back.
Hours of sitting can leave the hips tight, the glutes switched off and the core behaving like a committee that has adjourned early. When that happens, the lower back often gets dragged into doing more work than it should.
A short core routine will not magically undo months of poor posture, but it can help you build better trunk control, improve body awareness and bring some useful movement into a day that might otherwise be spent folded over a laptop like a deckchair in a gale.
This seven-minute abs workout focuses on controlled breathing, steady movement and keeping the lower back grounded. That last point matters. Done properly, the routine should feel challenging through the abdominals — not like a wrestling match with your lumbar spine.
How The Seven-Minute Abs Workout Works
The routine uses six mat-based exercises, each performed for 50 seconds.
The aim is not to thrash through reps as though auditioning for a military montage. Keep the movements slow, deliberate and tidy. The better the control, the more useful the workout becomes.
You will need a mat or a comfortable bit of floor. No machines, no weights, no gym membership, no heroic nonsense.
1. Side Knee Drops
Lie on your back with your arms and legs fully extended.
Bring your knees up towards your chest at around a 45-degree angle. From there, slowly move your legs from left to right, lowering them to one side, bringing them back to the centre, then lowering them to the other side.
Continue for 50 seconds.
Exhale as your legs move towards the ground and inhale as they return to the middle. The key is control. If your legs are swinging about like saloon doors in a Western, slow down.
This move helps engage the obliques and encourages rotation through the trunk without putting unnecessary strain through the back.
2. Crunches
Start lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Place your hands behind your head, keeping your elbows wide. Cradle the head rather than pulling on the neck, which is generally a poor life choice.
Keep your lower back on the mat and lift your shoulders until you feel the core engage. Then lower back down with control.
Repeat for 50 seconds.
A good crunch is not about how high you can get. It is about creating a clean squeeze through the abdominals while keeping the lower back steady.
3. Alternate Elbow To Knee Crunches
Lie on your back again, knees bent, hands behind the head and elbows wide.
Lift your knees so your thighs form a 90-degree angle. Keep your lower back grounded.
Bring your right elbow towards your left knee, then return to the starting position. Next, bring your left elbow towards your right knee.
Repeat for 50 seconds.
This move adds rotation and works the obliques, which are important for stability and day-to-day movement. Keep it smooth. The goal is not to elbow your knee into next week.
4. Bicycle Crunches
Lie on your back and extend your legs around six inches from the floor.
Keep your hands behind your head and your elbows wide. Engage your core, bring one knee towards your chest and rotate the opposite elbow towards it.
Bring your right elbow to your left knee, lower your head and shoulders back to the mat, then repeat on the other side.
Continue for 50 seconds.
Bicycle crunches are a classic because they ask plenty of the core at once. But they are only useful if you keep your lower back grounded and resist the urge to pedal as if chased by a tax bill.
5. Leg Raise Hold
Lie flat on your back with your arms by your sides and palms facing down.
Slowly raise your legs while keeping them fully extended. Keep your lower back pressed into the mat and avoid arching.
Hold for 50 seconds.
This one looks innocent until it starts speaking fluent abdominal misery. If your lower back begins to lift, raise your legs slightly higher or take a short break. Control matters more than suffering.
6. Scissor Legs
Stay lying on your back with your arms by your sides and palms pressing into the floor.
Extend your legs and lift them around six inches from the ground. Bring one leg over the other in a criss-cross motion, alternating sides.
Repeat for 50 seconds.
Keep your lower back on the floor throughout. The movement should be precise and measured, not a frantic attempt to kick away invisible seaweed.
The Smart Way To Use This Routine
This seven-minute abs workout is best treated as a daily movement snack. Slot it into a lunch break, after work, or between meetings when your body feels as though it has been shrink-wrapped to a chair.
It works well for desk workers because it is quick, simple and does not require equipment. It also encourages you to reconnect with your core, which is often the first area to switch off when your day becomes one long sit-down.
That said, persistent back pain deserves proper attention. If your symptoms are sharp, worsening, travelling down the leg, or linked to numbness or weakness, this is not the time to tough it out on a yoga mat. Get professional advice.
Small Routine, Big Reminder
The beauty of this routine is not that it promises a sculpted midsection before your next Zoom call. It does not.
Its value is more practical than that. It gives busy people a short, structured way to move, breathe and engage the muscles that help support the spine.
In a world where many of us now work within arm’s reach of the fridge and call it an office, seven minutes of focused core work is a decent investment. Not glamorous. Not complicated. But useful — which is more than can be said for most office chairs pretending to be ergonomic.
