Chair Workout | 20 Minute Strength Training for Seniors, Beginners

We're excited to do this 20-minute strength training workout with you. Now, we lose about 3 to 8% of muscle mass every decade, and that accelerates after age 60. And on top of that, we're losing bone density. All the good things. That's right. So how do you combat that? Build muscle. That's right. Strength training. With strength training. Which you read about a lot nowadays. Exactly. No, we really need to do more of that, especially as we get older, because, again, you're losing muscle. So today, we're going to do a full-body strength workout. Here's the format. Two sets of five exercises, and we're going to do each round twice. And we'll be doing the exercises in 30-second rounds with 20 seconds of rest in between. Now, with each interval, aim for about 5 to 8 reps. Maybe you can do a little bit more. This is up to you. It's about you making it your workout, okay? So everyone's on their own journey here. All right. We would love for you to use weights if you can. You can do this workout without weights. And as you get stronger, add weights. You can use water bottles, cans. We're going to be using dumbbells. My mom has 3-pound dumbbells, and I have 5-pound dumbbells. And my mom will be doing this one seated. To give you options, I'll be doing it standing. All right. So, any thoughts, Mom? I don't know. Let's go. We've got to build some muscle. That's right. Time is moving. That's right. Let's build some muscle. Okay, take a quick pause here and get started with our warm-up. Hey, Mom, want to have a seat? Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Let's just do a nice little easy-peasy warm-up to get our muscles ready to move. Super important to warm up before any cardio or strength workout. Okay? All right. Give me some nice heel touches forward. Nice. Okay. Good work. Okay, nice. March it out. Okay, good. And stop the feet. Give me arm up and down. Alternate. Good. Up. Great. And give me some nice double shoulder rolls back. Good. Three and four. And reverse it. And four. Very nice. And give me some nice little cross the body moves here. Pivot the feet. Good work. Okay. Just getting everything warmed up here before we start pumping some iron. Okay? March it out. Good work. Give me some nice toe taps forward. Okay, great. All right. Stop the feet. Inhale, exhale. Three, up. Inhale. And down. Yes. Up. Let's wake up that whole body. Yes. And up. And down. And very nice job on this warm-up. All right. Take a quick pause here and get started with our strength training. Yay. Okay, so our first move is going to work our glutes. Very important for walking, all kinds of motion. Right? If you're in a chair, I just want you to squeeze your glutes. Okay? Squeeze them together. Squeeze your butt cheeks. Okay? If you're able to squeeze your butt cheeks and then stand up from the chair, do that. Okay? I want to give you options. If you're standing with me, you are squatting. Okay? So let's do this. Go on. Up, mom. And down. Good. Very good. If you are squatting with me, your feet are about shoulder width apart, and your knees are tracking over your toes. Well, I'm doing chair squats. That's right. You are. That's very good. And if you can't do chair squats, again, please just squeeze your glutes. Squeeze. Okay? Breathe. Very nice. Sit it back. And down. See how fast that went? Very good. Breathe. Okay. Now we're going to go do an upper body move here. Okay. So I'm going to pick up my weights. Okay. And I'm going to make believe like I have palms facing in, just like I'm holding a beach ball. Okay? And whether you're seated or standing, I want you to hinge at the hips, slide down on your knees, and then pull your shoulder blades together and then down. Okay? Shoulder blades together and down. Breathe. Breathe out and in. Out and in. Go slow. Out and in. Breathe, everyone. Try feeling this. This is great for your upper back. Yeah. Working these posture muscles. Okay? You want to protect your spine. Yep. Breathe. You need to take a rest. Take a rest. But we're almost done here. And rest. Really nice. Good. Good work. Whoo! Yes. You feeling it? Okay. Next move. So my legs are hip distance apart, and I'm bending my knees slightly. My mom is seated here. All we're going to do is we're