Chest · Bodyweight
Seated Arm Crossover on a Chair
How to do the seated arm crossover on 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
- Reps
- Movement
- HorizontalPush
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Sit tall on a chair and open both arms wide to the sides at shoulder height. Sweep your arms forward and across each other in front of your chest, alternating which arm is on top, then open back out wide.
- 1Your chest contracting as the arms cross in front
- 2A stretch across the chest as the arms open wide
- 3A tall, still torso as the arms move
Common mistakes
- Rounding the upper back as you cross
- Dropping the arms below shoulder height
- Using momentum instead of a controlled squeeze
Muscles worked
The seated arm crossover on a chair mainly works the mid chest, with the upper chest, front delts, and lower chest assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- Upper ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
- Internal RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the seated arm crossover on 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 chest exercises
- How to do the archer push-up
- How to do the assisted dip
- How to do the resistance band chest flyes
- How to do the resistance band push-up
- How to do the barbell bench press
- How to do the paused bench press
Last reviewed June 2026.