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Chair yoga for obese beginners is a great way to get moving without injury when your mobility is low. It’s a great option for a workout for an obese beginner. And you can change your health and change your life. I believe in you!

woman doing yoga in a chair in front of a window

We all have to start somewhere and if you’ve been sedentary for a long time, you have to start slow. You can do simple chair exercises for obese beginners and work your way up to regular yoga for beginners and treadmill workouts for beginners and beyond. Then before you know it you’ll be doing any exercise you want! And if you want to get started at home, here is the equipment you should buy to get started.

Chair exercises for obese

Obesity is a contributing factor in diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Starting an exercise program and losing weight will reduce your risk for chronic diseases, reduce anxiety or depression and just make you feel better. Burning more calories than you consume is the only way to lose weight. Eating a healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the most efficient and fastest way to lose weight.

Remember, before starting ANY kind of exercise, consult with your doctor to make sure they recommend it.

Chair exercises are low-impact and a good alternative for older obese people and severely overweight people. Chair exercises include arm raises, leg lifts, and some resistance exercises using light weights or bottles of water. Start slowly and gradually increase the number of repetitions with the goal of adding some weight for resistance. Obese people can burn more calories by building lean muscle from resistance training.

If you want more of my weight loss story and how I grew up on little Debbies and soda and learned how to change my health and life through exercise and nutrition, check out this nutrition guide. It has some basic dos and don’ts that my wife and I used for me to lose 120 pounds and be on no medication at age 53. There are also some sample meal plans in there. It was a long process, not a quick fix, but if I can do it, so can you!

Chair exercises for weight loss

Chair workout has never been more fun than now. You can get in shape while you sit without the use of expensive equipment or having to go to the gym. You can break free from those EXCUSES not to workout and attain your dreams. Chair workouts are believed to be for the old or immobile, but they can be for anyone. You can work your legs, arms, shoulders, abs, back, and more right there in a chair.

Check out our favorite workout gear here:

And chair yoga can be a great way to start learning yoga techniques as you increase your flexibility and stamina for the main thing on the floor. Even just ten minutes a day can make a huge difference, so get ready to work!

Chair yoga is beneficial to the overweight, the sedentary, the participant who wants gentle movements, beginners, advanced, those with physical limitations, and the elderly. Really it’s for everyone!

It’s a great exercise for any fitness level and a great place to start. 

woman sitting in a chair in front of a window doing chair yoga

Benefits of Chair Yoga

The benefits to be enjoyed by those participating actively in chair yoga and making it a part of their routines are numerous and highly varied. Let’s touch briefly on the most relevant and significant ones. Even though the average, healthy, and relatively fit person will also benefit from many of the points listed, we’ll pay special attention to the groups mentioned above, especially the elderly.

  • Increased strength-chair yoga can have the same strength-building effects as bodyweight training.
  • Increased flexibility-chair yoga practice can help lengthen ligaments and muscles and allow for a better range of motion.
  • Increased balance-chair yoga will help improve balance and stability by strengthing the muscles that keep you upright. Your legs, core, and spine keep us up while in motion and standing still.
  • Weight loss-chair yoga stimulates the metabolism to burn more calories, even while you sleep!
  • Improved mood-physical activity creates emotional well-being by stimulating serotonin in the brain. We can thwart anxiety and depression with movement.
  • Increased stamina-you can boost your energy level by raising your heart rate and that will happen with chair yoga too.
  • Better sleep-chair yoga will stimulate the release of melatonin in the brain that regulates sleeping and waking schedules.
  • Prevention of blood clots-chair yoga helps prevent the formation of blood clots from sedentary living.

Remember, before starting ANY kind of exercise, consult with your doctor to make sure they recommend it.

Chair yoga training

Pay special attention to proper form when you start all types of exercise. Obese individuals have to be especially careful to reduce the risk of injury. Traditional yoga poses can be tough, but they are a gentle exercise and one of the simple ways to get started, especially doing chair yoga poses to help support your extra weight until you can take some of it off.

It’s a great starting point. But once you get started on these super simple exercises, you’ll see reduced joint pain, better energy levels, mental benefits, and more. You can do it! And you’re worth it.

Warm up exercises to get your muscles ready for exercise.

The forward bend pose is a great first pose.

  • Sit back in the chair and slowly lean forward reaching your arms in front of you.
  • Continue to bend forward all the way down until you reach your toes (or as far as you can comfortably go)
  • Hold for 30 seconds and slowly rise back up again.
  • Repeat 3 times.

The upward hand post is an effective way of giving yourself a boost of energy, even at the office.

  • Sit in your chair and take a deep breath.
  • Raise both arms upwards over your head, shoulder width apart, palms facing each other.
  • Exhale as you lower them back down.
  • Repeat 5 times.

Cow face pose works well for people who suffer from tight hips and shoulders to restore mobility.

  • Sit in your chair.
  • Cross your legs so one knee is on top of the other.
  • Raise your arm toward the ceiling and bend your elbow until your hand is on the line of your spine.
  • Raise your other arm and bend it behind you so it reaches your spine from under the first arm.
  • Try to clasp them together and hold them for 10 seconds.
  • Do the opposite side.

The chair pigeon pose helps regain hip mobility.

  • Sit in your chair and raise one foot up and over the other leg so your ankle is resting over the thigh on your other leg.
  • Rotate your upper thigh outward.
  • Hold for 5 seconds and repeat on the other side.

The candle pose will help build strength and mobility in the shoulders.

  • Sit in your chair.
  • Raise both arms above your head and meet your hands in the middle over your head in the shape of a candle.
  • Hold for 30 seconds.

The seated cat-cow pose promotes spinal healthy and increases mobility.

  • Sit in your chair and scoot to the edge of your seat.
  • Place your feet flat on the ground in front of you.
  • Inhale deeply and arch your back as you gently drop your head backward and open your throat.
  • Exhale and flex your spine forward as you push your belly button towards your spine and stretch your shoulder blades open.
  • Repeat 5 times.

This augmented warrior post is effective in strengthening the core muscles and spinal alignment.

  • Sit in your chair.
  • Scoot to the front of the seat, over to one side as if you might fall out of the side of the chair.
  • Extend your leg outwards to the side of your chair and line up the arch of the chair with the heel of your right foot.
  • Activate both legs’ muscles and pull your belly button towards your spine and draw your chest upward and open.
  • Stretch both arms out to your sides, palms down and hold them parallel to the ground.
  • Relax your shoulders and hold the pose for 30 seconds.

The star pose opens up the body and strengthens the inner thighs and core.

  • Sit in your chair sitting back in the seat.
  • Sit up straight and extend both arms and both legs outward like you are making the shape of a star.
  • Hold for 30 seconds and then relax.
  • Repeat 3 times.

The table pose will strengthen the core muscles as well.

  • Sit in your chair and scoot to the front of the seat.
  • Place your hands on the chair seat behind your butt and lift your body up until it’s in a straight line from your feet to your head.
  • Hold for 30 seconds and relax back into your seat.
  • Repeat 3 times.

The great thing about yoga is that it can be adapted to suit anyone’s needs. Work with your body rather than against it, and be careful not to push yourself too far and cause harm. Yoga is gentle but is effective in improving strength and flexibility. With regular practice, you’ll reap tons of benefits! And I know you can do it! Or find community as well as exercise with a group fitness class.

woman stretching in a chair in front of a window

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Now for a joke:

What do you call a bagel that has mastered yoga? A pretzel. HA!

For more information on how to measure your weight loss in inches correctly, click here.

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