Muscles worked
The leg on the chair does almost everything. Your quads and glutes straighten the knee and hip and lift you up. A normal chair is a good deal higher than a stair, so your hip is deeply bent at the start and your glutes take a big share of the work. As you come up, the side of your hip, your calf and your trunk keep you steady. On the way down, the same leg brakes, and that part builds strength too.
Common mistakes
- You drop off the chair. The way down is half the exercise. Lower yourself slowly on the leg that stays on the chair and let the toes of the other foot touch the floor softly.
- Your arms and torso create momentum. A swing of the arms or a quick lean forward gets you up without the leg having to work. Keep your hands on your hips or crossed over your chest and lift with the leg.
- You step down before standing tall. Many people head back down with the hip still bent. Rise all the way, so your hip and knee are straight, before you lower again.
Variations and alternatives
- The step-up with dumbbells in a gym, where you can choose the box height and add weight.
- The bodyweight Bulgarian split squat can also be done with a chair at home, with your back foot on the seat, and gives the front leg more resistance.
- The bodyweight reverse lunge when you have no sturdy chair or bench to step onto.
Sets and reps
Finish one leg before you switch. Two to three sets of 8 to 15 reps per leg goes a long way for most people. If you cannot get up without help from the foot on the floor, the chair is too high for now, and a stair or a lower, sturdy step is a good place to start. Which range to aim for depends on your goal, and the guide to sets and reps sorts that out.
For a tougher set without weights, take three seconds on the way down or wear a packed rucksack. Change one thing at a time and note what you did, so you can see that you are moving forward. That is how progressive overload works at home.