Stretching Exercises

	Stretching Exercises

	Back Before you begin the strength-building portion of your Resistance Chair™ system workout, take a few minutes to stretch your muscles and warm up. This reduces the risk of injuries and improves blood circulation. IMPORTANT: You should customize your fitness routine to your specific physical abilities and goals. We have presented the following routines to provide a basic knowledge of how to exercise with our equipment. We strongly recommend that you work with your physician and personal trainer to create routines specifically tailored for you. Presented below you will find simple warm-up exercises and stretches that you can do while in a seated position. With each of these exercises, remember to keep your posture straight and sit toward the front of the seat. This posture helps develop the “core” muscles of your abdomen and back, which act as an important base for many of the strength-building exercises.

			Marching in Place While seated at the front edge of the chair, “march” with your arms and legs. Alternate between raising your left leg and right arm, and raising your right leg and left arm in a steady marching motion. Complete 20 to 30 repetitions on each side.

			Arm Cross Hold one arm across your chest and perpendicular to the floor. Use your other arm to gently pull on this outstretched arm and you’ll feel the muscles stretch on the back of your arm. Hold this position for 20 to 30 seconds before switching to the other arm. Remember to sit up straight at the front edge of the seat.

			Arm Circles While seated upright at the front of your seat, hold your arms straight out to each side and slowly rotate your hands in a small circular motion. Complete at least 20 revolutions in each direction, rotating forward, then backward. For a faster warm-up, you can also continue marching with your feet while you rotate your arms.


	Arm Raises: Sit up straight at the front edge of the seat. Raise one arm out directly in front of you (Fig. A) and then straight up above your head (Fig. B). Lower your arm and raise the opposite arm. Alternate from side to side slowly, working on raising your arm as high as possible. Complete 10 repetitions with each arm, then do 10 repetitions raising both arms at the same time.


			Push Out with Arms Push out with both arms, as if you’re pushing a door shut, and kick out one leg at the same time. Alternate kicking out one leg at a time, pushing out with your arms with each leg kick. This will warm up your shoulders and stretch the back of your legs. Complete 10 to 15 repetitions with each leg.

			Leg Raises While sitting with your back up straight on the front edge of the chair, extend one leg out straight, then raise the leg off the ground and point your toe while supporting the leg under the knee. After you raise your leg, bend your ankle and rotate your foot in a circular direction, once to the right and once to the left. Keep your back and shoulders straight as you sit on the front edge of the seat. After completing 5 to 10 repetitions with one leg, switch to the other leg and repeat.

			Upper Body Twist While seated with your back upright at the front edge of the seat, cross your right leg over the left knee, then slowly twist your body and look over your right shoulder. Hold this position for 10 seconds, then switch to the other side and repeat the same routine in the opposite direction. Remember to inhale and exhale as you perform this stretch...don’t hold your breath.

			Kneeling Twist This routine stretches your back and torso. Sit sideways on the chair with one knee on the ground and your arm resting on the backrest. Raise your other arm so that it is perpendicular to the ground and move it slowly in a horizontal direction so that you twist your upper body. Hold this position for at least 20 seconds on each side as you feel the stretch.

			Shoulder Roll With your arms hanging straight down at your sides, pull your shoulders up toward your ears and roll your shoulders back slowly in a circular motion. Maintain an upright posture and sit at the front of the seat. Roll your shoulders for 10 to 15 repetitions in one direction before reversing direction for an additional 10 to 15 repetitions.