6 Best Chair Exercises To Help You Move More At Work

“Use it or lose it!” is a phrase that’s incredibly accurate in the case of our health and fitness, and sitting for prolonged periods is one in every of the worst things you may do on your body.

The excellent news is that physical inactivity is one of the vital easily modifiable variables now we have to forestall a slew of chronic diseases. The bad news is that the overwhelming majority of the US workforce is within the seated position all through their work day.

While you could not find a way to vary jobs, there are definitely some seated exercises you can implement to vary your activity level. Let’s take a have a look at a few of one of the best chair exercises to get you began immediately.

Then all that is left to do is keep some dumbbells near your desk and carve out a couple of minutes day by day to get in some chair exercises!

Table of Contents:

• General Instructions For Chair Exercises
• 6 Best Chair Exercises
• Ideas For Performing Chair Workouts
• Why Are Chair Exercises & Each day Movement So Necessary?
• How Seated Exercises Improve Health
• Different Training Methods While Performing A Chair Exercise
• FAQs

General Instructions For Chair Exercises

In order that we need not repeat these for each chair exercise, some chair exercise instructions will apply across the board:

1. When performing a chair exercise, try to make use of a sturdy chair on your exercises because the random waving forwards and backwards and jerky movements could also be an excessive amount of. Ideally, you are capable of use a chair with sturdy chair legs.
2. In case your chair has wheels, make certain you may have your brakes on. Depending in your flooring type, this step will turn out to be roughly vital. In case your chair is on a thick carpet and doesn’t roll easily, just keep this in mind. Nonetheless, as with point #1, if you happen to do not feel secure, try to search out a gentle chair.
3. All the time sit tall in your chair exercises and keep your spine straight. Having a straight posture, on the whole, will improve how you are feeling throughout the day.
4. Keep your feet flat on the ground during chair exercises if you’re in a seated position.

Now, let’s dive into the person exercises using a chair.

6 Best Chair Exercises To Help You Move More

Keep in mind that for most individuals, your primary goal is to extend your activity levels day by day, so you do not should be too concerned with using proper loads for these chair exercises. Still, you may do these using easy dumbbells or a resistance band to administer the intensity.

1) Seated Shoulder Press:

The seated shoulder press is an easy dumbbell exercise to coach your upper body pushing muscles, specifically your shoulder muscles and triceps. Further, because you might be sitting, you may also increase your thoracic mobility.

For grip, you need to use anything that feels comfortable. Generally, these are performed with an overhand grip or barely angled. Nonetheless, you need to use a neutral grip if you may have issues with shoulder mobility.

Note: I realize the video above obviously doesn’t occur in a standard workplace setting, however the movements you may follow remain the identical.

Easy methods to do the Seated Shoulder Press:

• Arrange your chair and pick up your set of dumbbells. Slide backward so your back barely touches the chair’s back.
• Pick up your dumbbells and convey them as much as your shoulders. With elbows bent, place them out to your side, barely in front of your body. Position your elbows mentioning at a 45-degree angle. Bring your hands in order that they’re vertical and over your elbows, and lift your upper arms to barely below parallel with the bottom. That is the starting position.
• Retract your shoulder blades by attempting to squeeze them together. Slowly extend your arms straight overhead. The dumbbells will move upward in a curving motion as they arrive together at the highest.

2) Seated Marching:

Seated marching is an incredible method to extend your day by day activity, especially for seniors. Seated marching simply involves pumping your legs up and down as if you happen to’re marching in place. That is it. 

As the first goal of this exercise is to maneuver, the actual height of your knees doesn’t matter an excessive amount of and can likely be determined by your desk height. 

To offer yourself a goal, aim for five minutes every 30-60 minutes. You don’t need to be consumed with tracking the time if it’s good to work or are otherwise busy. 

Easy methods to do Seated Marching:

• For those who can easily adjust your chair’s seat height, you could need to lower it in order that the highest of your thighs are parallel to the bottom while in your ties.
• Pick up your right leg as high as you may with relative ease. You don’t need to strain an excessive amount of. After hitting the height, slowly bring it down until it’s back on the bottom. 
• Keep your left foot planted until each feet are back on the ground. Then, repeat the movement together with your left leg. 
• Proceed as above, steadily alternating legs.

3) Under Desk Stair Steppers, Ellipticals, & Treadmills:

Luckily, the risks of being sedentary have began to be taken seriously, launching various pieces of exercise equipment to assist combat this “silent disease.” A couple of options include under-desk stair steppers and ellipticals, which permit for exercise throughout the day.

