Training safely from a chair

Talk to your doctor before you start if any of these apply

• You have a heart condition, or you've had a heart attack, stroke or cardiac procedure.
• You've had surgery in the last three months, particularly on a joint, your back or your abdomen.
• You get chest pain, breathlessness or palpitations on mild exertion.
• You get dizzy, light-headed or lose your balance without obvious cause.
• You have uncontrolled high blood pressure, or diabetes that isn't well managed.
• You've been told you have severe osteoporosis, or you've had a fragility fracture.
• Back or leg pain that came on after a fall, or that comes with numbness, weakness, or any change in bladder or bowel control. That last combination needs urgent assessment, not exercise.

Good pain, bad pain

Muscles working hard feel like a dull ache or a burn that fades within a minute of stopping. That is fine, and it is the point. Mild stiffness the next day is also fine.

Sharp, shooting, electrical or stabbing pain is not fine. Nor is pain that gets worse rep by rep, pain in a joint rather than a muscle, or pain that is still there two days later. If you get any of those, stop that exercise. Don't work through it, and don't assume it will loosen up.

A simple rule that works: if you'd rate it above 3 out of 10, or if it makes you hold your breath or grimace, back off until it doesn't.

Setting up your chair

• Sturdy and stable. A dining chair, not an office chair. Nothing with wheels, ever.
• Feet flat on the floor with your knees roughly level with your hips. If your feet dangle, put a book under them. If your knees are higher than your hips, sit on a cushion.
• Clear space. Arm's length all round, nothing to catch an elbow on, and no rug that can slide.
• For standing work, put the chair against a wall so it cannot slide backwards, and keep a hand on it.
• Water within reach, and shoes with a grip rather than socks on a hard floor.

Breathing

Don't hold your breath during an effort. Breathe out on the hard part, in on the easy part. Holding your breath while straining spikes your blood pressure, which matters more at 60 than it did at 30. If you can't talk in short sentences, you're working too hard — ease off.

About the workout builder

The Build My Workout tool uses an AI model to assemble a session from our own exercise library. Two things are worth knowing. First, it only ever selects from exercises we have written and tagged — it cannot invent a movement. Exercises flagged as unsafe for a problem you've ticked are filtered out before the model ever sees them, and again after it replies.

Second, and more importantly: it cannot examine you. It is working entirely from a few sentences you typed. It does not know your medical history, your medication, or what your knee actually looks like on a scan. Treat what it gives you as a sensible starting suggestion from a well-read stranger, not as a clinical prescription.

The formal bit

ChairSensei provides general fitness and educational information. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and no doctor–patient or therapist–patient relationship is created by using this site, watching the videos, or buying a guide. Always seek the advice of a qualified physician or physiotherapist with any questions about a medical condition or before beginning any exercise programme. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you read or watched here.

You take part in these exercises at your own risk. ChairSensei and its creators accept no liability for any injury, loss or damage arising from the use of this site or its content. If you are unsure whether an exercise is appropriate for you, the answer is to ask a professional rather than to try it and find out.