going to step it out and step it in. We're stepping it out and stepping it in. Keep the weights on. Yep, weights on the thighs. Step it out. Step it in. Step it out. Step it in. If you're standing with me, back straight. Okay? Back straight. We're hinging at the hips and just stepping it out. Nice little resistance. Breathe. Now, if you don't want to have weights, that's fine. Let the weights go. All right. And just give me some nice step outs. And you can do step outs standing if you need to. Okay? And march it out. Good. All right. Really nice work. Okay, going back to an upper body move here. Okay, feet hip distance apart. We're bringing our weights up 90 degrees here. All we're doing, alternating up and down. Up and down. Just like that. Okay? Now, make sure that you really engage your core. Find any kind of momentum or movement in your lower body. Okay? It's all about just pushing up and down and sitting tall. Engage your midsection, your torso, your core. Okay? Breathe out. Looking good, everyone. Nice work. I feel you building muscle. Now, keep that in your brain. Yes. Nice rest. It's going through this torture to build muscle. Rest. Okay, one weight down. One weight down. Good job. Really nice work. I like what I'm seeing here. Okay. We're standing. We're sitting. Feet hip distance apart. Slide the knees. Weight vertical. What we're going to do is we're going to go canoeing now. Canoeing to the right. And to the left. Right. Really give me a nice, just real row here. It's not easy being in a canoe or a rowboat, by the way. It sure isn't. No, it's really hard work. Have you done it? Yeah. I've never done a canoe, but I've done a rowboat, and boy. That's a workout, right? Yeah. I have done canoeing. It is a workout. Yeah. You actually engage your core and upper body big time. Oh, nice rest. Okay, rest. Weights down, everybody. This is a nice 45-second rest period. That's good. Okay. Your muscles rest. Take a sip of water. Okay, nice. Oh, yeah, you can keep your feet moving. Get your arms going. You get a lot of nice upper and lower body work. Okay? Good, good work. Remember, you're building muscle. Wanted to get steps in. You can. But we're going to do that set one more time, okay? Okay. Okay, so we're going into that glute, that glute work, okay? And this time I'm going to use weights. But again, if you're seated and you can't do a chair stand-up, you just squeeze your glutes, okay? Okay. So this is what it's going to look like. Okay, here we go, Ma. Ready? Yep. Go up, up, and down. Good. Breathe. Don't have to go fast. Good. It's a toilet move. This is good for you. That's right. Just think about it. Yeah. This move is going to help you. Get up and down the toilet. That's right. Super important. And this one helps you go upstairs, helps you walk. It helps you walk. And everything. Get out of the car, get into the car. Getting up off the chair. Breathe, everyone. Nice. Okay. I want you to pick up your weights on this one. I'm already getting a little dewy here with this workout, man. Okay. We're doing those flies, okay? Okay. Hinge at the hips. Back is straight, everyone. Right? Head up. Pull the shoulder blades together. Okay. That's the move. And we're on. Good. Just think about you're building muscle to improve your posture here, upper back. Pull those shoulder blades together like you have a marble in between your shoulder blades. Imagine that. You know, the heart is a muscle, too. You got to keep it strong. That's right. People forget the heart is a muscle. That's right. And, you know, this is strength work. It's not a cardio workout, but that's why it's important to do cardio, like our walks, and this type of strength training, okay, to build muscle overall. Okay? Breathe. Very nice. Okay. See, you're even getting your heart rate up here. I can feel it. Okay? We're going to go into that step out. Notice my back is straight. I'm doing like a mini squat here, okay? Again, we're going to step it out and step it in. Step it out. Step it in. Step it out. And in. Out. And in. If you can't do that, you're standing with me, just do this. That's right. And step it out. Okay? Like that. Keep it going. Yes. This mini squat here, really working these legs and glutes. Breathe. Nice work. Keep it going. Looking good. Nice. Okay. That's