Build back leg strength safely, try these 4 chair moves to feel steadier and stronger after 65.
A common concern as you age is the loss of lean muscle. Without regular strength training and adequate protein intake, you can lose 3% to 8% of muscle mass every decade after hitting 30. That rate only accelerates with age. To help optimize your workout routine, we spoke with experts to learn the best chair exercises to rebuild lost muscle after 65.
“Chair-based strength training is not a lesser alternative to traditional weight training. For adults over 50, it is often a more accessible and sustainable way to build strength safely and effectively. Seated or supported positions reduce excessive joint stress and balance demands while still allowing muscles to work against resistance,” explains Theresa Rowe, nationally certified fitness pro experienced in personal training, group fitness, Pilates, and senior strength, and author of Shaped By Faith 40-Day Devotional.
Because your balance is supported, it’s easy to shift your focus to muscle engagement and proper alignment.
“When upper body, lower body, and core exercises are combined, chair-based training builds functional strength that carries over into everyday activities such as standing up, walking, reaching, and lifting,” Rowe adds.
According to Jose Guevara, Fitness Instructor, Chiropractor, and Home Gym Equipment Tester, “When it comes to building strength, your body doesn’t know what you’re stressing it with a dumbbell or your bodyweight (like with chair-based exercises).
As long as there is a stress on the body, it’s repetitive and increases over time (weight, reps, or sets), it will increase strength.”
Unilateral Calf Raises
- Start by standing behind a sturdy chair and place your hands on the top of the backrest for support.
- Bend one leg and perform a calf raise, utilizing one leg at a time. According to Guevara, this makes it more challenging since the other leg cannot assist with your body weight.
- Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps on each side.
Bulgarian Split Squats
- Stand in front of a sturdy chair, facing away from it.
- Place one foot on the seat and the other should be firmly planted on the floor.
- Squat down with the leg in front of you. According to Guevara, this calls for balance, so place another chair in front of you to use its backrest for added support.
- Complete 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps on each side.
Chair Squats
- Begin by standing tall in front of a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart on the ground.
- Activate your core and keep your chest lifted.
- Bend at the knees and hips and lower slowly into a squat—as if you’re about to sit down. Make sure your weight stays in your heels.
- Lightly touch the surface of the chair with your glutes.
- Press through your heels to rise back up.
- Perform 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps.
Seated Leg Extensions
- Sit back lightly with your hands holding onto the chair.
- Extend one leg straight out.
- Hold for a moment, then lower.
- Perform 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per leg.
Alexa Mellardo
