10 Lazy Bed Exercises for a Toned Body

Published on November 8, 2022 | Update on October 7, 2024

9 min read

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Dietitian/Nutritionist in NYC, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

Try these 10 easy-to-follow bed exercises today! Improve your fitness, overall health, and mobility without leaving your bed.

Table of Contents

10 Exercises You Can Do in Bed
Final Words

Leading an active lifestyle doesn’t seem to be easily coupled with staying in bed. But what if we said you could exercise without even leaving your bed? There are endless bed exercises that you can execute from the comfort of your own bed or on a yoga mat in your living room!

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If you’re feeling too lazy to roll out of bed today but still want to burn some calories, warm up, and stretch your body, try the following exercises.

However, if you’re injured, make sure you confirm with your doctor whether you can perform these exercises.

10 Exercises You Can Do in Bed

While there are a plethora of bed exercises that target different muscles and boast unique functions, the following are 10 easy yet effective exercises that you can begin with in order to start toning your body, improving your health, and increasing your overall mobility.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Unilateral Dead Bug

The unilateral dead bug is an exercise that focuses on building the core abdominal musculature. Because of its unilateral nature, this movement requires you to complete repetitions using both the right and left sides independent from one another.

Here’s how to perform the Unilateral Dead Bug:

Begin by lying on your back with your arms fully extended above your head and your legs lifted and bent 90 degrees above your hips.
To execute the movement, extend one leg by lowering it to the floor or bed while simultaneously extending the opposite arm horizontally behind your head.
Proceed by returning both extremities to the starting position, contracting your core in the process.
Repeat for a set number of repetitions on both sides.

Unilateral Leg Raises

The unilateral leg raise is yet another great core stabilizer and abdominal builder, and it’s among the best leg exercises lying down to implement. Similar to the unilateral dead bug, the unilateral leg raise will require you to perform the movement with each leg independent from one another.

Here’s how to perform Unilateral Leg Raises:

Begin by lying on your back with your arms extended in a relaxed manner to your sides, one leg bent with the foot planted while the other leg is fully extended.
To execute the movement, contract your core by lifting the extended leg up in the air, ideally until your toes are pointing to the ceiling.
Proceed by returning the raised leg to the starting position and repeat.
Finally, repeat the same movement with the opposite leg for a set number of repetitions.

Crunches

As far as bed exercises lying down go, this exercise is arguably the easiest to learn, teach, and execute!

The crunch, otherwise often referred to as the sit-up, is a popular core abdominal exercise that can be performed both on the floor or in your bed. Its primary purpose is to both strengthen the core and increase muscular endurance in that area.

Here’s how to perform Crunches:

Begin by lying on your back with both knees bent and your feet comfortably planted on the floor or bed. Find a comfortable position for your arms: at your side, folded in front of you, or placed behind your head.
To execute the movement, lift your upper body off the floor or bed and contract your core, particularly your upper back.
Proceed by returning to the starting position and repeating the same movement for a set number of repetitions.

Supine Knees Side-to-Side

The Supine Knees Side-to-Side is a lower trunk rotation that helps build core strength and increase overall hip mobility. It also happens to be a great stretch throughout the hip girdle.

Here’s how to perform Supine Knees Side-to-Side:

Begin by lying down on your back with your feet planted, knees bent, and arms fully extended to your sides.
To execute the movement, bring your knees together and lower them to one side while rotating your torso.
Proceed by returning to the starting position, dropping both knees to the opposite side. Repeat for a set number of repetitions.

Pronated Scapular Depression

This particular bed exercise is more of a mobility one than anything else. With hardly any strenuous movement involved, this exercise is unique in that its primary purpose isn’t to increase strength, build muscle, or increase flexibility, but rather to improve overall posture.

Here’s how to perform the Pronated Scapular Depression:

Begin by lying down on your stomach with your arms and legs fully extended.
To execute the movement, bring your shoulders down and back (otherwise known as depressing the scapula), squeezing the trapezius muscles in the process.
Proceed by returning to the starting position while keeping your arms fully extended. Repeat accordingly.

Hip Pry

While there are several ways to perform a hip pry, one of the easiest yet most effective is to do so lying down. The primary purpose of a hip pry is to open the hips, improve mobility and flexibility, and strengthen the core in the process. It also targets the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back as a byproduct.

Here’s how to perform the Hip Pry exercise while lying down in bed:

Begin by lying facedown on your bed, legs fully extended and arms extended out toward your sides.
To execute the movement, begin by leaving one leg up in the air, rotating your hip so as to bring said leg over the other.
Proceed by returning the leg to its extended starting position and repeat.
Because it’s a unilateral exercise, you must also perform the same movement with the other leg.

Check out more hip mobility exercises.

Pronated Hip Abduction

Closely related to the core muscles and hip flexors, the Pronated Hip Abduction movement seeks to improve muscle contractions of the core and the entirety of the posterior chain. It’s also a great glute toner.

Here’s how to perform the Pronated Hip Abduction:

Similar to the hip pry, begin by lying face down with your legs fully extended and your arms in a comfortable position.
To execute the movement, lift one leg slightly off the floor/bed and extend it laterally (to the right with the right leg or to the left with the left leg).
Proceed by returning the leg to its starting position, resting momentarily, and repeating the lateral extension accordingly.
Repeat with both legs.

Elbow Press-Ups

If you’re looking for upper body exercises to do in bed, elbow press-ups are a great place to start! While they’re not the most challenging intensity-wise, they’re among the best for increasing mobility and reducing neck and back pain.

Here’s how to perform Elbow Press-Ups:

Begin by lying on your stomach, legs fully extended and arms neatly placed in front of you at 90 degrees so that your elbows are pointing outward. Your head should start by looking face down.
To execute the movement, simply lift your head up and back while lifting your chest off the ground and keeping your arms and elbows on the ground.
Repeat for a set number of repetitions.

Alternating Bridge Marches

Alternating bridge marches are among the best exercises you can do in bed because they tone your glutes, strengthen the entire posterior chain, and they can be adapted as a cardiovascular exercise depending on the intensity. Incorporate this movement into your in-bed workouts and you’ll begin to see results in no time!

Here’s how to perform Alternating Bridge Marches:

Begin by lying on your back with your arms by your side and your heels about shoulder-width apart, knees bent. To get into the bridge position, raise your hips so that your spine is neutral.
To execute the movement, keep one knee bent with the heel planted while the other leg is being raised until your hips are at 90 degrees.
Proceed by lowering the raised leg, and repeat for a set number of reps.
Repeat with the other leg.

Side-Lying Hip Abduction

Similar to the pronated hip abduction, although, this time you’ll be resting on your side. The side-lying hip abduction works to open the hips, tone the glutes, and as a byproduct, strengthen the overall core musculature.

Here’s how to perform the Side-Lying Hip Abduction:

Begin by lying on the right side, knees bent. To get comfortable, you can place your left hand on your hip and rest your head on your right arm.
To execute the movement, simply lift your lift leg to the sky, keeping both knees bent.
Return the leg back to its starting position and repeat.
Following, lie down on your left side and repeat the process with your right leg.

This is a great exercise to work out your glutes on a lazy day. Check out these side glute exercises for the days when you feel more energized.

Final Words

These bed exercises prove that you can get quite an effective workout in the comfort of your own bed!

Exercises to do in bed are great for toning and tightening the body’s musculature, improving cardiovascular strength, and increasing mobility and flexibility.