the last time you saw that one. Whoo-hoo. Yes. Oh, boy. We're going into that overhead press next, okay? Okay. Get a little rest here. Breathe. Take a breath. Looking good, everybody. Okay. Here we go. Up 90 degrees. Alternating up and down. Up and down. Good. Up. I'll go with you. There you go. Up. Good. Breathe. Okay, now, invite the urge to lean forward or back, okay? Keep everything tight in your midsection. Good. And really working your core, too, in addition to your shoulders and arms. Breathe. You're fighting gravity here. Yeah, that's true. Awesome. Okay, rest. Nice. One weight down. Good work. If you notice, we're alternating upper and lower body, and we're doing core work. Here's a method to my madness. Okay, we're holding that weight here. We're getting ready to get into our canoe. Okay, breathe, everyone. Okay, and here we go. That's canoeing. Nice and leisurely. I'm envisioning, like, a lake that has, like, you know, so still it's like glass, and I'm just canoeing through it. Beautiful. Yes, nice fluid motion here. This is like a kayak move, too. Hey, absolutely. Kayak or canoe, absolutely. That is absolutely right. Breathe and rest. Another rest period, 45 seconds. Nice work, everyone. Take a sip of water. Rest. Walk around. Shake it out. This is freestyle time, but just rest, okay? We did some really big upper and lower body work here. So really good to just kind of take a rest. Let everything sink in. Okay, first move. You can do it with or without weights, okay? I'm going to show you without weights just so you can see it. But basically what I want you to do is toes up, your toes are up, and then I want you to go on your heels. Heels up, okay? So it's basically toes up and then heels up. Go slow. Toes up, heels up. Hard to see with my shoes on, but I'm actually lifting my toes. She's not cheating. She really is doing it. Yeah, so you're kind of going on your heels, lifting your toes, okay? It's a good foot move, okay? Getting these feet engaged, all right? My mom's using weights to give more resistance, okay? So you're really working your calves, you're working your feet, and rest. Nice work. Okay, next move, and this can be a challenging one, so I really want to focus on the form here. 90-degree arms, palms facing in, okay? All you're doing is lifting your elbows up. So everything stays at 90 degrees always. Okay, so keep that L in your arms. So just lift the elbows, okay? Elbows go up, okay? Keep the palms facing in, Mom. Palms facing in. Palms face in. In. Palms face in. Breathe. Keep going. Lift and rest, okay? Nice, nice, nice work. Okay, breathe, everybody. Now, next one is really good for the legs. Okay, so if you're standing, you might want to be near a countertop or table if you need to hold on to something. But I'm going to show you how to do a balance move. But basically, you're lifting your leg and then kicking out, bring it back in, and down. And we're alternating, okay? So lift, kick out, in, and down. Lift, kick, in, breathe, okay? This is what it is. Oh, yeah. Really working these hips. Your front thigh or your quad at the same time. And if you're with me, standing. Yeah, that's pretty good. You're balancing. You're really balancing on one leg. But even seated, you're balancing. Oh, yeah. Okay? Breathe, breathe, breathe. Okay, very nice. Okay. Okay, fun one. Fun one. This is a fun one. Okay. Fun, easy-peasy one. Slight bend in the knees. Stand up straight, shoulders back and down. Alternating bicep curls. Okay. And just go front. This is fine. Front. Go slow. Yes. Nice work. Looking good. Working these biceps. You don't have to go with me. It's good. Yeah, you're doing good. Oh, yes. Breathe. I feel you building muscle. I see it. I hear it. Good work. Keep it going. A few more seconds here. Probably feeling that in your arms. And rest. Nice work. Okay, one weight down. Doing a core move here. Okay? Okay. All right. Sit up tall. Take a breath. Okay. Holding our weight vertically. All we're going to do is we're going to steer that pot. Okay. We're going to the right right now. And very nice. Breathe. Take a breath. And you keep your body still. