Chest · Bodyweight
Seated Chest Press on a Chair
How to do the seated chest press 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
- Compound
How to do it
Sit tall on a chair and bring both hands together in front of your chest, pressing your palms into each other. Push your hands forward until your arms are extended while keeping the palms pressed, then return to your chest under control.
- 1Your chest and triceps working as you press forward
- 2Constant palm-to-palm pressure throughout the press
- 3Shoulder blades set back against the chair
Common mistakes
- Letting the palms separate as you extend
- Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears
- Rushing the press instead of squeezing the chest
Muscles worked
The seated chest press on a chair mainly works the mid chest, with the triceps, upper chest, lower chest, and front delts assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- TricepsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Internal RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the seated chest press 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.