Chair-bound fitness presents challenges, but exercising while chair-bound conveys enormous benefits. Accomplish strength training, aerobic exercise and flexibility improvement through stretching and yoga while seated at a desk or living room chair, or while using a wheelchair. Chair-bound exercises help provide energy, strength and relief from pain and stiffness to make the rest of life's daily activities more enjoyable.
Motivation
Exercise improves nearly every aspect of health, including mental acuity, mood and physical strength and disease resistance. Remaining chair-bound due to age, health condition or even job demands proves discouraging when it comes to starting exercise, according to exercise psychologists Jeanne and Robert Segal of HelpGuide.org. Get a doctor's approval before beginning, and start slowly. Combine exercise time with things you enjoy doing in order to encourage regular exercise. For example, listen to music or watch a favorite television program while lifting weights, take a chair yoga class with friends or choose a peaceful spot to exercise where you can observe nature.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise strengthens the cardiovascular and respiratory systems by giving the heart and lungs a healthy workout. For wheelchair-bound people, competitive wheelchair sports like basketball, volleyball or races provide excellent aerobic benefits, according to the University of Iowa Health Care Center for Disabilities and Development. Rowing or gym workouts that use pulleys and resistance systems convey aerobic benefits from a seated position. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience shortness of breath or chest pain while engaged in aerobic exercise, and get a doctor's approval before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have ongoing health concerns.
Strength Training
Strength training improves muscle strength and lean body mass. Strength training improves daily life function, making it easier to lift groceries, file boxes or even your grandchildren. You don't need special weights or equipment. Use soup cans or plastic food containers filled with sand that fit comfortably in your hand. Start with arm curls using a 1-pound can, Partners in Care, a nonprofit geriatric health services organization, recommends. Start with just a couple repetitions on each arm, and work up to 20 curls with each arm twice a day. If you have mobility with your legs, stepping in place while seated will strengthen leg and abdominal muscles. Raise each foot in turn just an inch off the ground, and keep moving for a minute or more.
Yoga
Chair yoga proves a useful way to improve flexibility, muscle tone and circulation. Chair yoga helps relieve joint pain and stiffness, according to "Arthritis Today." Start with deep breathing, shoulder rolls and side bends, according to Boston Yoga. Execute a twist by sitting up straight, turning to the right while grasping the right thigh with the left hand, holding the back of the chair with the right hand and gently stretching the spine; repeat on the other side. Do a cat tilt by sitting towards the edge of the chair with hands on knees; lean the head back and push the chest up and forward as you inhale, then curl forward pulling the belly in and chin towards chest on exhale.
References
- HelpGuide.org; Senior Exercise and Fitness Tips; Sarah Kovatch MFA et al.; March 2010
- Partners in Care Foundation: Healthy Moves for Aging Well
- University of Iowa Health Care; Quick Guide to Aerobic Exercise for People Who Use Wheelchairs; 2001
- BostonYoga.com: Chair Yoga--great techniques for seniors or even for office yoga
- "Arthritis Today"; Chair Yoga; Linda Richards
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