Take a look at the under-desk elliptical workout within the video above for ideas on how you may stay energetic throughout your workday.

Because you may do these while working, we advise you to make use of a straightforward setting that means that you can perform the exercise for an prolonged period. Take a look at our article on the 7 Best Under-Desk Ellipticals to search out your perfect fit!

4) Leg And Arm Circles:

One other great exercise for each the lower and upper body involves making circles together with your prolonged legs or arms. I like using the legs as you may do them while still actively working, but each are great for creating blood flow and adding in somewhat break.

Regardless that these are “easy,” if you happen to’ve done arm circles in PE class during middle school, you understand these will be intense.

Easy methods to do Leg & Arm Circles:

• For leg circles, you may select one leg at a time or each. Pick up your legs straight ahead of your body. Nonetheless, the leg doesn’t should be parallel to the bottom. You simply want it high enough so you may have free movement.
• Now, slowly rotate your leg in circles. To guide you, you may first rotate a leg clockwise while rotating the other leg counterclockwise. After ten circles, switch directions. It’s also possible to fiddle by making larger and smaller circles.
• You may then switch to repeat as needed.
• For arm circles, lift your arms straight out in front or out to the side. Unlike your legs, you should try to get these higher so your arms are almost parallel to the bottom, either out to the side or front.
• Slowly make circles until your arms are fatigued. You may even move your arms in opposite directions for an additional mental boost. For instance, have your left arm make a forward circle, while your right arm makes a backward circle.

Giving a number is hard, but I might say do circles until failure every 30-60 minutes or so. 

5) Bulgarian Split Squat:

The Bulgarian split squat is my selection for squatting when on the lookout for chair exercises. I like these somewhat than standard squats because they’re more difficult to do, meaning you do not need as many for a lower-body workout.

These are standing exercises, so you’ll have to get up and utilize your chair. Finding the right position to perform these may take a while, but it’s going to come naturally once you discover it.

As these are tough, attempt to run through sets of 5 reps per leg for nevertheless many sets you would like. You may perform these every hour or every other hour.

Easy methods to do Bulgarian Split Squats:

• Use your desk chair to rest your back leg. Let’s use the appropriate leg for our example. Stand about two feet away from your chair.
• Raise your right (back) leg and position your back foot in your chair, near the sting. Have your front foot point forward.
• Activate your core muscles and pull your shoulders backward. Lower down by moving directly downward. While your front left knee can move forward, it should consistently follow the direction of your toes. Proceed descending until your rear right knee makes contact with the bottom.
• Drive your front foot against the bottom to begin the upward movement of your body. Engage your core throughout your complete motion to make sure your torso stays upright.
• Rise until your leg reaches full extension.

6) Sit On A Bosu Ball:

Using a Bosu ball as a chair is an incredible idea to activate your muscles without interested by it. You may’t just recline and chill out since the ball rolls, is soft, and with no back.

Because of this, these demand great posture and mechanically activate all of your core muscles and lower body.

Easy methods to sit on a Bosu Ball:

• Place the ball in front of your workstation. You will probably find placing the ball near your desk more comfortable than a couple of feet back. Sit together with your butt in the midst of the ball.
• While sitting tall, keep your torso straight and keep your shoulder blades pulled back. To your lower body, you may have two options. One, sit together with your legs out in front of your body and feet flat on the ground. Two, pull your feet backward together with your knees bent and toes pointed.
• Once you discover a snug starting position, you should try to stay there as you sit.

For those who select this method, it’s also possible to use the Bosu ball to perform other exercises, reminiscent of crunches or the chest press.

Ideas For Performing Chair Workouts

Circuit workouts are an incredible example of easy methods to put together a fast chair workout.

Actually, a fast circuit in your breaks can do wonders. Keep in mind that Tabata’s are only 4 minutes long and may significantly improve fitness variables. Now I’m not suggesting you do a Tabata in your office, the purpose is you do not need 1 hour to get in an efficient workout.

When running a circuit, your primary goal is to bring each exercise to failure. This implies you may simply do 1 set of a series of exercises with as many reps as needed to almost complete fatigue. Again, your ability depends upon your dress attire and space. That said, listed here are some exercises that may work.

• Push-ups or Wall Push-ups
• Body Squats
• Wall Sits
• Normal Jumping Jack
• Chair Dips

For more great ideas to assist you move more at work, try our article on the 9 Best Desk Exercises!

