Chair Squat

Execution

1. Inhale, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower down as if about to sit.
2. Lower until your glutes lightly touch the seat, keeping your chest open and your back flat.
3. Do not sit down and relax; the touch on the chair is the signal to reverse straight back up.
4. Exhale and push the floor away through your whole foot to stand back up.
5. Stand tall and squeeze your glutes at the top before starting the next rep.

Quick cues

• Light touch on the chair, don't sit down.
• Knees track over the toes.
• Chest open, back flat.
• Push the floor away to stand.

Common faults

• Fault: Sitting fully down on the chair and relaxing the muscles

  Fix: Just lightly touch the seat and stand right back up, keeping the muscles engaged throughout.

• Fault: The knees caving inward on the way up

  Fix: Drive the knees outward in line with the toes through the whole stand.

• Fault: Leaning the torso forward to keep balance

  Fix: Push the hips back further and keep the weight through the middle of the foot.

• Fault: Using a chair too low, forcing the knees into more depth than comfortable

  Fix: Switch to a higher chair until the knee bend feels comfortable.