Bodyweight Sit-to-Stand
QuadsCompoundLegsBodyweightBeginner
Standing up from a chair and sitting back down without using your hands. It is the squat pattern reduced to its essentials with a safety stop behind you, which makes it useful both for knee rehabilitation and for starting from zero.
How to perform
- 1.Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart.
- 2.Cross your arms over your chest or reach them forward.
- 3.Lean your torso slightly forward and stand up by driving through your heels.
- 4.Finish standing with the hips fully extended.
- 5.Lower under control until you brush the seat, without dropping onto it.
Common mistakes
- ●Pushing off your thighs or the armrests with your hands
- ●Dropping onto the seat
- ●Letting the heels lift
- ●Using a chair so low that you have to throw your torso for momentum
Proper technique
Sitting down should cost as much as standing up: brushing the seat without settling on it is the goal. The lower the chair, the harder — that is the progression, not adding weight. If your knee hurts, raise the seat and check with your physio.
Variants
Other exercises that work the same primary muscle.
muscle map
primary
secondary
Primary
- Quadriceps
- Gluteus maximus
Secondary
- Hamstrings
- Adductors