Shoulders · Bodyweight
Seated Underhand Arm Circle on a Chair
How to do the seated underhand arm circle 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
- time
- Movement
- Isometric
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Sit tall on a sturdy chair with your arms extended out to the sides at shoulder height, palms facing up. Draw small, controlled circles with both arms, keeping the underhand position and your shoulders down throughout.
- 1Your shoulders working to hold your arms up at shoulder height
- 2The palms-up position keeping the rear and side delts engaged
- 3Steady, even circles with no swinging
Common mistakes
- Letting your arms drop below shoulder height as you tire
- Shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears
- Making the circles too big or losing control
Muscles worked
The seated underhand arm circle on a chair mainly works the side delts, with the rear delts, upper traps, and front delts assisting.
- Side DeltsPrimary
- Rear DeltsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- External RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the seated underhand arm circle 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 shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.