Why Are Chair Exercises & More Each day Movement Necessary?

As mentioned above, our physical health will be determined by how much work we do throughout the day. Many individuals imagine that they’ll compensate for his or her physical inactivity because they go to the gym after sitting for 10 hours. You may’t.

Reducing sitting time is as crucial to improving physical health as engaging in an everyday exercise program¹. Physical inactivity is recognized as an easily modifiable behavior that may provide an array of advantages, reminiscent of: 

• Decreased risk of chronic disease
• Decreased risk of non-communicable disease
• Improved mental state
• Decreased burden on the healthcare system²

How Much Movement Do You Need?

By now, you have probably heard of the ten,000 steps a day rule. You could be surprised that there is not any actual evidence for this number. Actually, “10,000 steps” is the interpretation of the Japanese word Manpo-Kei, a Japanese step counter from 1965, which accurately means 10,000 meters³.

This number was simply used as a marketing tool and was a sufficient amount of day by day activity to enhance health.

Don’t let that get you down because, because it seems, this concept has a variety of truth. Research examining this claim has discovered that the brink of health advantages seems to occur at just 7,500 steps. While that is 25% lower than the ten,000 steps, sedentary people generally only get around 2,500 steps day by day.

Because of this, it’s good to someway get in one other 5,000 steps or the equivalent in low-intensity exercise.

How Chair Exercises Improve Health

For those who’re assigned to sit down at a desk all day, otherwise you’re just getting older with reduced mobility, an everyday exercise program built with seated exercises will do wonders on your health.

Through the use of chair exercises, you may increase your day by day activity whilst you’re working, watching TV, or chatting on the phone! While you certainly don’t desire to sacrifice your work or family time simply to get in some movement, seated exercises provide easy, comfortable ways to maneuver so this is not an issue.

What’s The Goal Of Seated Exercises?

Although training within the gym strengthens your muscles, chair exercises probably do not have heavy enough resistance to provide meaningful muscle growth.

Due to this fact, your primary goal of seated exercises must be increasing your total movement. You need to minimize your time sitting without exercise to interrupt up the inactivity.

With this in mind, your exercise selection should not be too concerned with “hitting” a particular muscle. As an alternative, you would like essentially the most convenient type of exercise that easily means that you can perform a big volume of low-intensity exercise.

Different Training Methods While Performing A Chair Exercise

While we reviewed a few of one of the best exercises to do while sitting, it’s also possible to use several training tools to govern load and intensity.  

1) Isometric Flexing:

Top-of-the-line ways to activate your muscles is simply using isometric holds. While you may do that with any muscle group, it’s an awesome tool to make use of together with your abdominal muscles. For instance, try flexing your core muscles with 90-95% intensity and holding throughout the day. For those who’re laughing at this, you have never tried it. 

To be clear, I’m not saying that is an adequate substitute for barbell rollouts and cable crunches. Nonetheless, the evidence behind isometric exercises is growing rapidly, and the outcomes are impressive⁴. When sitting down all day, these contractions can add up over time.

To be effective, contractions must be above 80% maximal intensity and last 1-5 seconds at a time until reaching 30-90s total.

2) No-Load Training:

Much like isometric training, no-load training is a “resistance training” method that does not use external resistance. Where it differs from isometrics is moving your muscles through a full range of motion.

While it is a relatively recent field of research, studies thus far are promising. For instance, a study from 2019 found that no load training was effective at increasing functional capability and muscle size in hospitalized women⁵.

One other short review found similar findings⁶. When the muscle is flexed with high intensity throughout a full range of motion, similar adaptations occur as if a load were present.

For those who select to make use of this method, perform any movement with the identical biomechanics, slowly bending and lengthening the joint while really specializing in the mind-muscle connection. For instance, to coach your chest muscles, focus on squeezing them as you perform chest flys. 

Some good chair exercises to make use of this method with are:

• Seated Chest Press: Sit tall and lift your arms with elbows bent at a 90-degree angle and elbows pointing at a few 45-degree angle. Next, slowly extend your arms straight out in front of your body while specializing in your chest muscles and triceps.
• Seated Row: Reach your arms straight out in front of your body. Make sure to sit tall together with your shoulder blades retracted. If the back of the chair is wide or curved, you could need to sit down closer to the sting of the chair’s seat. Slowly pull your arms back while concentrating on bringing your elbows to the wall behind you.
• Squats: To perform squats, start standing with feet about shoulder-width apart and toes pointed outward barely. Push your hips back and slowly lower your torso. Proceed until the highest of your thighs is parallel to the bottom. Now, really flex your muscles and drive your feet into the bottom. Take into consideration squatting with a barbell in your back to further activate your muscles. Proceed until you get back to the starting position.

