Try a 4-step chair workout for seniors to improve fitness

A chair workout for seniors is a low-impact routine you can do anywhere and at any time, whether you’ve been working out for years or exercise is a new longevity-boosting endeavour. It also includes plenty of weight-bearing exercises for osteoporosis prevention.

Along with Pilates workouts at home, these routines have risen in popularity in recent years, says Rowan Clift, a personal trainer and fitness expert at Freeletics, as they “prove you don’t need a gym membership or expensive equipment” and “offer stability and adaptability”.

Ready to give one a go? We’ve spoken to Rowan and Helen O’Leary, a physiotherapist and certified Pilates instructor at Complete Pilates, to reveal the best chair workout for seniors and why this simple routine is so effective.

Try this chair workout for seniors1. Chair squatsStand in front of your chair.If it is a dining room chair, put it up against a wall so that it cannot slip, says Helen.Take your feet hip-width apart and slowly lower down as if you are going to sit down on the chair. You can take your hands forward to help with balance.When you feel the back of your leg, or glutes, touch the chair, stand back up again.Aim for 10-15 reps.

2. Seated overhead press

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Using light dumbbells or objects like cans, sit with your back against the back of the chair and your feet flat on the floor.Hold onto the cans in both hands and turn your palms so they are facing forward with elbows out to the side of the room, says Helen.Press your cans overhead, letting them come closer together at the top.Slowly lower back down again until your elbows are parallel to the floor.Repeat this 10 to 12 times.

Expert tip: To make this chair workout harder, use heavier weights. “To make it easier, use lighter ones or none at all,” says the Pilates instructor.

3. Seated leg extensionsSit towards the front of your chair and put your hands on either side of you for support.Straighten one leg so that the heel is on the floor.Pull your toes towards your nose and squeeze the front of the thigh so that the knee is straight, says Helen.Try to keep it straight as you lift it as high as you can without flexing forward.Hold it at the top for a second and then slowly lower back to the floor.Try to do this 10 to 15 reps on each side.

As one of the best quadricep exercises, this move is a great one for building strength in the legs and “will help you walk up and down stairs as well as general daily activities,” she says.

4. Tricep dips

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Sit on the edge of your chair with your hands gripping beside your hips.Walk your feet forward and lower your body until your elbows reach roughly 90 degrees or as low as you can get comfortably, says Rowan.Push through your palms to rise again.Try it for 10 repetitions.

Expert tip: If you can’t support yourself with your elbows bent and legs out straight, start the exercise with bent knees, using your legs to help bring yourself up and down until you get strong enough to do it with arms alone.

5. Calf raises

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Stand behind your chair, resting your hands on the back for support.Stand on one leg at a time.Push up and onto the ball of your foot, holding for a moment at the top.Slowly lower yourself back down.Try for 10 reps on each leg.

Expert tip: If you find this exercise easy, make it more challenging by taking one hand (or both) off the chair that’s supporting you. This will make it harder to balance.

Do chair workouts really work for seniors?

Yes, chair workouts for seniors work to improve fitness, mobility, and strength as you use your own bodyweight as resistance. They also include functional exercises, says Rowan. “This means they mirror the actions we perform in everyday life, such as sitting, standing, or bending,” he says.

“They help improve strength and mobility in ways that directly translate to daily activity, setting a solid foundation for future training and reducing the risk of injury.”

Here are some other benefits of chair workouts for seniors:

Great for beginners: While this is the best chair workout for seniors, it’s suitable for anyone new to exercise, returning from an injury, and those who need to be a little more cautious of jumping moves. “A chair offers a fixed point of balance, allowing beginners to focus on perfecting their form and range of motion before adding resistance or weights as well,” adds Rowan.Adaptable: “By simply increasing the number of repetitions or adding weights, it can become more challenging over a period of time,” says Helen.Versatile: “Using a chair, you can target different muscle groups to help build overall strength or do mobility exercises which help improve your range of motion,” she says.Anyone can do it: You only need one thing to do a chair workout – a chair. This makes it “really accessible,” says Helen. “You don’t need a lot of space or expensive equipment, and it can easily be done at home.”Chair workout vs regular strength training

Regular weight training involves dumbbells, machines, kettlebells, and other weights to act as resistance, making it harder to do basic bodyweight exercises like squats and presses. It’s often the workout that experts will recommend to seniors looking to improve fitness, stability, mobility, and endurance.

A recent study in the British Medical Journal even called HIIT training, a type of resistance exercise, the best exercise for over-70s to improve cardiorespiratory health and quality of life.

Chair workouts are a type of strength training as they use bodyweight and forces as resistance. For example, in a squat, you have to work against gravity to push yourself up from a seated position. It works the quadriceps and is also one of the best glute exercises to do.