Exercise can be difficult to access as your mobility decreases. Traditional workouts may not be an option due to illness, balance issues, limited muscle strength, or joint health concerns.
That doesn’t mean you can’t work out anymore!
Workouts for older adults can be effectively designed to be performed while seated or while using a chair for support. These workouts can incorporate a variety of components, including aerobic conditioning, flexibility and mobility, and resistance training.
There is evidence to suggest that chair workouts can improve physical function in older adults. One study found that chair workouts improved the function of older adults’ arms and legs, including grip strength and other measures of upper- and lower-body strength and function.
Of course, the main benefit of chair workouts is stronger muscles, but there are other benefits as well. These workouts provide older adults with the opportunity to improve their function and movement, participate in various daily activities, and feel secure and confident about moving.
The following outlines some lesser-known benefits of chair workouts and ways to incorporate them.
1. Chair Exercises Can Help Maintain Muscle Strength
As you age, muscle loss becomes more of an issue, especially if you’re an older adult who sits for long periods of time, or is recuperating from an illness or period of inactivity.
The good news is that exercise doesn’t have to require heavy weights or intricate gym equipment to test the muscles.
Exercises such as:
- Seated knee extensions
- Seated marches
- Heel raises
- Arm curls
- Overhead reaches
- Resistance band work
- Seated rowing
work the muscles while keeping the user supported.
Chair-based exercise brings positive effects on lower- and upper-limb function.
This is particularly helpful for elderly users who are unable to perform long, supportive, standing activities. Sitting exercises help build and strengthen lower and upper limb muscles.
Strengthening these muscles helps with activities of daily living, such as getting up and dressing, carrying groceries, and reaching for things.
2. Seated Movement Can Support Better Mobility
While seated exercises may seem contradictory to improving mobility, in this context, mobility refers to the strength and range of motion in the joints needed to perform functional activities. This may include getting up from a chair or reaching down to pick up an object.
Movement in joints can be improved by exercising the muscles that cross those joints. For example, bending the knee to move the leg in front of the body can improve the knee range of motion.
Hip movements can be improved with exercises like seated marching.
Foot and ankle movements can be improved by moving those joints.
The Sys Rev Meta 2024 examined the effects of functional exercises on older adults and found improvements in physical function, including Timed Up and Go test performance time, gait speed, and balance.
While the effects of chair exercises may be small and should not be promoted in place of standing or walking exercises, combining all exercises may be beneficial.
3. Chair Exercises Give Joints an Opportunity to Move
People often feel stiff and uncomfortable after being immobile for a long time. Sometimes when people feel uncomfortable and stiff like this, they become less active and avoid moving altogether.
Seniors are especially at risk of developing immobility because prolonged inactivity increases their risk of falls.
People need to be active and moving throughout the day, so if they can’t or won’t get up from their chairs, they should perform the following exercises.
- Straighten one knee, and with the help of a table or other surface, lower the foot.
- Alternatively, circle the ankles.
- Lift and lower the toes.
- Turn the neck to the side.
- Reach the arms in front.
- Bend the fingers.
Each of these movements should not be forced, and full or complete ranges of motion need not be achieved. The goal is to maintain comfortable, partial movements for as long as you are able each day.
4. They Can Break Up Long Periods of Sitting
People with limited mobility often spend a lot of time sitting, and traveling to a gym for exercise may not be an option. Chair exercises can be a convenient way to incorporate exercise into your routine.
Of course, we shouldn’t get too excited about the evidence. A 2024 review of the literature focused on people over the age of 60 stated that research on breaking up sedentary time and behavior was inadequate. The review also noted that the evidence, if positive, was mostly focused on improving physical functioning. Improvements in cardiometabolic and psychosocial outcomes were less evident.
So improvements in chair-based movement should be considered positively, but within limits.
Given the paucity of positive outcomes associated with movement, chair-based activities that help break up sedentary time should be encouraged.
Activities such as seated leg movements or arm exercises should be worked into routines in various ways, such as during breaks or while sitting and watching television.
5. Chair Exercises Can Prepare the Body for Everyday Movement
A key element of an effective exercise program is the ability to relate the exercises to activities of daily living.
Chair leg extensions will not strengthen your legs to the same degree as walking, but they will strengthen your legs just as seated arm curls will strengthen your arms to the same degree as carrying groceries.
There are chair exercises that relate to various activities of daily living.
These include:
- Rising out of your chair and sitting back down.
