The chair exercise helps tone the thighs, buttocks, calves and lower abdomen at home. It does not overload the knees and back, so it is suitable for almost everyone. To complete the "chair" at the initial stage, no equipment is required, except for a flat wall, and later, to increase the load, you can add various equipment. Exercise for at least 20 minutes a day to achieve visible results.
Technique for performing the "chair"
1. Stand near a flat wall with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lean against it with the back of your head, back and buttocks, and take a small step forward with your feet.
2. While straining your abdominal muscles, slowly slide your body down without lifting it off the wall. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor. Make sure your knees are right over your ankles, not over your toes. There should be a right angle between your thighs and ankles. Keep your back straight against the wall.
3. Hold at the end point for 20-30 seconds, gradually increasing this time to 1 minute. Hands can be kept arbitrarily - stretched forward, along the body or leaning on the hips. Then slowly return to an upright position and rest for 30 seconds.
4. Do the exercise for 3 sets of 5-10 reps.
Advantages
"Chair" increases the strength and endurance of the muscles of the thighs, buttocks, calves. Most of all, when doing it, the quadriceps or quadriceps muscles of the thighs are involved. The back of the thigh and hamstring also help stabilize the position of the body. The adductor muscles located on the inner side of the thigh are also slightly involved in the work.
The "chair" is convenient for home workouts, because it is suitable even for beginners, does not require sports equipment and allows you to easily vary the degree of load, increasing or decreasing the time spent in a static position. The technique for its implementation is simple and straightforward. If you are not sure if you are sitting in the chair correctly, try controlling yourself with a mirror or record one approach on video.
The High Chair is an excellent isolation exercise for strengthening the quadriceps femoris. It is often used in their training by skiers, runners, hockey players - those athletes in whom this part of the body is constantly experiencing heavy loads. In everyday life, we use this muscle group when we get up from a chair or climb stairs. In addition to the "high chair", quads are good for strengthening walking lunges and plyometric exercises, which are based on various jumps.
Errors and contraindications
1. A common mistake when performing a "chair" is the non-observance of the parallelism of the thighs to the floor. It's great if you can keep a right angle between your back and your hips, and between your thighs and your shins. However, with insufficient physical fitness at first, it may be difficult for you to immediately be in the correct position, and you will slightly raise your hips, taking the load off the quads. As you get used to it, try to go down to parallel with the floor, but not lower - this is harmful and fraught with injuries.
2. The next popular mistake is the incorrect position of the knees, when they extend beyond the shins, and are not located directly above them. This “stool” increases the stress on the knee joint and can lead to injury.
3. With regard to the position of the feet, make sure that your heels are firmly pressed to the floor. Your body weight should be supported on your heels and never on your toes. The harder you push your thighs against the correct side of the foot, the better the back of your thighs will engage.
4. After completing the approach, slowly slide up the wall, and do not fall to the floor. A sharp downward movement is also dangerous for the knee joints.
The main contraindication to performing a high chair is injuries or problems with the knees. When done correctly, the exercise is safe enough, but any wrong movement can worsen your condition. Therefore, first consult with your doctor, and if you experience pain or severe discomfort in your knees, stop immediately. In addition, holding the stool is not recommended for people who have varicose veins. In principle, any static load on the legs is contraindicated for such patients, and this exercise is no exception.
Highchair modifications with upper body connection
When you learn how to correctly and easily perform the classic version of the "chair", you can connect to it various modifications that provide additional load or simultaneous workout of other muscles of the body. For example, use dumbbells to engage your arms and upper body. While in the "chair", you can simultaneously raise your arms to the sides up to parallel with the floor. This will also work your deltoids, biceps, abs, and wrist extensors.
Alternatively, you can replace the side raises with curls in front of you for biceps. To do this, while holding the "chair", place your arms with dumbbells bent at the elbows in front of you, palms up. Slowly raise your forearms until the dumbbells touch your shoulders. Hold at the top point for a couple of seconds and again lower your forearms with dumbbells to parallel with the floor.
Another option for simultaneously working out the upper body is the dumbbell press up, which connects the shoulders well. Having taken a position in the "chair", spread your arms to the sides and bend at the elbows so that a right angle is maintained between the shoulder with the forearm, and the dumbbells are directed upward. Raise your arms above your head until they are fully straightened, hold for a couple of seconds at the top point, then return to the starting position again.
Exercise complication options
To increase the endurance of the leg muscles, the “chair” can be made more complicated, both with the use of additional equipment and without it. For example, having taken the starting position, alternately stretch your left or right leg in front of you, keeping it parallel to the floor for 5 seconds. Then lower your foot to the floor and lift your other leg. Make sure that the lower leg and thighs remain in line during extension.
The next complication option is imitation of steps in a "chair". Having taken the starting position, alternately raise your right and left leg, as high as possible - somewhere to chest level. This exercise from the side should look like walking in place from a sitting position.
Simultaneous or alternate lifting of the heels from the floor for 5-10 seconds will help to focus on the calves while holding the "chair".
When it comes to additional equipment, the easiest way to complicate the classic highchair is to hold the extra weight in your hands. Use a fitness band to effectively connect the inner thighs to the work. Place it on your hips above your knees. When you are in the starting position of the "highchair", spread your legs a little wider, increasing the tension of the fitness band. If you do everything right, after a while you will definitely feel a burning sensation or trembling of the inner muscles of the thighs.
Instead of a fitness elastic band, you can use an ordinary ball. Sitting in the “chair”, simultaneously hold the ball between your knees, squeezing it and connecting the inner side of the thigh. A thick or double-folded pillow will also work instead of a ball.
Advanced fitness enthusiasts can add fitball to their workouts. Place the ball between your back and the wall, slowly lower yourself with it to the starting position of the "chair". Maintain balance by leaning on the fitball so that it does not slide along the wall or fall. This exercise option uses additional stabilizing muscles, which help you maintain balance and not drop the ball.
On average, any modification of the "chair" is enough to perform 5-7 minutes in 2-3 approaches. In one workout, you can do several options that connect the work of additional muscles to your main exercise. But remember that a visible effect can be achieved if your classes take at least 20-30 minutes a day. And, of course, a good result is impossible without a proper diet.
