1) Lunges
‘Muscles worked: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and gastrocnemius (calves)
Stand tall, feet shoulder-width apart, chest lifted, shoulders rolled back. Holding onto the back of your chair for balance, place your right foot directly backward, keeping your feet parallel. Slowly bend at the knees, making sure that you are not leaning forward. You want to go straight down and straight up, making sure that your knees do not go past your toes. When you extend your legs and lift back up, you want to make sure to squeeze through the glute muscles.
’10-15 repetitions on each leg. It is better to do less with proper form and alignment than do a hundred with incorrect technique.
2) Tricep Dips
‘ Muscles worked: triceps
Sit on the edge of your chair. Place your hands on the sides of your hips with your fingers facing forward. Lift your hips off the chair so you are suspended in front of it. Lower yourself up and down slowly. You want to work the back of the arms with this move, so concentrate on using the triceps (rather than your legs) to lower yourself.
‘ Intensity modifications: This will be more difficult if you extend your legs straight out in front of you. If you need more of a challenge, you can lift one foot in the air or use another chair to place your feet up on. Be sure not to lock your elbows when you push yourself back up; keep them soft and slightly bent.
‘Two sets of 10 repetitions.
Push-Ups
‘ Muscles worked: biceps, triceps, abs, back and shoulders
Start with your hands on the seat of the chair with your legs extended behind you. Make sure that your wrists are directly under your shoulders. Keep your entire body tight and in a straight line (no sagging bellies, no butts in the air). When you lower down, you want your chest to just hover over the seat before you push back up. Don’t forget to contract your abs to protect yourself from straining your lower back.
‘ Intensity Modifications:
– Start out with your hands on the floor and place your feet on the seat of the chair. This is going to be a little bit more challenging because you will be holding up more of your body weight.
– Same exercise as before, but with one leg raised in the air. If you execute this exercise correctly, you should feel your shoulders, chest and back muscles (in the shoulder blades) working.
‘ Do as many as you can with proper form. Make sure you aren’t snapping your elbows when you push up.
3) Lateral Flexion
‘ Muscles worked: Obliques
Sitting upright in your chair and holding a weight in one hand (you don’t need a barbell, your biology book will work just fine) lean over to one side. If you need to, keep your free hand gripping the chair for support. Slowly bring yourself back up to a seated position and repeat. When you do this move, you want to focus on leaning completely horizontal and not leaning forward at all. As you increase your strength in the sides of the waistline, you can put the free hand behind your head instead of using it to help you lift up. Forget working your waistline so you can look good at the beach, when you carry less weight in your tummy, you are warding off potential chronic disease like heart disease and diabetes. Try to do two sets of 10-15 repetitions on each side.
4) Glute Lifts
‘ Muscles worked: glutes and hamstrings
Lying on your back on the floor, place your heels on the seat of the chair. From here, you’re going to press your heels into the chair and lift your glutes up off the ground. Hold this position while squeezing the glutes together for about five seconds, then release down, but don’t let your tush touch the floor!
‘ Try to do 20 reps.