TOP 7 EXERCISES WHILE SITTING DOWN!

How do you workout when you can't stand up?

Last year I possibly pushed a climb a little too hard which resulted in an ankle sprain.  It wasn't too bad but it did hurt to put weight on it for a few days.  Now I am the sort of person that always needs to be doing something so I found there were quite a few good exercises I could do all while sitting down.  


These are some of the best ones I found and used until my ankle was better.  I still use some of these today when I am working at my desk. 

Posture Check (Now this one may not be an typical exercise but it is super important.)

Turn straight posture into an exercise by pressing your knees together to engage your inner thighs, squeezing your buttocks, sitting tall, and pulling in your belly button (abdominals) toward your spine. It's important to press your shoulders back and down and to keep your neck neutral, while doing this exercise. Try to maintain this posture as long as you can while sitting.  I found this very hard at first and broke it down to 30 second holds with rests in between.
Simply sitting up straight in a chair tones a variety of muscles in your torso.

Seated DipsEngage your shoulder and triceps muscles with this joint-friendly move.
Sit on the edge of your chair with your arms by your sides, palms over the edge of your seat. Press down with your arms as if you were going to try to lift yourself off the chair (you don't have to lift up). Hold for three counts and then release. Work up to 3 sets of 10 reps.

Knee Ups
Sit tall (chest high and shoulders down) on the front half of your chair. Grasp the sides lightly with your hands and lean back slightly as you tighten your abs and bring your right knee up to chest height. Lower it as you raise your left knee on the next rep. Alternate sides. If you get really good at this, try lifting both knees at once, even just a few inches. Work up to 3 sets of 15 reps per leg.












Seated Alternating Toe Touches

Alternating toe touches are normally done while standing up. But you can certainly aquire all the benefits of this rotational stretch while seated. Simply scooch towards the edge of your chair and open your legs past shoulder-width as you extend them out in front of you until your heals are in contact with the ground. Reach your arms up towards the ceiling then twist to lower your torso down and reach your right hand to your left toes. (If you can't quite reach your toes yet, that's OK. Reach to whatever point feels comfortable for you.) Return to the starting position, then alternate left and right.  Remember to engage your core muscles by drawing your belly button into your spine.   Work your way up to 3 sets of 20. 

Sitting Elbow Curls
Form a goalpost with your arms: Keep your upper arms (shoulders to elbows) parallel to the floor and your lower arms (elbows to hands) perpendicular to it. Bring your forearms together in front of your face. Press forearms together and lift arms 1 inch, squeezing through chest. Return your arms to the starting point, squeezing your shoulder blades together, and repeat as long as you can hold proper form. Your back, chest, and arms will get a workout.  Work up to 3 sets of 30 reps. 





Abs Twister
Sit tall on the edge of your chair and cross your arms over your chest. Inhale and squeeze (flex) your abdominal muscles lightly. Without relaxing your stomach muscles, exhale slowly, squeezing your abs in tighter and turning your upper body to the right. Inhale and twist back to center. Then repeat to the left. Work up to 3 sets of 20 alternating reps.

Arm Circles
Increase flexibility and improve posture with gentle arm circles.
Raise your arms straight out to your sides and press your shoulder blades together. Extend arms with palms down, thumbs facing forward, and do 20 forward circles with your arms. Then flip your palms up, thumbs facing behind you, and do 20 backward circles with your arms.

Running
Sit with legs extended, toes pointed, arms bent by sides. Brace abs in tight and hinge back until just shoulder blades are lightly touching the back of the chair, lifting legs low in front of you. Bend left knee into chest, turning right shoulder in towards knee, pulling left elbow slightly back, then quickly switch sides. Repeat as quickly as you can.  Work up to 3 sets of 30 alternating reps.












Tyler Farstad
Automatic Body Coach
www.facebook.com/groups/nutriequest