Legs · Bodyweight
Mini Squat with a Chair
How to do the mini squat with a chair, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand behind a chair with feet shoulder-width apart, resting your hands lightly on the backrest for balance. Bend your knees and hips to lower into a shallow quarter squat, then press through your heels to stand back up.
- 1Quads and glutes working through a small range
- 2Hands resting light, legs doing the work
- 3Heels staying planted the whole time
Common mistakes
- Pulling yourself up with your arms on the chair
- Letting your knees travel past your toes
- Rounding your back as you lower
Muscles worked
The mini squat with a chair mainly works the quads, with the glutes and hamstrings assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- CalvesMinor
- AdductorsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the mini squat with a chair for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.