Because these reps are slow and also you’re using voluntary maximal contractions, you need not do a ton of reps. Assuming each rep takes 6-8 seconds, your muscles will probably be pretty drained after just five reps. For those who keep your muscles flexed between each rep, that is 30-40 seconds of constant tension in your muscles.

Again, I’m not saying this produces the identical effects as a full strength training program, but I feel there’s enough evidence to suggest value for those forced to sit down for long periods.

FAQs

Let’s take a have a look at another questions you might have about chair exercises.

How can I flatten my stomach sitting in a chair?

The very best method to flatten your stomach is with weight-reduction plan and regular exercise, so concentrate on your caloric intake, quality of food, and total movement throughout the day. For specific ab training, try isometric core contractions.

What’s one of the best sitting position for fat loss?

Usually, practicing good posture by sitting up tall on a Bosu ball, using a stair stepper, or riding an exercise bike is best for fat loss.

How long must you sit for at a time?

Although we have offered many options for exercises while seated, try to get up, stretch, and move around every half-hour if possible.

What are the signs of sitting an excessive amount of?

Sitting an excessive amount of could cause lower back pain, tight hips, swelling or inflammation within the lower legs, poor posture, weight gain, hypertension, and more.

The Best Equipment To Upgrade Your Chair Exercises 

For those who find that one type of exercise works best for you, just keep on with that. Principles of progressive overload and variety don’t apply to this training. Further, don’t confuse these as doing anything aside from providing an avenue to extend your activity.

As such, I personally love the thought of under-desk stair steppers and ellipticals. My top advice is the Cubii JR2+. It suits under almost any desk and features 8 resistance levels, together with a display that shows you your strides, time, distance, and calories burned.

For those who’re on the lookout for a stair stepper option, my favorite is the Sportsroyals Stair Stepper, a compact fitness stair stepper taking over a fraction of the space of a standard stepper.

Featuring an LED monitor with exercise time, burned calories, distance in miles, and step count, it uses 2mm steel and precision bearings to offer a slight twisting motion, giving a more natural feel while training at your desk.

One other great option is to maintain one in every of these 10 Folding Treadmills nearby, so you may get walking breaks in throughout the day!

Stay Lively With Chair Exercises

When you’re not going to construct a tremendous physique, decrease your body weight, or increase your deadlift with these chair exercises, they should not be ignored.

In the case of increasing your general health, there’s argument that increased day by day activity trumps an hour within the gym. We have now armed you with various exercises and methods to coach your complete body while seated, so there is not any reason to be completely sedentary.

Stay moving, stay pleased, and stay healthy, no matter your age or your work schedule.

Able to move more throughout the day? Pick up one in every of these 7 Best Under Desk Ellipticals so you may stay energetic while working.

References:

1. Matthews, C. E., Moore, S. C., Sampson, J., Blair, A., Xiao, Q., Keadle, S. K., Hollenbeck, A., & Park, Y. (2015). Mortality Advantages for Replacing Sitting Time with Different Physical Activities. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000621
2. Santos, A. C., Willumsen, J., Meheus, F., Ilbawi, A., & Bull, F. C. (2023). The associated fee of inaction on physical inactivity to public healthcare systems: a population-attributable fraction evaluation. The Lancet. Global health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00464-8
3. Calechman S. 10,000 steps a day — or fewer? – Harvard Health Blog. Harvard Health Blog. Published July 11, 2019. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/10000-steps-a-day-or-fewer-2019071117305
4. Lum D, Barbosa TM. Transient Review: Effects of Isometric Strength Training on Strength and Dynamic Performance. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019. doi:10.1055/a-0863-4539
5. Counts, B. R., Buckner, S. L., Dankel, S. J., Jessee, M. B., Mattocks, K. T., Mouser, J. G., Laurentino, G. C., & Loenneke, J. P. (2016). The acute and chronic effects of “NO LOAD” resistance training. Physiology & Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.06.024
6. Barbalho, M., Coswig, V. S., Bottaro, M., de Lira, C. A. B., Campos, M. H., Vieira, C. A., & Gentil, P. (2019). “NO LOAD” resistance training increases functional capability and muscle size in hospitalized female patients: A pilot study. European journal of translational myology. https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2019.8492