When looking for ways to incorporate home furniture into workout equipment, your basic sturdy chair can stand in for many exercises. You can use a chair for exercises ranging from push-ups and triceps dips to weighted step-ups. In most cases, a chair provides most transferability to exercise when used as a strength training tool, but as long as you're careful, you can incorporate it into a basic step aerobic routine.
Step Exercise History
Gin Miller developed step aerobics in 1989. Unlike previous aerobic exercise programs, step aerobics focused on stepping up and down on a platform rather than the low-impact floor routines popular in the early 1980s. Although group exercises have evolved since the 1980s, step classes continue to draw a crowd, retaining their popularity in fitness centers across the country, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
Step Exercise Benefits
According to the American Council on Exercise, step aerobics increases cardiovascular fitness, helps with weight management and improves mood. When you're stepping up and down on a step for 45 minutes or an hour, you're burning substantial numbers of calories, helping to maintain your weight. As your fitness level changes and increases, you can continue to see results by increasing the height of the step or increasing the speed and intensity that you're exercising. And with a group of other individuals all working hard together and moving to upbeat music, you're bound to leave class feeling exhilarated and self-confident.
Safety Issues
Whether you're using a chair as a step or you're using a commercial piece of step equipment, you need to keep safety in the forefront of your mind. Always test the step or chair for stability before you begin. Make sure your chair can hold your weight over the course of a workout before you choose it. When stepping, protect your Achilles tendon by placing your entire foot solidly on the step, preventing your heel from falling over the edge. Keep an eye on your posture throughout the movement. Keep your torso straight and your shoulders back.
Chair Height
Step height is one of the most important factors when performing a step routine. The American Council on Exercise suggests a step between four inches and 10 inches high. The seats of most chairs are higher than this suggested height. You can do one of two things: find a lower chair to use as your step or adjust your routine to account for the chair's height.
If you want to adjust your routine, first make sure that when you place a foot on the step your knee joint doesn't bend more than 90 degrees. Keep in mind that the higher the step, the harder the workout, so you'll need to concentrate even more on posture and form. Step slowly and steadily and avoid fast or jerky movements.
Considerations
Using a chair as an aerobic step may save you some money but consider whether that's beneficial for your workout. Chairs may work well for performing strength-training step-up exercises or short-duration cardio routines, but a full-fledged step aerobics routine may be hindered by the use of a chair's taller platform.
Member Comments