Chair CardioFully seated5 minutes

Seated Arm Pump Cardio

Upper-body cardio for days when your legs want a rest but your heart still wants to move.

Gentle startLast reviewed 24 September 2026

Start guided session

6 steps · about 5 minutes. You can pause at any time, and every step shows a gentler alternative.

Step instructions shown as you goThree paces to choose from

Arms & shouldersA chair, optional light hand weights

Why this routine helps

Three reasons this session is worth your ten minutes, and what you should notice changing over the first few weeks.

Read our full safety guidelines if this is your first week of exercise, or if anything here feels unclear.

Step by step

Open any step to read the full instruction and how to make it easier. The timing is a guide — going slower is always allowed.

Tall sitting postureAbout 30 seconds
Sit forward of the chair back, feet flat, hands in your lap with palms up.
Modify this move
Sit against the chair back if sitting forward is tiring.
Forward pressesAbout 60 seconds
Press both hands forward at chest height, then draw them back to your chest. Keep it rhythmic.
Modify this move
Do one arm at a time, alternating.
Overhead reachesAbout 60 seconds
Reach both hands toward the ceiling, then lower to shoulder height. Move at a pace you can keep for a full minute.
Modify this move
Stop at eye level if your shoulders complain.
Punch forward, twist gentlyAbout 60 seconds
Alternate forward punches, letting your ribs rotate slightly toward the working arm. Keep your hips square.
Modify this move
Keep your torso still and only move the arms.
Cross-and-openAbout 60 seconds
Cross your arms over your chest, then open them wide like a hug. Repeat slowly for a minute.
Modify this move
Open only to a comfortable width.
Wind downAbout 30 seconds
Rest your hands on your thighs. Breathe in for three counts and out for four, three times.
Modify this move
Add a second round of breathing if you still feel warm.

Keep going

Chair Cardio
Seated March Warm-Up
A five-minute seated march that wakes up your hips and gets blood moving before anything harder.
5 minSeatedGentle start
Open routine
Chair Cardio
Chair Cardio Groove
Ten minutes of rhythmic seated movement set to your own music — the most fun way to raise your heart rate.
10 minSeatedBuilding up
Open routine
Chair Cardio
Seated Step and Touch
A steady ten-minute seated cardio routine that works your legs in every direction.
10 minSeatedBuilding up
Open routine

Reviewed by Dana Whitfield, PT, DPT — licensed physical therapist specialising in older-adult rehabilitation.