Here are some exercises that can be done anywhere; all you need is a kitchen chair, a wall, and your body. All the exercises that are here will support your body in being more active and pain free. Start with just the weight of your own body, and then add some light dumbbells when that becomes easy.
The Miracle Knee Exercise-(yes, it really is!). Ready? Sit up tall and straight on the edge of your chair. Extend your legs out in front of you, heels on the floor, toes pointing to the ceiling. Straighten your legs really hard so that the muscles in the front of your thighs (your quads) squeeze. Hold that contraction, and at the same time squeeze the cheeks of your butt together. Hold everything for two seconds. You must breathe while you do this. Counting out loud is a good way to train yourself to breathe during a sustained contraction. Repeat twice.
The Standing Swimmer (this can be done sitting, and then it’s called The Sitting Swimmer, ha)-This exercise is great for your posture because it strengthens your upper back and stretches your chest. Stand with your back against the wall, and your feet in front of you about six inches from the wall. Bend your knees slightly, and squeeze your butt. Hold your abdominal muscles tight by doing a pelvic tilt to get the small of your back as close to the wall as possible. Next get the back/lower part of your head as close to the wall as possible with your chin in neutral (not tilted up or down). This is the starting position, and can by itself sometimes feel like a lot of work. If it already feels like a lot of work, rest for a moment, then do it again. You can add this next part in when the starting position gets comfortable, or do the sitting swimmer instead. When you are comfortable in the starting position, raise your straight, right arm towards the ceiling, the back of your hand may or may not touch the wall. Your left arm is hanging at your side, palm towards the wall. Okay switch arms. Repeat two times with each arm.
The Standing Double Arm Swimmer- Same as above, but two arms come up and go down together. Can be done sitting or standing.
Bonus: for those who don’t like to sweat, you can do these slow and easy and not break a sweat, woo hoo!