- Raising your legs in front of you, as if you were marching in place.
- Reaching as far as you can in front of you or to the side.
- Standing up on your toes.
These exercises can improve your skills in performing activities of daily living.
Toward the end of your workout, you can include a standing exercise related to an activity of daily living to improve the exercise program’s function.
6. Balance Can Be Practiced Progressively
Challenging balance activities are critical for older adults to participate in to improve or maintain their balance, but there are some risks to consider.
For example, it is not advisable for someone at risk of falling and losing control of their activities of daily living to perform a series of squats to challenge their balance.
Activities that focus on using control and awareness of body parts and maintaining an upright posture are good for gaining control of one’s body parts.
If a person cannot perform a balance activity while standing, a professional may provide a set of activities to practice while standing with assistance or supervision.
The CDC recommends that adults aged 65 and older engage in physical activity each week to improve all three elements of fitness (aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities). The CDC acknowledges that not all persons are able to participate in activities at the recommended level, and that activities should be modified to meet the individual’s needs.
7. Movement May Help Support Confidence
There is a less obvious benefit to engaging in physical activities for improving balance. That benefit is the boost in self-confidence.
There are activities that can help with the fear of falling and maintaining mobility. Chair-based activities are less threatening to a person’s sense of mobility and help reduce the fear of falling.
Engaging in activities that pose a minimal threat to a person’s sense of mobility, such as a chair-based workout, can help build the confidence to participate in more challenging activities. There are numerous activities you can do at home, and it is recommended to practice for 15 to 20 minutes a day.
8. Improvements in Mood and Overall Condition
There are positive associations between certain forms of physical activity and mood and well-being, and chair exercises can be a convenient way for individuals to incorporate them into their daily routines. However, chair exercises should not be regarded as a psychotherapy intervention to treat clinical depression.
A large 2025 systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis reported that high levels of physical activity and/or low levels of sedentary behavior were associated with a lower risk of depression. Given the nature of the available evidence, it is possible that some forms of physical activity may help prevent depression; however, the evidence does not support that a particular activity causes an individual to no longer have depression.
Physical activity of any kind may help provide a sense of structure and achieve a goal throughout the day.
For individuals who tend to be sedentary and sit for long periods, any physical activity can help break the routine.
9. Chair Exercises Can Support Independence
People often think of physical activity and movement in terms of walking and weight loss, but there are many other benefits. Individuals may lose the ability to perform certain activities that help them function in day-to-day life.
For older adults, it is important to be physically active to help with many day-to-day activities and to improve walking and standing. This type of research focuses on improving functional outcomes.
Chair exercises and physical activity in general help improve the function of older adults, enabling them to perform many day-to-day activities.
Simple Chair Exercises for Seniors to Try
Here are a few exercises that can be added to a beginning class.
1. Seated Marching
- Sit up straight, keep your feet flat on the floor, and march in place by raising your knees to your chest.
- Do this for 30 seconds.
2. Seated Knee Extensions
- Sit up straight with your back supported and extend one leg in front of you by contracting your hamstring.
- Hold this position and then return the leg to the starting position.
- Repeat this 5-10 times on each leg.
3. Seated Heel Raises
- Sit up straight and raise your heels as high as you can, then lower them.
- Repeat this 10 times.
4. Bicep Curls
- Hold a 3-5 pound dumbbell in each hand and bring your elbow to your shoulder.
- Bring your arm back down and repeat.
5. Seated Toe Taps
This exercise is similar to the first.
Instead of bringing your knee to your chest, simply raise your toes and then lower them.
6. Supported Sit-to-Stands
- If the individual can stand fully, have them sit on the edge of a chair with their feet flat on the floor.
- Using their feet, push down to fully stand.
- If using armrests, lower yourself slowly.
The Big Picture: Keep Moving Within Your Limits
Chair exercises are one type of exercise. They will not meet your total physical activity needs. The sedentary can benefit from incorporating activities such as walking and standing, as well as resistance and balance training.
That said, for the older adult, chair exercises alleviate the burden of extensive movement and the need to stand. Evidence exists for chair-based exercises and for the role of various types of exercise in improving the physical function and health of older adults.
It is important to strengthen balance and mobility in older adults to improve their physical function. The positive aspect may be providing the chance to exercise.
Sitting for a short time allows a person to move their body, build the habit of moving, and exercise their muscles as much as they are able. A beginning exercise program for the older adult should include activities that they can do from a seated position. Moving and exercising are better than doing nothing.