These 10 Chair Exercises Will Challenge Your Entire Body, No Matter Your Fitness Level (SHAPE)

Posted: Jan 11, 2023 in In the News

This article originall appeared in SHAPE on January 11, 2023.

 

These 10 Chair Exercises Will Challenge Your Entire Body, No Matter Your Fitness Level

By Megan Falk

When you're halfway through a long road trip in a cramped car seat or five hours into a work day spent parked in an uncomfortable desk chair, you might crave nothing more than simply moving your body. Without the ability to go for a walk or any equipment to wake up your muscles, however, you might think that wish will have to remain a fantasy.

Your solution: chair exercises, movements that help you build strength, get your heart pumping, and can be done with just, well, a chair. 

But a lack of workout gear isn’t the only reason you should give chair exercises a shot, says Alyssa Gialamas, a two-time Paralympic swimmer and the founder of AMG Fitness, a non-profit helping to elevate fitness resources for people with disabilities through at-home workouts. Movements that call on just a chair can be beneficial for folks who struggle with balance, for example, and the unconventional piece of equipment can also be used for functional exercises that improve your everyday movement patterns (think: bending over to pick up something off the floor, reaching to grab a box of cereal off the top of the fridge), says Gialamas. Plus, chair exercises make fitness more accessible to folks with mobility limitations, individuals with disabilities, and people who are brand-new to exercise.

Simply put, “As someone who works with all kinds of abilities, [I think] everyone would benefit from chair exercises,” says Gialamas. “From people who work at a desk all day to seniors who need more safe options for getting moving, [chair workouts] can be for anyone.”

10 Exercises for a Quick Chair Workout Circuit

Looking to boost your daily functioning and health? Try the chair exercises below, recommended and demonstrated by Gialamas, and combine your favorites into a quick circuit workout that challenges your muscles and improves your cardiovascular fitness. Throughout the workout, remember to keep your feet planted on the floor to maintain proper form and core engagement. So if you're on the shorter side or are using a tall chair, you may need to sit closer to the edge of your seat. As you tackle the moves, continue to listen to your body, and stop the activity if it feels painful or too strenuous, says Gialamas.

How it works: Choose four of the chair exercises below that match up with your goals, abilities, and needs. Perform each move for 30 seconds, taking little to no rest in between exercises. Then, take a 60- to 90-second rest break and repeat the circuit for a total of three to five rounds.

This seated variation of a burpee gives you similar cardiovascular benefits as the traditional exercise. But, you’ll have a lower risk of injury by skipping the jumping component, says Gialamas.

Adapted Burpee

A. Sit in a chair with feet planted on the floor hip-width apart and arms at sides.

B. Engage core, lift arms above head, and draw shoulders down and back. Quickly lower arms to sides, then hinge at hips to lower chest to thighs, simultaneously reaching arms toward the floor in front of shins. If mobility allows, quickly touch the floor with fingertips.

C. Quickly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.

If lying on the floor isn’t in the cards for you, try a seated superhuman. “[This exercise] helps stretch out hips and shoulders, especially if you sit most of the day or have a tight back,” says Gialamas. Since the chair workout move calls on your back and core muscles, it can also improve your posture and breathing, as Shape previously reported. 

Seated Superhuman

A. Sit in a chair with feet planted on the floor hip-width apart and arms at sides.

B. Engage core, lift arms above head, and draw shoulders down and back, gazing forward.

C. Pause, then slowly lower arms back to sides to return to the starting position.

Read the full article here.