Chair Dancing? Get Fit While Sitting on Your Butt

Exercise while sitting down? Sure, if I’m on a bench at the gym with a pair of weights in my hands – but sitting on my chair in my family room in front of my TV? Seems a little benign to me. Damn, I hate admitting that I’m wrong …

Several months ago I received copies of Jodi Stolove’s Chair Dancing FitnessDVDs including Sit Down and Tone Up and Simply Stretch. They came at a time when I was incredibly busy so I put them in my “I’ll get to these later” pile and promptly forgot about them. (I know. I need a new system of organization. The pile thing doesn’t work.) In the ensuing weeks, I injured my back and, barely able to tie my own sneakers, I had to give up my beloved gym and was relegated to staring at my ceiling. It was awful and I learned a very important lesson that I am going to share with you.

Physical activity is the Fountain of Youth, in my opinion anyway. My weeks of inactivity resulted in stiffness, pain, guilt, weight gain and general misery.

My back started to feel better just before Fashion Week which had me running around to shows, parties and events. I forced myself to do too much too soon and found myself staring at my bedroom ceiling once again.

I was about to lose my mind when I remembered Jodi Stolove’s Chair Dancing Fitness DVD. My bad back had improved to the point where I could sit in a chair for a little while (anyone with a bad back knows that sitting is the most painful position for the human body to be in). I popped in the Simply Stretch DVD thinking it would be good to start with some stretching exercises.  Regular readers of EverBeautiful.com will recall that, while I love to lift weights, I hate to stretch. Bad back, inflexible, boring. Oh, I can come up with a bunch of reasons why stretching is a waste of my time – although I know that it is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your body. But give me my exercises raw and gritty. Give me a weight room with grunting exercisers and the music of the weight stack as it rises and lowers. Give me trainers who kick my butt, sore muscles, sweaty clothes and that expression your face makes after a hard but satisfying workout. I know some of you will know exactly what I mean.

So here I was – sitting in a chair in my family room, exercising in front of the TV.

Can you improve your fitness (and shape) if all you can do is sit in a chair? “You bet,” says Jodi Stolove. There are plenty of exercises that can be done.” Exercising in a chair can “help people burn calories, improve circulation and reduce stress. It’s a convenient way to relieve pain and stress. It’s really helpful because you can loosen up and get your blood flowing any time, anywhere, in any shoes or clothing without ever getting up from your chair.” Ok, this gym rat, currently down for the count, was going to put this chair thing to the test.

Full disclosure: I thought I was going to hate this DVD as soon as it began. Several people, ranging in age from a young girl to people in middle age sit in chairs as a sweet voiceover explains the movements as you follow along. I love working out to music – but it has to have a driving beat. On the treadmill or walking outside, music motivates me to move fast; I forget time and space. As you might expect from a chair stretching routine, the music is soothing and calming. It’s the kind of music I’d listen to before I go to sleep and not while exercising. But, not having been able to work out in the gym and desperately feeling the need to move my body in any way I could, I bashed on.

The sweet, carefully scripted and modulated voiceover encouraged me to sit in the chair and do a quick run with my feet as I raised and lowered my hands. It asked me to  stretch my neck, my sides, my hips, my fingers and feet. I stretched my back and my thighs, I stretched every part of my body – and it felt so good.

I thought I’d be bored. I wasn’t. I thought I’d get frustrated with the slow deliberate moves. I didn’t. I adapted to the music and felt soothed by the voice. At times, I wished the voice (Jodi Stolove?) was more motivating and encouraging instead of repetitively repeating the moves. But this is a little gripe and a very personal one based on the way I like to exercise – with a trainer alternately encouraging me and barking at me to do more. The voice on the Chair Dancing Fitness Simply Stretch DVD didn’t bark.

All in all, Jodi Stolove’s Chair Dancing Fitness Simply Stretch was beneficial. I felt great after having done it and I felt great while doing it. It wasn’t particularly challenging – but I’m beginning to realize that physical activity doesn’t have to be challenging to be beneficial. And I’m also learning that stretching not only feels good, it is helpful. I did Jodi Stolove’s Chair Dancing Fitness Simply Stretch routine about two hours ago – and I still feel loose, limber and pain free. And, contrary to what you might be thinking, Chair Dancing is not only for people who can’t exercise while standing. No, it’s for people of all ages and fitness levels. The benefit of physical activity comes when you do it. It’s that simple. Jodi Stolove’s Chair Dancing Fitness Simply Stretch DVD is easy to follow, convenient to do and feels good during and after doing it.

Speak with your doctor before beginning any exercise program – and, if your doctor says you’re ok to exercise, do it. And stretch. Definitely stretch. It feels good and it’s good for you.

Going to try Jodi Stolove’s Chair Dancing Fitness Sit Down and Tone Up DVD now. The photo on the DVD cover is of three people sitting in chairs holding hand weights. The packaging proclaims “Strength Training From The Comfort Of Your Chair.” I am psyched!

For more information, or to buy, visit: http://www.chairdancing.com