To shed that extra pound which makes you fashion blunder when you want to fit yourself in skin hugging clothes, practice these simple at-home intense chair exercises. These will break the monotony of the routine workout and make your workout sessions interesting.
Seated dumbbell curls
Sit on a chair with the torso upright, bent your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with the arms hanging down by the sides and the palms facing inside. Curl one arm, bending at the elbow and rotate the palm while curling upwards so that it faces the shoulder. Contract the biceps fully and then uncurl and extend the arm back to the starting position. Repeat this with the second arm also. This exercise can also be done in a standing position, single arm at a time or both arms together.
Seated knee lifts with chair
Before starting this exercise keep in mind that movements of the exercise should be slow and controlled. Carefully sit on the corner edge of the chair. Make sure your knees are bent and feet lie flat. Hold the corner of the chair and lean in a backward position slightly. Now slowly make an effort to pull knees towards your chest as you crunch your upper body in an upward direction. Do it slowly.
Hammer curls
Stand or sit holding a dumbbell in each hand with the palms facing inside. Curl the dumbbells up until the thumbs are close to the shoulders on both sides. Pause for a second and slowly return to the starting position. This exercise is great for forearms along with the biceps.
Single-arm overhead extensions
Sit holding a dumbbell in one hand with the elbow bent behind the head and the lower end of the dumbbell slightly touching the neck. Extend the arm upwards till it becomes vertical & lower down to the starting position. You can also do this exercise in a standing position. Do not lock out the elbow joint with a jerk as you extend your arm upwards is the important point to keep in mind.
Wrist curls
Sit on the knees on a chair with the forearms resting on a bench. Hold a barbell firmly with an underhand grip and keeping the forearms fixed on the bench, curl the wrist upwards and then slowly uncurl. Repeat this several times to give a nice workout to your wrists.
Modified pushups
Stand next to a chair while your palms should be flat on the floor. Now slowly, one at a time put your knees on the top of the chair by making sure that your arms are in a straight direction and your shoulders are towards the floor. Depending upon your strength, without straining yourself, lower your arms as much as you can. Repeat this exercise up to 20 reps.
