No dumbbells, no barbells, no horizontal bar - these excuses no longer work. Even with a regular chair, you can train really intense.
Sovetsky Sport was figuring out how to turn a home or office chair into a hardcore training apparatus that alone would replace the gym.
Exercises
Using a chair, you can develop the muscles of the upper body, core, abs, lower back and legs equally well. The chair can also help build endurance and explosive strength that even an elite CrossFit athlete will envy.
All exercises can be performed in a classic style - rest approach. Or, combine them with circular and interval training - this option is more suitable if you have little time and you are doing, for example, in the office.
Upper Body Chair Exercise
Basic chair exercises for the upper body are: reverse push-ups, triceps push-ups, reverse hyperextensions, and abdominal crunches.
Reverse push-ups - you push up off the floor with your feet on a chair. Compared to regular push-ups (feet on the floor), reverse push-ups put a lot more stress on the pectoral muscles, triceps and delts - they have to hold more weight. Seemed easy? Try to throw your legs even higher - on the back of the chair. You will feel that the load has increased again.
Triceps push-ups are a classic exercise in bodybuilding programs and one of the main ones for pumping triceps. It is the triceps or triceps muscle of the shoulder (and not the biceps, which is much smaller in size) that gives your arm volume. The exercise should be familiar to you. Standing with your back to the chair, rest against its edge with your hands with an average or narrow grip, stretch your legs forward and begin to bend and unbend your arms at the elbows.
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Reverse hyperextension - lie with your chest on a chair, lower your straight legs until your toes touch the floor, then raise them to a straight line with the body. Hyperextension is the best exercise for eliminating unpleasant sensations in the lower back, preventing injuries and diseases of the spine. They will also tighten your glutes and thighs.
Crunches - sit across the chair with the body tilted back, legs straightened and hanging off the floor, hold the edge of the chair with your hands. As you inhale, bend your knees and bring your body towards them. As you exhale, unbend, returning to the starting position. This exercise was recommended by Arnold himself: it is capable of simultaneously loading the "lower" and "upper" abs, which is difficult to achieve with other movements.
Lower Body Chair Exercise
The main movements for developing the legs will be lunges, jumps and jumps from the squat.
Lunges - you stand with your back to the chair, take one leg back and put your toe on the chair. The second leg is on the floor: you begin to bend and straighten it at the knee, performing a movement similar to a squat. Do reps to failure, then change legs.
Jumping and Squat Jumping - Jump into a chair and descend to the ground. Complicate the exercises by doing a deep squat first, and then jumping into a chair from it. Exercise will develop leg muscles, general endurance and become an excellent fat burner.
Burpee jumping on a chair - exercise "fell-push-bounce" in its most advanced version. Want to get the most out of your fat burning process? Do burpees by jumping into a chair. After a dozen of these burpees, you will stop thinking that chair workouts are something for girls.
Chair Workout 1: Classic Style
Perform each exercise on the list in 3-5 sets. Do push-ups and lunges to failure. Hyperextension - 15-20 reps per set. Jumping and burpees - 10-20 reps per set. Press - 30-40 reps per set. Add bodyweight squats to the exercises: 3-4 sets of 40-50 reps.
Chair Workout 2: Circuit Workout
Do all the exercises in circles, one after the other, without rest. Do 10-20 reps for each movement. Try to do 5-6 circles. If it seemed easy, increase their number. The advantage of this workout is that it will take less time - an average of about 15 minutes. It can be performed during the working day right in the office.
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Stool Workout 3: Tabata
Another office option is short but intense. Do all the Tabata exercises: 20 seconds of work - 10 seconds of rest - 20 seconds of the next exercise, etc. To count the time, start the tabata timer on your smartphone or computer. A standard 8-round training session will take you about 5 minutes. Increase the number of rounds to intensify your workout.
results
Stool workout won't build big muscles - you can't do without dumbbells, barbells, and heavy basic exercises with weights progression.
At the same time, regular training 4-5 times a week according to one of the above schemes can significantly improve your shape. The excess weight will become less, the outlines of the muscles will appear, the stomach will go away. You will become more toned and embossed.
Attention! Consult your doctor before starting exercise.