Chair Pose

Muscles worked by the Chair Pose

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusQuadsQuadriceps Femoris

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior DeltoidLower BackErector Spinae

Also called: glute, glutes, gluteus maximus, buttocks, butt, quad.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Chair Pose

1. Stand with the feet together or hip-width apart and the weight in the heels.
2. Bend the knees and send the hips back as if sitting down onto a chair.
3. Raise the arms overhead beside the ears, keeping the ribs from flaring.
4. Hold the position for the prescribed time with the chest lifted and the knees tracking over the toes.
5. Press through the heels to stand back up.

Form tips

• Keep enough weight in the heels that you could lift the toes.
• Take the arms slightly forward if raising them fully makes the lower back arch.
• Sink lower for more quadriceps work, but only while the heels stay down.

At a glance

Chair Pose in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Figure-4 Stretch
• Banded Glute Bridge
• Banded Good Morning
• Banded Hip Thrust
• Banded Kneeling Hip Thrust
• Banded Romanian Deadlift
• Banded Squat
• Banded Sumo Walk

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "chair-pose",
  "name_en": "Chair Pose",
  "name_de": "Stuhlhaltung",
  "name_es": "Postura de la Silla",
  "description_en": "A standing hold with the hips sunk back and the arms overhead, so the quadriceps and the upper back work isometrically against bodyweight.",
  "description_de": "Ein Stand mit zurückgesenkter Hüfte und Armen über dem Kopf, bei dem Quadrizeps und oberer Rücken isometrisch gegen das eigene Körpergewicht arbeiten.",
  "description_es": "Un sostén de pie con las caderas hacia atrás y los brazos arriba, donde el cuádriceps y la espalda alta trabajan de forma isométrica contra el peso corporal.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "quadriceps"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid",
    "erector_spinae"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "endurance",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "calisthenics"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with the feet together or hip-width apart and the weight in the heels.",
    "Bend the knees and send the hips back as if sitting down onto a chair.",
    "Raise the arms overhead beside the ears, keeping the ribs from flaring.",
    "Hold the position for the prescribed time with the chest lifted and the knees tracking over the toes.",
    "Press through the heels to stand back up."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stell dich mit geschlossenen oder hüftbreiten Füßen hin, das Gewicht in den Fersen.",
    "Beug die Knie und schieb die Hüften nach hinten, als würdest du dich auf einen Stuhl setzen.",
    "Heb die Arme neben den Ohren nach oben, ohne die Rippen aufklappen zu lassen.",
    "Halte die Position für die vorgegebene Zeit, mit aufgerichtetem Brustkorb und Knien über den Zehen.",
    "Druck über die Fersen zurück in den Stand."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie con los pies juntos o a la anchura de las caderas y el peso en los talones.",
    "Flexiona las rodillas y lleva las caderas atrás como si fueras a sentarte en una silla.",
    "Eleva los brazos junto a las orejas sin dejar que las costillas se abran.",
    "Mantén la posición durante el tiempo indicado, con el pecho alto y las rodillas siguiendo la línea de los pies.",
    "Empuja con los talones para volver a ponerte de pie."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep enough weight in the heels that you could lift the toes.",
    "Take the arms slightly forward if raising them fully makes the lower back arch.",
    "Sink lower for more quadriceps work, but only while the heels stay down."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Lass so viel Gewicht in den Fersen, dass du die Zehen anheben könntest.",
    "Nimm die Arme etwas nach vorn, wenn das volle Heben den unteren Rücken ins Hohlkreuz zieht.",
    "Geh tiefer für mehr Quadrizepsarbeit, aber nur solange die Fersen unten bleiben."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Deja suficiente peso en los talones como para poder levantar los dedos de los pies.",
    "Lleva los brazos algo más adelante si subirlos del todo te arquea la zona lumbar.",
    "Baja más para exigir al cuádriceps, pero solo mientras los talones sigan apoyados."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/chair-pose-main.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "chair-pose");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.