Technique
Squatting over a chair as though you're about to sit on it can help you sit back in your squat rather than lean forward. This technique reduces stress on your knees and makes it easier to keep your back straight. Sitting back in your squat is also more effective for burning fat and building muscle because it recruits more muscles. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend and lower your hips back. Once you're almost touching the chair, slowly stand up again to complete one rep. Your toes should stay in front of your knees the whole time.
Burn Fat
Burning fat means burning calories. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. According to Mayo Clinic, a 160-pound person can burn 365 calories doing an hour doing strength training, and a 200-pound person can burn 455 calories. Working your bigger muscle groups, like your glutes, quads and hamstrings in chair squats, burns more calories, helping you shed more fat. Working all three muscle groups at the same time makes it an effective exercise that burns more calories than single-muscle exercises like biceps curls and leg extensions.
Boost Your Metabolism
Chair squats help you lose weight by building muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at all times, since muscle burns more calories than fat. Since you lose weight burning more calories than you consume, a faster metabolism means faster weight loss. Since chair squats work some of your body's largest muscles, building them up by regularly doing chair squats is an effective part of a weight-loss exercise regimen. You lose muscle mass as you age, but continuing muscle-building exercises as you get older can prevent the slowing of your metabolism.
Considerations
Do three sets of 12 to 16 chair squats. Once this becomes too easy, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Increase the amount of weight you hold as you improve to avoid strength plateaus. Do at least two strength-training workouts each week that work all of your muscles for better weight-loss results. Aerobic activity is also an important part of every weight-loss program. Each week, aim to do five hours a week of moderate aerobic exercise or two hours and 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise, or a mixture of both types. Allow for 48 hours of recovery time between strength-training workouts, including doing chair squats.
