Whether you struggle to exercise due to mobility issues or illness or are looking for easy ways to keep fit in your day-to-day life, chair exercises can be an effective and easy home workout for many people.
As well as being senior writer here at Yours, I am also a fitness instructor and strength coach. I chose to specialise in fitness for over 50s, and so I hold my Level 4 GP referral qualification, which allows me to work with clients who need chair exercises to maintain their health and wellbeing. Over the years I have worked with many people who for whatever reason, have a lessened range of mobility.
I understand the frustration and limitations that come with not being able to move as freely as you'd like, and I know it can be easy to assume you can't exercise because of these issues. However, that's exactly why you should be exercising, and precisely why chair exercises can be a great place to start.
Seated exercises or chair-based exercises as they’re often called, are a great way to maintain fitness and flexibility if mobility has become an issue. Maybe you’re recovering from surgery, or you’re in a wheelchair, or maybe you lack confidence standing to exercise. Balance can become a real issue as we age, but it’s a shame to let that affect your ability to keep fit.
There are so many benefits to regular physical exercise, including decreased blood pressure, increased mobility and better bone health. There are also many psychological benefits too, such as increased confidence, happiness and more social interaction.
Age UK now hold many chair-based exercise classes across the UK, which is a great opportunity to train with a qualified professional and meet new people.
Below, I’ve listed 7 simple chair exercises for you to try. Once you’re a pro at these, why not research classes in your area or try some more mobility exercises if you’re able?
How to do chair exercises
While there are often many different classes and sessions you can attend at your local gym or leisure centre, there are also plenty of chair exercises you can do in the comfort of your own home.
All you need is a sturdy chair, a spacious room and around 10 minutes per day. It's a good idea to keep some water on hand as well, and remember to stop and rest as needed. I’ve put together seven chair exercises to get you started that need no equipment, and I've also added three more exercises you can do using a resistance band. You can find my pick of bands to buy with my guide to the best resistance bands and you might also like to learn how to use resistance bands, too.
Toe lifts
This is a really simple yet effective move to get you started. Simply sit on the chair with your arms relaxed at the side of you and your feet on the ground in a parallel position. Slowly lift your toes, pointing them to the sky to stretch out and strengthen your calf muscles. Repeat this a few times on each foot.
Rowing
Seated with your arms out in front of you, mimic the upper body motion of rowing by slowly pulling your arms back towards you while keeping your elbows inline with your shoulders as you would on a rowing machine. Squeezing the shoulder blades together, this helps strengthen your shoulders and torso muscles. Repeat 10 times.
Leg extension
Seated with your feet in parallel, raise each leg by extending your knee so your foot is pointing out parallel from your hip. Alternate this movement with five extensions on each leg. This move helps to strengthen your quad muscles and your core making it a good exercise to improve mobility.
Seated jumping jack
For this one, start with your arms stretched out to each side. Begin the movement by opening your legs out at the knees and landing your feet diagonally open front of you while simultaneously moving your arms up to meet over your head. You can do this as slowly or quickly as you feel comfortable and if you want to make it even harder, you could add a resistance band to your thighs.
Seated cross crunch
Place your hands behind your head as you would when doing a sit up. Begin this exercise by pulling up your knee across your body to meet with the opposite elbow in a cruch style. They don’t have to touch but you should aim to get your elbow as close as you can to your opposite knee to help strengthen your core.
Seated march
This one is simple to get the hang of as all you need to do is sit down and march your legs to a beat. It might help to put one of your favourite upbeat songs on for this one to help you keep in time. Not only can this act as a cardio workout but it also helps strengthen the hips.
Upper body twist for flexibility
With your arms crossed over your torso, slowly rotate your upper body side to side, seeing how far you can turn your upper body to boost your flexibility. This is great if you need a good stretch after a workout.
Hamstring stretch with resistance band
Loop a long resistance band around one foot and grasp the ends tightly. Keeping your leg straight and with a soft bend in the knee, pull the leg up as high as you can and hold for ten seconds, feeling the stretch down the back of the leg. Repeat three times each leg.
Chest opener with resistance band
Hold a long resistance band on either end, arms extended in front of you. Stretch the band y bringing your arms as wide and as far back as you can, stretching out across the chest, then return to the starting position. Repeat ten times.
Bicep curl with resistance band
Place a long resistance band under both feet to keep it steady, and hold the ends. Keeping your elbows into your sides, curl your fists up towards your shoulders and then extend back down. Repeat ten times.
How effective are chair exercises and do they work?
As we get older, we can lose a lot of our bone density and our muscles weaken. Any form of gentle exercise such as chair exercises can help maintain our strength. An extra bonus is that these exercises can also help improve our posture and alignment of the spine.
As well as helping our muscle strength and posture, chair exercises are also beneficial for our circulation too. This has huge benefits for our recovery time when it comes to injury and illness. Not only this, but you’re much less likely to injure yourself when exercising if doing chair based exercises so they’re great if you’re uneasy on your feet these days or more prone to injury.
There are many different kinds of chair exercises you can have a go at including chair yoga, which is particularly great for flexibility.
Chair exercises can be done at your office or desk or wherever you're seated, as you don't need a lot of space to carry out these exercises.
Can chair exercises help you lose weight?
The amount of weight you can lose by doing chair based exercises can vary. On average, it’s thought you can burn between 120 and 250 calories during a 30 minute chair workout.
With the addition of things to make your workout harder, such as adjustable dumbbells, resistance bands or ankle weights, the number of calories you burn can increase.
What other forms of exercise can I do?
If you are able, a gentle walk is always a great form of exercise, even with stops along the way. It doesn't need to be far; you might like to challenge yourself to add a few more meters each day. An alternative is to try some easy at-home exercise videos, or look at weight training at home. You can pick and choose from the exercises I've recommended according to what suits your physical capabilities. Many can be adapted, for example, you can hold onto a chair to practice squats or lunges.
Becky Fuller is a senior digital writer for Yours.co.uk. She is also a fully qualified personal trainer and strength coach, specialising in fitness and wellbeing for over 50s. Prior to joining Yours, Becky was a fitness writer for Saga, and a freelance entertainment and theatre journalist. Becky is passionate about helping people to move well and discover the many benefits of strength training.