14 Daily Chair Exercises & Seated Workouts for Seniors

Medically reviewed by Stephanie Wright, RN, BSN

This series of 14 chair-based exercises will get your body moving. Perform all of them in succession, from top to bottom. The entire workout should take about 12 to 15 minutes. Wear clothing and shoes with good traction. Find a sturdy chair without wheels, a dining room chair works great, and follow along.

Sitting comfortably on the edge of a chair, begin by placing both feet firmly on the floor. Breathe normally throughout the exercises. And pay attention to the difference between feeling like you’re working your muscles and feeling pain. Skip any moves that cause pain.

Before you get started: If you have osteoporosis or had recent surgery, or are just plain unsure whether this type of exercise is OK for you, ask your doctor or physical therapist for advice.

1. Seated marching

Do 20 lifts total.

Raise one knee toward the ceiling, lower it, and then switch legs. Keep switching until you’ve lifted each knee 10 times (20 total). This move gets your body ready for the workout ahead. Seated marching also strengthens your hip flexor muscles, which lift your knees and keep your feet from dragging when you walk.

2. Overhead reach

Do 10 repetitions.

With your palms facing each other, reach up with both arms toward the ceiling. Don’t force the movement; take them up only as far as is comfortable for you. Lower your hands back to your sides. That’s one rep. Do this movement 10 times. This exercise can help loosen tight upper-body muscles.

3. Leg extensions

Do 10 repetitions per leg.

Starting with your right leg, extend your leg out by straightening your knee. At the same time, flex your foot by pointing your toes toward your head. Pause and then bend the knee, lowering your foot to the floor. That’s one rep. Do 10 reps and then repeat with your left leg. This exercise strengthens your quads at the front of your thigh and helps prevent falls.

Be sure to work on bringing your leg back down slowly. Controlling the movement on the way down is an important part of strengthening your muscles.

4. Torso twists

Do 10 repetitions per side.

Sit up straight and cross your arms. Slowly twist your torso as far as is comfortable and pause. Return to starting position and twist in the opposite direction. That’s two reps, once in each direction. Perform 10 reps in each direction. Being able to twist your torso helps you stay independent. You need it to look behind you when backing into a parking space, for example.

Caution: Torso twisting loads the bones of the spine (vertebrae), and rotating the spine can raise the risk of a vertebral fracture in people whose bone density is already reduced. If you have osteoporosis or osteopenia, don’t decide on your own to simply twist less far — ask your doctor or physical therapist whether you should be doing this movement at all.

5. Heel raises

Do 15 repetitions.

Keeping the balls of your feet on the floor, raise your heels up, squeezing the muscles in the backs of your legs. Hold this position briefly and then lower your heels to the floor. That’s one rep. Perform a total of 15 reps. Strengthening the muscles in your calves gives you more power when you walk. The movement can help get blood moving in your legs, too, which can help with swollen ankles that plague some people by the end of the day.

6. Arm circles

Continue for 20 seconds.

Lift your arms out to your sides, perpendicular to your shoulders, making a T-shape with your body. Keeping your arms straight, draw circles in the air with them. Try to make the circles about the size of a dinner plate. Keep circling for 20 seconds. Arm circles build shoulder strength, which can make everyday tasks like drying your hair and reaching up to high places easier.

7. Neck glides

Do 8 repetitions per side.

Turn your head to the right and try to look over your right shoulder. Come back to center. Now, look over your left shoulder. Repeat, looking over both shoulders eight times. Go smoothly, not jerkily. Being able to turn your neck comfortably can help you see what’s going on all around you without having to turn your whole body.

8. Wrist rolls

Do 15 circles in each direction.

Relax your wrists and roll them in a circle. Repeat 15 times in one direction, then 15 times in the other. Flexible wrists can come in handy when it comes to everyday activities like turning a doorknob, opening a jar, or working in the garden.

9. Seated jacks

Do 15 repetitions.

Just like PE class. While sitting in an upright position, simultaneously move both of your arms and legs out and back together, 15 times. This exercise gets your heart rate up. If needed, start by moving your legs, then work on adding in your arms.

10. Knee hugs

Do 5 repetitions per leg.

Sit tall, bring your right knee up to your chest. Hold onto your knee with both of your hands and hold. Take a couple of breaths, bring your foot back down. Do this five times on each leg. This will serve as a nice, relaxing stretch for your lower back and hips.

11. Ankle rotations

Do 10 circles in each direction per foot.

Lift one foot slightly off the ground. Circle your foot clockwise 10 times. Repeat counterclockwise, switching sides when finished. Flexible ankles will help you to more easily get around cracks or bumps in sidewalks, helping you avoid turning a stumble into a fall.

12. Chest squeeze

Hold for 10 seconds.

Sit in proper posture with your hands pressed together in front of your chest, elbows out to the sides. Press your hands together firmly and hold for 10 seconds. This is an example of an isometric exercise, meaning there is no added resistance, your body supplies all of the work. Strengthening these pushing muscles will come in handy next time you get up off the couch, especially those cushy low ones, or climb out of a car.

13. Forward reaches

Do 12 repetitions.

With good posture and arms stretched out in front of you, no higher than your shoulders, reach forward, then return to starting position. Repeat 12 times. Imagine there’s a table in front of you, and you’re sliding something across the table to someone else. This stretches the upper back that tends to get tight when we spend a lot of time in chairs.

14. Side reaches

Do 8 repetitions per side.

Reach one arm up and stretch it overhead. Slowly, carefully, stretch your body toward the other side. Come back, repeat eight times, and switch sides. This stretches the muscles along the side of your torso, which tend to shorten when you spend the day hunched forward in a chair.

So let’s be real here for a minute. No one likes working out in a chair. It can feel a little embarrassing. But the thing is, when you see that you can start to make a meaningful impact, then there’s no reason NOT to do them. You’re sitting there as it is. So why not make the most of it with some intentioned movements. You’d be surprised how much you can change if you do this consistently.

And the thing is, since these are done in a chair, you have no excuse to not at least try! And don’t worry about how it looks at first. Because the more you do this, the better your balance will actually be. Which means you can possibly graduate to doing exercises both in and out of a chair. But, where it really comes into play is making sure you do it everyday. You won’t see any impact if you do it once, and then don’t do it again for a week. Make it part of your daily ritual and you’ll be happy you did.

How to make it a daily habit

Set a time that will be easy to fit into your schedule and associate the exercises with an event you do every day. For example, you might do them while waiting for your morning coffee, during a particular TV show, or during the noon news. Making an activity a habit is easier when you associate it with an activity you’re already doing every day.

The first few times, you’ll likely find it challenging or awkward, so go through them as best you can and stop before you’re pushing yourself too far. As you do them more and more, they’ll get easier, so you can challenge yourself by doing them for longer. You can increase repetitions, take your time when you’re bringing your legs/heels down, do the whole list twice, etc.

The results of daily exercise won’t be apparent right away, but performing these kinds of simple, strength-building exercises every day will help you stay strong for years to come.