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Lower body stays still. Notice my lower body, my core is not moving. My shoulders are relaxed. Okay, reverse. Other direction. Yes. You're starting to feel this. Oh, yeah. Okay, breathe. Good work. Coming to the end. Keep it going. And rest. Nice. Weight down. Oh, wow. Good job. Weight down. Rest. 40-second rest. This is our last 45-second rest period before we just do one more round. Do you feel yourself? Let me see this. Yep. Oh, yes. I feel. Good job. Popeye would be proud of you. That's right. Mom's actually built some muscle. I'm very impressed. Very impressed. Okay. Breathe. I will actually pick up my weights to do the toes up, heels up. As in wheels up. Toes up, heels up, wheels up. Okay? All right. So, again, we're doing those. Toes up. Give me the toes up. And then heels up. Okay? We're on. Toes up and heels up. When you put your toes up, your heels are flat on the ground. And up. We're just alternating. Toes up and heels up. Oh, yes. Toes up and heels up. Breathe. Toes up. Heels up. I like to work the toes. Toes don't get a lot of love. You got to move those toes around. Toes and hands and the feet don't get a lot of love. And heels up. Yep. Keep going. They do a lot of work for you. They sure do. Up. Toes up and heels up. Good job. Up. Okay. Nice. All right. I want you to do palms in. Palms in. L's. Okay? It's just going to lift like this. Lift and lower. Yes. Just like that. Okay? That's our next move. She doesn't trust me. Just keeping you honest here. Okay. Lift. Lower. Lift. Lower. Keep the palms facing in. You know, that's a kind of a challenging thing. But if you see, my palms are facing down and then facing in. Facing down. Facing in. Palms down. Palms facing. Palms down. And notice your wrist doesn't move. Okay? There's no wrist action here. It's a shoulder lift. Okay? And breathe. Okay. Very nice. All right. Going into that leg lift with a kick. Okay? All right. Breathe, everybody. Take a breath. Looking good. Really looking good. Okay. Here we go. I am weight shifting on one side because I'm going to lift that one leg. Kick it out. Bring it in down. Weight shift. Lift the leg. Kick out. In. Down. And up. Out. Up. Nice. Up. Out. In. Down. Breathe, everyone. That's it. Really working this lower body here. Okay? Strengthening all those muscles that we need to walk and get up from a chair. Breathe. All right. Okay. Rest. Ooh, yes. Okay. All right. Going into another upper body move. Okay. Alternating bicep curls. I want you to do hammer curls. So palms in. Okay. Palms facing in. You can have them down. And we're just going to go alternating up and down like that. Yeah. That's good. Sit up tall, everyone. Give me that good posture. Ears, shoulders, hips in alignment whether you're seated or standing. Head up. Okay. Nice. Breathe. Oh, yes. Can you keep your elbows to your body or no? Yes. Elbows in. Very good. Yes. Elbows in your body. Yep. Bring it down. You can bring it all the way down, too, Ma. Bring your arms all the way down. Yeah. There you go. Yeah. There you go. That's good. Okay. Ooh. I felt that one. Felt that one, right? Okay. Down. One weight down. We're in the last exercise, everyone. Can you believe it? Yeah. Okay. This time, breathe. What we're going to do, we're just going to push it forward and out. Okay. Okay? Just push it forward and out so it looks like this. And we're on. Just push it out and bring it in. Push it out. Bring it in. Good. Breathe. Push it out. And bring it in. And in. Breathe, everybody. Okay. Looking good. Okay. Now, I want you to switch it up a little bit. Reach to your right. Center. Reach to your left. And center. Reach to your right. And center. Good. Reach to the left. And center. Breathe. Right. There we go. And center. And nice work, everyone. Good job. All right. Okay. Let's shake it out. Shake it out. Breathe. Nice work. Give me an open-close. Nice work. Oh, yes. Really good job with this workout. Okay. Give me some nice shoulder rolls back. Oh, ho. Good work. Okay. Nice. Give me a nice little reach up here. Yes. Nice. Up. Okay. And up. And nice. And give me three inhale-exhales. Okay. Up. Down. And down. And give me one more. Up. And down. Excellent work on this 20-minute strength training workout. If you need more cool-down, it's very important to cool it down, do the cool-down and gentle stretching video to get your muscles relaxed. Good job. All right. So, good job. We'll see you real soon.