We all have those mornings when you can't muster enough energy and motivation to slip on your workout shoes — or even get out of bed. But that's OK because you can actually get an effective full-body workout without leaving your bed. Yup, you heard right: you can exercise in bed.
This 20-minute bed workout will get your entire body moving. Do each exercise in the order listed. Work in one of the following three intervals, depending on your current fitness level.
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- Level 1 (Beginner): 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest for each move
- Level 2 (Intermediate): 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest for each move
- Level 3 (Advanced): 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each move
Complete 4 rounds and take a 1-minute break between each round.
Check out more of our 20-minute workouts here – we've got something for everyone.
Benefits of Doing Exercises in Bed
While your bed is soft and comforting for sleep, it provides the perfect surface for a challenging workout. Just try planking in bed: The instability of your mattress recruits smaller muscles to help you balance and move your larger muscles.
Plus, you'll activate your core — no matter what type of exercise you're doing — to keep you steady and grounded.
Warning
If you are confined to bed for medical reasons, consult your doctor before beginning this — or any other — workout. They (or your physical therapist) may have exercises that are better-suited to your body.
Try This 20-Minute Full-Body Bed Workout
Meet the Experts
Brittany Hammond, CPT, is a NASM-certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer based in Los Angeles, California. She has been a trainer for the last 3.5 years years and strongly believes in the power of a strong playlist.
Katie McKinney, CPT, is an ACE-certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor, as well as being certified in functional movement systems. She currently works as a corporate wellness and fitness educator and Orangetheory coach in Manhattan.
1. Plank
- Lie face down on your mattress (prone position) with your legs extended behind you.
- With your forearms flat on your bed, stack your elbows directly under your shoulders.
- Planting your toes into the mattress, lift your hips until your body is in a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Hold for 40 to 50 seconds.
Modifications and Variations
If you're not able to hold a forearm plank, consider performing a quadruped plank, aka a bear plank, on your knees. Be sure to stack your shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees. Lift your knees off your bed, allowing them to hover two inches.
To make this exercise more challenging, rock your hips side to side while maintaining a straight line with your body.
2. Hip Bridge With Leg March
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, hands by your sides.
- Drive into your heels and lift your hips up, squeezing your glutes at the top.
- Keeping a 90-degree bend in your knees, lift your right foot off your bed and bring your right knee toward your chest.
- Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg.
- Continue to alternate legs.
Modifications and Variations
Not able to keep your hips up while marching? Stick to a regular glute bridge. For a more challenging move, try slowing down your march.
3. Back Extension
- Lie on your stomach in prone position with your arms bent to 90 degrees by your sides.
- Squeezing your lower back, lift your arms and legs off your bed at the same time, keeping your stomach in contact with the mattress.
- Release slowly back to the starting position.
Modifications and Variations
For those who find this move too challenging, reduce the range of motion and don't lift your arms and legs too high. If you want to take things to the next level, add small arm weights.
4. Triceps Dip
- Sit on the side of your bed with your feet flat on the floor.
- Place your palms on the bed with your fingertips facing the edge of the bed.
- Walk your feet forward a few inches, until your glutes are parallel to the ground.
- Bend your elbows, bringing your body to the floor.
- Push back up to straighten your arms and return to the starting position.
Modifications and Variations
Reduce the range of motion and don't dip so low if you're finding it difficult to maintain proper form.
To make it harder, slow things down with a 3-1-1 tempo: Lower down for 3 seconds, hold for 1 second, and power back up for 1 second.
5. Bird Dog
- Start in a quadruped position with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips.
- Lift your right arm and extend your left leg back at the same time until your body is in a straight line.
- Return to the starting position, and repeat with your left arm and your right leg.
- Continue to alternate opposite arms and legs.
Modifications and Variations
Reduce your range of motion if you're finding it difficult to maintain proper form. You can also try other variations, like doing an arms-only bird dog.
If you're ready to kick things up, try holding the top for the movement for three seconds before lowering your arm and leg back down, adding a crunch or holding a pair of light dumbbells in your hands.
