Legs · Bodyweight
Sit to Stand on a Chair
How to do the sit to stand 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
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Sit tall near the front edge of a sturdy chair with feet flat and shoulder-width apart. Lean slightly forward, drive through your heels to stand fully upright, then control the descent back down to the seat and repeat.
- 1Quads and glutes driving you up out of the seat
- 2Weight staying in your heels and mid-foot
- 3Control on the way down, tapping the chair lightly
Common mistakes
- Flopping down or using momentum to bounce up
- Letting your knees cave inward as you stand
- Pushing off your hands or the armrests
Muscles worked
The sit to stand on a chair mainly works the quads and glutes, with the lower back and hamstrings assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower BackSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- CalvesMinor
- AdductorsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the sit to stand 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 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.