Royal families are in short supply these days, but if there are any staunch traditionalists still out there, fear not, for the fitness industry will always have one of its own.

The beauty of the phantom chair exercise is that it targets the primary squatting muscles in a safe and easy-to-learn fashion- Matthew Muscat Inglott

The royals in this case are quite simply the squat, deadlift and bench press exercises. They are the holy trilogy of training, the royal family of fitness. Specify any fitness goal whatsoever, and you’ll rarely go wrong by including all three in your programme.

While the deadlift and bench press might be considered the queen and prince respectively, the squat will always reign supreme. The king of exercises, this magical move has been discussed and written about extensively since the humble beginnings of the modern fitness industry over 30 years ago. The squat is, in fact, so productive, that it has spawned countless modified versions of itself.

We must ask ourselves, however, if the squat is king, then what is the throne upon which it sits? Since we like to do everything the hard way when it comes to productive physical exercise, let’s actually do away with the throne and downgrade it to a chair.

Or better still, let’s do away with the chair too. What are we left with? No fitness king shall have it easy, so the throne of our fitness kingdom therefore is the special squat variant we affectionately term the ‘phantom chair’.

Do you believe in ghosts or spirits? Whoever coined the phrase ‘phantom chair’ certainly didn’t, because a phantom chair is, basically, no chair. Those who have ever played club football under old-school coaches will know this exercise intimately.

It briefly found its way into the mainstream fitness industry during the Swiss ball revolution ofthe late 1990s, and eventually established itself as a staple move when the functional training movement first swept the industry about five years ago. Today I just love throwing it into my workouts with clients at each and every pain-inducing opportunity.

The beauty of the phantom chair exercise is that it targets the primary squatting muscles in a safe and easy-to-learn fashion. It provides an effective stimulus without having to master some of the technical intricacies of full-squatting technique. For beginners, this can save a lot of time and allow you to dive right into productive sessions.

The principal muscles targeted are the glutes (buttocks) and thighs. It works predominantly the front of the thigh known as the quadriceps; however, it also engages the elements of the hamstrings at the back of the thigh responsible for hip extension.

To perform the phantom chair, stand with your back against a wall, feet hip-width apart. Move both feet out about two feet forwards, keeping your hips and back flat against the wall. A tree or lamp post actually works just as well as a wall. Now bend your knees, sliding your hips and back down until your legs are bent to a 90-degree angle.

Your lower legs should be perfectly perpendicular to the floor as seen from any angle. If you got this right, then your thighs will be exactly parallel to the floor also. Whatever you do, don’t touch your knees with your hands. Welcome to the phantom chair position. Try it out and see how long you can ‘sit’. When you can no longer maintain the phantom chair position with thighs parallel to the floor, the exercise is over.

If you can hold it steady for 30 seconds, then give yourself a good slap on the back. Hold it for 45 seconds then you can consider yourself of well-above-average fitness. Can you hold it any longer than a minute? If so, consider making crafty wagers with prospective opponents, challenging them to a phantom chair duel.

Get someone to act as referee and start on their signal. First person to drop the hips or touch the knees with their hands loses. You know you’re truly a fitness buff when you start suggesting this method to settle random disputes or determine who buys the next round at a party. We’re talking about non-alcoholic beverages, naturally.

We won’t stop there of course; we’re going to spice this up a little. To actively engage the shoulder muscles too, raise your hands forward, so your arms are parallel to the floor and hold them there throughout. You might even consider easy upper-body dumbbell exercises if you can handle them.

What better way to spice up a set of seated dumbbell shoulder presses than taking away the seat altogether? Simple moves like biceps curls and lateral raises are good options, or how about a complex set combining presses, curls and raises in one entire sequence? These are the sort of endless possibilities sadistic fitness professionals like myself just cannot resist.

From your standard phantom chair position, shift your weight onto one foot, and raise the other up off the floor, extending the leg so it is parallel to the floor. Hold this position for approximately a third of the time you can hold a full phantom chair for, and switch sides.

Want to be the king or queen? Place your hands behind your head in the classic prisoner-of-war position, pick one knee up and try to slowly and deliberately touch it against the opposing elbow.

You will need to rotate your upper body, thus engaging the rotational muscles of the core too. If you succeed in alternating 10 touches on each side, you’ve just conquered the phantom chair.

info@noble-gym.com

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