We all experience pain in our back from time to time. Whether this is because we tweaked it from trying to help our friends pick up a couch, or from years of not strengthening the muscles around our spine, pain around our spine to some degree is almost a right of passage. Although pain in our back is incredibly common for most individuals, there are numerous different exercises that we can do to help strengthen the muscles around our spine. The issue with a lot of the older adults and individuals with disabilities that I work with is that they aren’t able to do many exercises on the floor or standing up for a long time. Today we will talk about two of the exercises demonstrated in the video above that can be done to help strengthen your core, all from the comfort of a chair.

Before You Exercise

Before you begin these exercises, you will need one piece of equipment. this equipment is something that I used for numerous different exercises with the seniors that I work with. It’s a stretchy resistance band that can be used for numerous different exercises all from a chair. To purchase an ankle band, feel free to follow the link here.

Seated Core Exercises for Lower Back Stability – Strengthen Your Spine

The two exercise demonstrated in the video above are the:

• Seated Banded March
• Legs Out Banded March

These two exercises are very similar, but also extremely different in difficulty. We will start with the seated banded march, as it is the easier of the seated core exercises to help with your lower back strength and stability.

Seated Banded March

For the seated banded march you are going to start with your body sitting straight up in the chair. Next you’re going to place the ankle band directly over the arches of your feet. After you do this, you will lift one knee up as high as you can, and then slowly bring it back down. You will alternate back and forth between legs until you get tired. Complete this exact same movement on the other leg. The idea is to move as slowly as possible when you are completing this exercise. If this movement seems easy, you can try the next exercise. If this movement is difficult, I would highly recommend to build your strength on this movement, and progress to the next one over time.

Legs Out Banded March

The legs out banded march will have you still keeping the band on the arches of your feet. Next, you are going to lean back in your chair so your back is resting on the back of the chair. Once you’re in this position, both of your leg straight out in front of you so your knees are completely straight. You will then complete the same marching movement, but instead of bringing your knees up towards the sky, they will be coming towards your chest. This movement is incredibly harder than the last one, as your body and core is not only fighting the band for resistance but also gravity.

These are a few of many great exercises that you can do to improve your core strength. Checkout our other inclusive exercise videos on our website to help reduce back pain and move better if you are interested! Good luck and keep moving!

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