8 Exercises That Make Getting Up From a Chair Easier

Placing a book on a high shelf, bending over to pick something up, getting up from a chair — there are a few daily motions that can feel a lot more challenging as we age.

When you have trouble getting out of a chair, it's a sign that you may need to give your mobility and strength training some extra attention, according to Melissa Garcia, DPT, CSCS, a Washington-based physical therapist. Over the long term, some simple exercises can help improve your balance and stability, reducing your risk of injury and falls.

For those who need a little extra help getting up from a seated position, quad, glute, and hamstring strength is a top priority, Dr. Garcia says. To help make your daily movement a little easier, she recommends you do these exercises every other day (or every two days if you notice your muscles are especially sore afterward).

Exercises That Help You Go From Sitting to Standing

If you notice some difficulty going from a seated position to standing, these exercises can make it a little bit easier.

1. Glute Bridge

Dr. Garcia explains that glute bridges are an excellent option for people who are having trouble getting up from a chair. This move strengthens your glutes and hamstrings (major muscles used when standing up), and your two main hip extensors.

"[Hip extension is the] action that allows our bodies to comfortably stand up straight," she says. And the glute bridge allows you to practice this motion in a lying down position, offering a little more support and control. Based on your comfort level, you can do this exercise on the floor, couch, or bed.

Here’s how to do it:

• Lie on your back with your arms at your sides, feet flat on the ground, and knees bent.
• Squeeze your glutes, press into your heels, and drive your hips up toward the sky.
• Raise your hips until your body forms a straight line from the shoulder to the knees.
• Pause here for a moment and gently return to the starting position.
• Repeat as many times as needed.

2. Standing Fire Hydrant

If a glute bridge or getting onto the floor feels challenging, try an alternative exercise like the standing fire hydrant instead. Like the glute bridge, this exercise also strengthens the glutes and hip extension muscles used to sit and stand, according to certified senior fitness trainer Julie Wilcoxson.

Here’s how to do it:

• Stand with your feet together with a mini resistance band looped around your legs just above the knees.
• Place your hand on the back of a chair for support if needed.
• Bend one knee backward to raise your foot behind you.
• Keeping your knee bent, push it out to the side until you feel a squeeze in the muscles on the outside of your hip.
• Return to the starting position by lowering your knee to meet the knee of your stationary leg.
• Switch sides and repeat as many times as desired.

3. Straight Leg Raise

Straight leg raises help strengthen your hip flexors (the muscles running across the front of your hips). But these also target your core and quads (the muscles across the front of your legs). Leg raises even build muscle endurance (so you don't get tired as quickly) while keeping you in a comfortable, lying-down position.

But if you feel tired, feel free to slow down. "Once your quad starts to fatigue, your knee will start to bend," Dr. Garcia says. "If this happens, take a break until you feel ready to try another repetition."

Here’s how to do it:

• Start by lying down on the ground or on a couch with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and arms at your sides.
• Rooting your left heel into the ground, slowly raise your right leg a few inches to a foot off the ground, keeping the knee as straight as possible.
• Pause for a moment and gently bring your right leg back to the ground.
• Alternate sides and repeat as many times as needed.

4. Assisted Forward Banded Lunge

Can't get on the floor for the straight-leg raise? Give the assisted forward banded lunge a try. "The forward lunge engages the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps, which help strengthen the legs," Wilcoxson says. "This will build the strength necessary to go from a seated to a standing position."

Here’s how to do it:

• Stand with your feet together and add a mini resistance band looped around your ankles.
• Place your hands on the back of a chair for support if needed.
• Keeping your right heel on the ground, step your left foot as far forward as you’re able.
• Step your left foot back to meet your right.
• Alternate sides and step your right foot forward while keeping your left foot planted.
• Repeat as many times as desired.

5. Side-Lying Hip Abduction

Your glutes are the biggest muscles in your lower body. But when these muscles are weak, they can cause your back to take over when you're doing day-to-day activities like getting up from a chair or picking something up off the ground.

Dr. Garcia likes this exercise because it targets the hard-to-reach muscles in your side glutes. Plus, the side-lying position helps you really isolate the muscles, so you're not using other parts of your lower body to help complete the exercise.

Here’s how to do it:

• Lie on your right side with your legs straight and hips stacked.
• Place your right arm under your head and your left palm on the ground for support.
• Gently bend your right knee (the one that’s touching the floor) to a 90-degree angle, keeping your left leg straight and extended on the floor.
• Slowly raise your left leg a few inches to a foot off the ground.
• Pause for a moment.
• Lower the left leg back to the ground.
• Alternate sides and repeat.

6. Banded Seated Hip Abduction

Don't want to get on the floor? The seated hip abductor is a more accessible exercise for targeting the gluteus medius, "which aids in balance and stability when transitioning from a seated to a standing position," Wilcoxson says.

Here’s how to do it:

• Sit in a chair with a mini resistance band looped around your legs just above your knees.
• Scoot forward in the chair until you’re able to place both feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
• Sitting tall, push your knees apart until you feel a squeeze in the muscles on the outside of your hip.
• Bring your knees back together with control.
• Repeat as many times as needed.

7. Supported Mini Squats

"This [exercise] is essentially the mini version of getting out of a chair," Dr. Garcia says. Many people struggle to get up out of a chair because they have trouble keeping their balance. But the mini squat exercise practices that motion, while still offering a little extra help with balance.

Here’s how to do it:

• Stand behind a sturdy chair or couch, placing your hands on the backrest for extra support.
• Move your feet to about hip-width distance.
• Gently push your butt back and bend your knees to about a 45-degree angle.
• Reverse the motion and push your hips forward to return to standing.
• Repeat as needed.

8. Wall Sit

The wall sit tends to be equally accessible as the supported mini squat, but Wilcoxson notes that this can be a great move for days when you don't have a chair on hand for the mini squat. Plus, having to press your back and shoulder blades against the wall can help you build better posture for transitioning from seated to standing, Wilcoxson says.

Here’s how to do it:

• Stand with your back pressed firmly against a wall, feet hip-width apart.
• Keeping your back pressed against the wall, bend at the knees and slide down as far as you’re comfortably able.
• Tighten your abdomen and press your lower back and shoulder blades into the wall.
• Hold this position for four or five breaths.
• Stand up to return to the starting position.
• Complete as many as you’re able.