Sit-Ups Too Hard? Use The Beginner-Friendly Modifications In This Workout To Develop Core Strength In 10 Minutes

Woman performing heel tap exercise
(Image credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Spend any time on social media and you’ll soon see fitness influencers performing abs exercises while barely breaking a sweat, but when working out isn’t your job, even getting through a set of sit-ups can be a challenge.

That’s why I like the workouts certified PTs Vivienne and Mike Addo post on Instagram under their moniker MrandMrsMuscle. Each move is accompanied by an easier modification in the top left corner of the video. That makes their videos more accessible to people who are still working on their fitness and, if you start with the modifications, offer the chance to repeat the workout and progress to the harder moves as you get stronger.

In the bottom right you’ll also see a diagram of the body with the muscles you should be using to perform the exercise highlighted—very handy.

MrandMrsMuscle’s workouts also tend to be short and their most recent post is only four moves and 10 minutes. The workout is taken from the MrandMrsMuscle app and if you’d like to see what else is on offer, there’s currently a seven-day trial available.

This session puts a particular emphasis on the obliques, the muscles that run down the sides of your torso. “The obliques help to stabilize and protect your spine, as well as helping to bend and rotate your torso to the side, so it’s important to include them in your abs workouts,” says PT Ann Brindley of Active Nation, speaking to Coach for its guide to oblique exercises.

Coach also has plenty more short abs workouts for you to add to your routine, including a short five-minute abs workout and 10-minute abs workout.

Lou Mudge
Health writer

Lou Mudge is a health writer working across Coach and Fit&Well. She previously worked for Live Science, and regularly writes for Pet’s Radar. Based in Bath, UK, she has a passion for food, nutrition and health and is eager to demystify diet culture in order to make health and fitness accessible to everybody.


Multiple diagnoses in her early 20s sparked an interest in the gut-brain axis, and the impact that diet and exercise can have on both physical and mental health. She was put on the FODMAP elimination diet during this time and learned to adapt recipes to fit these parameters, while retaining core flavours and textures, and now enjoys cooking for gut health.