Gym memberships and loads of equipment can definitely help strengthen your arms, legs, and core, but they’re not the only methods for achieving and maintaining a sculpted physique.
Pilates instructor and fitness influencer Keri McClanahan recently shared a full-body workout you can do in the comfort of your own home — no squat racks or barbells required. All you’ll need is a pair of dumbbells and a sturdy chair.
As a personal trainer, I’m no stranger to the gym, but even I need a change of scenery sometimes. I decided to try McClanahan’s workout instead of my usual gym routine and was surprised at how challenging it turned out to be.
Not everyone’s a gym rat, and that’s okay. If you’ve just started to workout regularly though, a gym can be a great place to meet with a trainer and learn proper exercise form (which is something I’ll always recommend).
How to do Keri McClanahan’s chair workout
In addition to a chair and a set of dumbbells, you may also want to roll out a yoga mat for extra support. I used a set of 10-pound weights like McClanahan does, but you can elect to go heavier or lighter depending on your current fitness level.
McClanahan’s program includes eight exercises done for 5-20 reps each. She suggested cycling through two sets of each exercise for a 30-minute workout, but that only got me to about 18 minutes. Completing a third set took me closer to 30 minutes.
The exercises are:
- Pelvic lifts
- Single-leg pelvic lifts
- Step and lunge down
- Bulgarian squat
- Inclined push-ups
- Tricep dips with single-leg triceps
- Plank to pike
- Side plank combo
I’ve done some chair-based workouts in the past, but this one was a killer. Here’s what I thought of the routine.
My legs were on fire
McClanahan puts four lower body exercises back-to-back in this workout, so by the time I got to my final Bulgarian split squat, my legs were shot. I felt it the next day too, and needed to take a rest day in order to fully recover. If you’ve been looking for a workout that will burn your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, this one will do it.
All that leg work was doable for me, however for a beginner, it may be a little too much too soon. You always have the option of doing fewer reps, performing the exercises unweighted, or taking an extended rest between moves, but I’d also suggest splitting the workout up in a different order if needed — follow each of the leg exercises with a core or upper body move instead.
I had to modify a few exercises
Even though I’m pregnant and due any day now, I was still able to make it through most of this workout. The only exercises I had to modify were the plank-to-pike and side plank combo, and I did so by taking away the chair and reducing my range of motion.
I’ve been a trainer for a long time, so it’s easy for me to know when and how to safely modify a movement. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for most people. Since you won’t find any given modification options with this workout, I’d advise newbies to come back once you’ve mastered a minute-long plank.
The side plank combo was more challenging than I expected
Side planks have always had a pretty solid place in my regimen, even more so now that I’m expecting. For that reason, I didn’t anticipate that McClanahan’s interesting side plank combo would be all that difficult for me. Boy, was I wrong! By the third rep I was shaking — and that was after I’d modified the exercise to accommodate my bump.
Planks have a tendency to get a bit boring, so I really appreciated McClanahan’s twist on this standard exercise. Her combination works your left and right obliques simultaneously while giving your core stability and mobility a run for its money. This isn’t a great move for novices, but it’s a fun challenge for those who’ve been working out for a while.
Adding one more core exercise would have made it complete
There’s no denying that this is a full-body workout that hits all the major muscle groups. However, I found the exercise selection and order to be a little unbalanced.
The legs do a lot of work upfront with the four lower body moves. The upper body gets two dedicated exercises with the push-up and tricep dip, but the arms continue to work in a supportive capacity for the rest of the workout.
That leaves us with the core. The plank-to-pike and side plank combo are great, however, I would have loved to see one more core-focused movement to really round everything out. There’s plenty you can do with a chair and dumbbells, and I think popping one more exercise into the routine would get most people closer to the 30-minute mark that McClanahan mentions in the caption.
Still, this is a comprehensive workout that checks off the “full-body” box. You can always add your own core exercise at the end.
