How To Get A Healthy Workout While Seated

Each person is unique. That’s the guiding force at One Love Fit Club in Chino Hills, CA. When people come for personal training, each person gets an individualized program. Some people who are desk bound all day want a workout they can do while seated. It’s also true of people who are just recovering from surgery. Sitting too long is a problem, even if you workout regularly, so I created some exercises you can do at your desk for a few minutes every hour. It helps boost circulation and makes weight loss even easier.

Your chair can be an effective workout tool.

Don’t worry about these exercises, you won’t have to get down on the floor to do them. You can sit in your chair and do many of them. One is to lift yourself off the chair. Grasping the sides of your chair, either on the cushion or top of the arms, lift your whole body off the chair, keeping your knees bent and thighs at a 90 degree angle to your calves and parallel to the floor. You can also grasp the cushion, scooting yourself to the front edge and pushing your legs out straight with heels on the floor. Lower your body, doing a dip and lift it back up again. Make sure your chair isn’t on rollers.

Do leg extensions.

Your core muscles will benefit from leg extensions. You can do them seated anywhere without anyone knowing. Sit forward on the chair with your arms by your side. Have one leg extended straight with heal on the floor, while the other is bent in normal position, foot flat on the floor and knee bent at a 90 degree angle. Lift the extended leg as high as you can and hold for a count of ten. Repeat it several times and switch legs, extending and lifting the other leg.

Keep tension away with upper body stretches.

You’ll boost your productivity, circulation and feel better throughout the day if you take time to stretch and move a bit every hour. Rolling your shoulders, turning your head side to side—attempting to touch your ear to your shoulders—or extending your arms and rotating them in circles can certainly get the circulation going and help relieve or prevent upper body tension and headaches. Stretching throughout the day is important.

• Work on your posture while you’re sitting. Stay seated, putting your arms out and bending them at a 90 degree angle at the elbows, so you look a bit like a goal post. Push your arms back, making your shoulder blades as close together as possible.
• Do isometrics, tightening your muscles to stay into shape. As you work on your posture, pull your stomach in and tighten it. Hold for as long as you can. Squeeze your glutes, holding them for a count of ten.
• If you don’t have an audience, doing a windmill or jumping jack can benefit you. You can also benefit from doing the jumping jack without the jumping, doing squats, overhead presses and arm raises. When put together, they’re known as the nitric oxide dump that can help lower blood pressure.
• While doing exercises when seated can help keep you in shape throughout the day, it doesn’t replace full body workouts at the gym. It’s an addition to that workout.

For more information, contact us today at One Love Fit Club