Regular exercise is important to health and well-being no matter your age. Yet, many seniors find themselves limited in capability, whether for poor health, infirmity or years of diet missteps and inactivity. Exercise, according to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, protects against heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, hypertension, depression and even certain cancers. Chair exercises are a good way for seniors to ease into an exercise routine, tone up and maintain flexibility. The exercises can be done from a desk chair, kitchen chair or a wheelchair.
Stretching Hands and Ankles
Begin your chair exercise routine by stretching hands and ankles. Stretching will help you remain flexible and prevent your muscles from becoming short and tight. With palms down, gently pull your fingers toward your forearm. Make a loose fist and rotate your wrist clockwise, then counterclockwise. Cross your legs and rotate the foot and ankle of the crossed leg, clockwise and counterclockwise; do the same for the opposite foot and ankle. Then point and flex each foot and ankle. Perform 5 to 10 repetitions of each of these exercises.
Stretching Neck, Chest and Back
Stretch your neck first by touching chin to chest. Slowly lift your head and turn your neck to the right and then the left. Sit up straight and bend forward to stretch your back. Sit back up slowly. Then, clasp your right knee and bend over to the right. Do the same with the left, coming back to center between. To stretch your chest, sit with stomach tightened, hips forward and chest extended. Make fists and bring your arms up chest high so your elbows are bent and fists are facing. Pull your elbows back so your fists line up with your shoulders, then return to starting position. Do 5 to 10 repetitions.
Strengthening Arms
Tone muscles and decrease atrophy with strength-building exercises. First, hold out your arms at shoulder height, with palms up or down. Squeeze your fingers into a fist, then release. Move your arms, still at shoulder height, out to the side and bring your hands in to touch your shoulders, bending the elbows. Perform arm curls by sitting with arms down at your sides, palms out. Holding onto a small dumbbell, and holding your elbows close to your body, curl your arms up toward your shoulders. Use a book, a water bottle or a can of vegetables in place of a dumbbell, and if you need to start with no weight, making a fist and curling it upward will work just fine. Work up to 10 to 12 repetitions.
Strengthening Legs
Next, scoot closer to the edge of the chair. Sit up tall, with stomach tight. Alternate lifting each knee so your foot comes off the floor. After 10 repetitions, try some knee extensions. Lift your right leg up, extend it out and bend it back slowly. Work up to 5 to 10 repetitions, without putting your foot back down on the floor. Repeat on the left side. If this seems too strenuous, alternate tapping your toes in front of you, then underneath the chair. One foot should tap in front, while the other taps underneath. After several repetitions, put your knees together and tap your toes out toward the legs of your chair, then cross them so each foot taps on the opposite side. This will also help build coordination.
Member Comments
jeffbpatterson February 8
Some of these program are very dated, some are just plain ineffective.
Try looking at strongerseniors.com
Developed by Anne Pringle Burnell, Education Provider for the American Council on Exercise and the National Council on Aging