Take a 10-Minute Break and Grab Your Office Chair For This Full-Body Pilates Workout

Published on 3/11/2021 at 10:00 AM

Andrea Marcellus

Shout out to all the people who've been working from home for a full year! If your body aches from sitting so much, and your exercise routine could use a refresh, try this fun and unique Pilates workout that uses an office chair. It was created by ACE-certified trainer and advanced Pilates instructor Andrea Marcellus, and AND/life app creator, who told POPSUGAR that Pilates exercises are highly beneficial because they activate the core muscles, particularly the transverse abdominals, which wrap around you like a corset, keeping your spine in alignment.

Additionally, the deliberate connection of breath to focused movement is calming for your brain and central nervous system, Marcellus said. This helps reduce your body's chronic stress response, helping to train your brain not to over-respond to stress in the first place. Pilates not only strengthens your muscles, but promotes mental wellness as well.

The 11 exercises in this workout mimic the total-body light spring strength work on a Pilates reformer, but without the reformer! If you have a chair with wheels, that would be perfect, but if not, a regular chair will also work; you'll just need to modify some of the exercises using a small towel or sliders.

10-Minute Full-Body Pilates Chair Workout

Equipment needed: office chair with wheels, or a regular chair plus a small towel (if you're on smooth floor) or sliders or paper plates (if you're on carpet)

Directions:After warming up with a few minutes of jogging in place, jumping jacks, and arm circles, complete the below workout once. At the end of the workout, do this 10-minute stretching routine.

Shoulder bridge: 10 reps
Shoulder bridge with leg extension: 10 reps
Single leg hip lift: 5 reps
Hamstring curl: 10 reps
Skier in hip lift: 10 reps
Clamshell: 10 reps
In and out crunch: 10 reps
Teaser: 5 reps
Mermaid in and outs: 5 to 10 reps per side
Push-up: 10 reps
Plank hip extension: 10 reps per side

Keep reading for a detailed explanation of how to do each of these exercises.

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Shoulder Bridge

Lay on the floor with a neutral pelvis and your feet together on the chair.
Pull in your abdominal muscles and engage your glutes to press your hips toward the ceiling on an inhale. Be sure to keep your spine long, the side of your waist even, and don't allow the chair to roll.
Lower your hips back to the floor on an exhale to complete one rep.
Perform 10 reps.

Shoulder Bridge With Leg Extension

Lay on the floor in front of the chair, feet together on the seat, hands by your sides, and pelvis in neutral position.
Inhale to roll up through the spine one vertebrae at a time, so the hips are off the floor.
Keeping the hips lifted, exhale to extend your right leg into the air.
Hold still for three seconds, then inhale to put the foot back down on the seat of the chair, and exhale to roll the spine back down, lowering the hips to the floor.
Repeat on the left side. This counts as one rep.
Complete five reps.

Single Leg Hip Lift

Lay on the floor with a neutral pelvis, hands at your sides, and your feet together on the chair.
Inhale to lift your hips up to the ceiling. Extend your right leg into the air, keeping the sides of your waist even.
Lower and lift the hips three times. Put the foot back down on the chair, check your waist sides to make sure they are still even, and roll down through the spine one vertebrae at a time without letting the chair move.
Repeat with the left leg. This counts as one rep.
Complete five reps.

Hamstring Curl

Lay on the floor with a neutral pelvis, hands at your sides, and your feet together on the chair. If you don't have a rolling chair, rest your heels on a small towel (if you're on a smooth floor) or on two sliders or paper plates (if you're on carpet).
Pull in your abdominal muscles and engage your glutes to press your hips toward the ceiling.
Take a breath in, then push the chair away on an exhale, keeping the sides of your waist even.
Inhale to bring the chair back in to the starting position. This counts as one rep.
Complete 10 hamstring curls.

Skier in Hip Lift

Lay on the floor with a neutral pelvis, hands at your sides, and your feet together on the chair.
Extend the legs out on an exhale, rolling the chair away. If you don't have a rolling chair, rest your heels on a small towel (if you're on a smooth floor) or on two sliders or paper plates (if you're on carpet).
Pull in your abdominal muscles to roll the chair back in on your inhale, allowing your knees to twist toward the right side. Exhale to push the chair back out to the neutral spine and repeat, twisting your knees to the left.
This completes one rep.
Perform 10 reps.

Clamshell

Start in a plank position with your legs parallel and your feet together on the seat of the rolling desk chair. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders, and your abdominal muscles engaged. If you don't have a rolling chair, put your feet on a small towel (if you're on a smooth floor) or on two sliders or paper plates (if you're on carpet).
Inhale to draw your knees to your chest, allowing the chair to roll in.
Exhale to push your feet back out to plank position. This counts as one rep.
Complete 10 reps.

In and Out Crunch

Lay on the floor with a neutral pelvis, hands behind your head, and your feet together on the chair. If you don't have a rolling chair, just put your legs in the air.
Engage your abdominal muscles on an exhale to curl your head and shoulders off the ground while keeping your elbows pointed toward the arms of the chair.
Inhale to extend your legs, rolling the chair away from you, and lower the shoulders back to the floor. Exhale to curl back up while rolling the chair back in.
This counts as one rep.
Perform 10 crunches.

Teaser

Lay in front of the chair with your arms out to the sides, legs extended, and your feet on top of the chair. Press your heels down into the chair, engage your abdominal muscles, and exhale to sit up to a V position.
Inhale and hold still for three seconds, then exhale to lower back down and reset.
This counts as one rep.
Complete five reps.

Mermaid In and Out

Come into a side elbow plank with your feet on the chair. Make sure your right elbow is directly below your shoulder and the left arm is extended in the air. If you don't have a rolling chair, do this Side Plank March instead.
Inhale to roll the desk chair in, rotating your upper hand down to the floor for extra stability if necessary.
Exhale, and lift your rib cage toward the ceiling as you extend your legs to return to the starting side plank position.
This counts as one rep.
Complete five to 10 reps on each side.

Push-Up

Start in a plank position with your legs parallel and your feet together on the seat of the chair. Make sure your hands are directly under your shoulders, and your abdominals are engaged.
Inhale to lower your chest to the floor, keeping the abdominals engaged.
Exhale to press back up to plank. This completes the rep.
Perform 10 push-ups. If it's too difficult in this position, flip your body and rest your hands on the seat of the chair and place your feet on the floor.

Plank Hip Extension

Start in a plank position with your legs parallel and your feet together on the seat of the chair. Make sure your hands are directly under your shoulders, and your abdominals are engaged.
Lift your right leg up and down 10 times, exhaling briefly with each lift.
Repeat on the left side.