7 Workouts You Can Do While Sitting Down
Workouts, for many, tend to be associated with high intensity movements, sweating, and strenuous physical exertion. However, this is not an absolute rule; you can still work out and attain an appropriate level of physical activity while sitting down. Here are seven workouts you can do from the comfort of your chair.
1. Seated Leg Raises: This helps build muscle strength and improve circulation in the legs. Sit upright with your feet flat on the ground. Straighten one leg out in front of you and hold it in place for a few seconds, then lower it back down without touching the floor. Repeat with the other leg.
2. Chair Jogging: A great way to get your heart rate up. Sit up straight and use your core to lift your knees up one at a time as if you are running. The increase in heart rate can help burn calories even while sitting down.
3. Chair Squats: Stand up from your chair, keeping your feet shoulder-width apart before slowly sinking back down into the chair without fully sitting down. This mimics traditional squats and targets the lower body muscles.
4. Chair Dips: This focuses on the arms and shoulders. Place your hands on either side of the chair’s seat with your fingers pointing forward, then lift yourself off of the chair using your arms. Lower yourself back until your bottom almost touches the seat, then push yourself back up.
5. Seated Bicycle Crunches: This workout targets both your upper and lower abs while improving balance and coordination. While seated at the edge of a chair, lean back until your back is at a 45-degree angle from the ground. Keep your hands behind your head while pedaling like you would on a bicycle.
6. Scissor Kicks: Engages both core and lower body simultaneously. Seat at the edge of a chair with both legs extended out in front parallel to each other; alternate crossing each leg over the other mimicking scissors’ movement.
7. Seated Arm Circles: A workout that focuses on arm muscles. Extend both arms out to either side and perform small circular rotations forwards for a minute then backwards for another minute.
In conclusion, these simple yet effective seated workouts offer easy ways for individuals to maintain their fitness routine even when they have limited movement or during office hours when standing up might not be possible. As always, small progress is still progress in improving physical health or maintaining fitness goals.