Sit To Stand Exercise: The Leg Strengthener Worth Doing Every Day, And How To Make It Easier

Sit to stand exercise: the short answer

The sit to stand exercise is exactly what it sounds like: you stand up from a chair, then sit down again slowly. Most people do it 5 to 10 times, once or twice a day. It is the leg-strengthening move worth doing every day, because getting up from a chair is something you do all day, and strong legs are what do it. Here is the article in short form:

• Sit near the front of a sturdy chair. Stand up. Sit down slowly. Do five.
• To make it easier, use a higher seat and push off your knees.
• To make it harder, cross your arms, lower slowly, or use a lower seat.
• People with weak legs had about 1.8 times the odds of a fall in a 2004 review.
• In the 2013 Sydney pilot, Iyengar yoga made people quicker at getting up from a chair.
• In Darwin, learn it in a beginner class or online.

Last updated: 25 October 2026.

Think about how many times you stood up from a chair yesterday. The loo, the car, the dinner table, the couch. Every one of those was a squat with a weight on it: you. Do it slowly and on purpose a few times a day, and it becomes a leg workout you never have to travel to.

A quick word on Iyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is the style we teach at Flametree, in Darwin and live online.

How do you do the sit to stand exercise?

Use a sturdy chair that cannot slide. Push it against a wall if you can. Bare feet or flat shoes grip best.

1. Sit near the front of the chair. Place your feet hip-width apart, a little behind your knees, flat on the floor.
2. Lean forward from the hips. Look ahead, not down. Your nose should be over your toes.
3. Press your feet into the floor and stand up. Push through the whole foot, all four corners. Try not to use your hands.
4. Stand tall for a moment. Settle your weight evenly across both feet.
5. Sit back down slowly. Take about three seconds, sending your hips back to the chair. Do not drop.

Do five to start. Add one or two a week, up to ten. Stop if a set makes you wobbly, and keep a bench or the wall within reach.

How do you make the sit to stand exercise easier?

Change the chair, not the goal. Each of these is a real sit to stand, not a lesser one.

• Use a higher seat. Put a firm cushion or folded blanket on the chair, or use a taller chair. The higher the seat, the less your legs have to lift.
• Push off your knees. Rest your hands on your thighs and press as you stand. Then use only one hand, then a fingertip.
• Do fewer, more often. Three stands, four times a day, beat ten stands once.
• Stand next to a bench. Keep one hand lightly on it, ready, but not holding.

How do you make it harder?

Go up one step at a time, when the last step feels easy.

Cross your arms on your chest. Take three seconds on the way down. Use a lower seat. Then try one foot a little ahead of the other. Each step asks more of the thighs, the buttocks and the ankles, and a little more of your balance.

Why does sit to stand matter so much?

Because leg strength is one of the things falls depend on. A 2004 review pooled 13 studies that measured older people’s strength and then counted their falls. People with weak legs had about 1.8 times the odds of a fall, and about 3 times the odds of falling again and again (Moreland and colleagues, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society). Getting up from a chair is a plain, daily test of exactly that strength.

Yoga builds it on purpose. In the 2013 Sydney pilot, 54 people with an average age of 68 did two Iyengar-based classes a week for 12 weeks, mostly standing poses (Tiedemann and colleagues, Journals of Gerontology Series A). Compared with a group given a booklet, they improved at standing balance, standing on one leg with eyes closed, standing up from a chair and walking speed. Those are the main risk factors for falls. People came to 20 of the 24 classes on average, and nothing serious went wrong.

What is the sit to stand test?

It is the same movement, counted. In the 30-second chair stand test (also called the chair stand test), you sit on a chair with your arms crossed on your chest, then stand and sit as many times as you can in 30 seconds. Use the same chair each time, and compare yourself with yourself next month. In a 2025 study of 94 older adults, the 30-second chair stand was one of the few simple tests that, with a walking test and a balance scale, best sorted people who had fallen from people who had not (Çekok and Alcan, Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie). It sorted fall history after the event, so it is a sign, not a forecast.

The floor version has been studied too. In a Brazilian study of 2,002 adults aged 51 to 80, people were scored out of 10 on how well they could sit down on the floor and stand up again, losing a point for each hand or knee they used (Brito and colleagues, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2013). Over about six years, 159 of them died. Those with the lowest scores had more than five times the risk of those with the highest. It is a marker of a body with strength, flexibility and balance working together. It is a sign, not a cause.

Which yoga poses build the same strength?

Chair Pose (Utkatasana) is a held sit to stand: you sit back and stay. Warrior I and Warrior II hold the front thigh working while the knee bends. Mountain Pose with the thighs drawing back teaches the legs to stand evenly. Our guide to balance exercises at home shows how standing up from a chair fits with the rest, and our guide to chair yoga for seniors shows the chair at work. For the full picture of strength, feet and balance, see how to improve balance.

Where can I learn the sit to stand exercise in Darwin?

Come to a beginner class at Flametree’s Woolner studio or join live online from anywhere in Australia. Every class uses chairs, a wall and other props, and a teacher watches how you get up, which a book cannot do. Our Yoga For Bones And Balance pass gives you 10 classes at half price plus 2 free, for new students or those away 3 months or more. Feel free to check with your professional advisers if you wish, but also give yoga a try.

Frequently asked questions

How do I do the sit to stand exercise?

Sit near the front of a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart. Lean forward from the hips, press through your whole feet to stand, stand tall for a moment, then sit back down slowly over about three seconds. Try not to use your hands.

How many sit to stand reps should I do?

Start with five, once or twice a day, and add one or two a week up to ten. Three stands, four times a day, is a good start for anyone building up.

How can I make the sit to stand exercise easier?

Use a higher seat, such as a firm cushion on the chair, push off your knees with your hands, and do fewer stands more often. Keep a bench or wall within reach.

How can I make the sit to stand exercise harder?

Cross your arms on your chest, take three seconds on the way down, use a lower seat, then place one foot a little ahead of the other. Move up when the last step feels easy.

What is the sit to stand test?

The 30-second chair stand test counts how many times you can stand up from a chair and sit down again in 30 seconds with your arms crossed. Use the same chair each time and compare yourself with your own earlier score.

Is the sit to stand exercise good for balance?

Yes. You pass through a wobbly moment each time you stand, and strong legs steady it. In the 2013 Sydney pilot of Iyengar yoga, standing up from a chair got quicker alongside better balance.

Can yoga help me get up from a chair more easily?

In the 2013 Sydney pilot, 54 people did two Iyengar-based classes a week for 12 weeks and improved at standing up from a chair, balance and walking speed. Standing poses such as Chair Pose and Warrior II build the same leg strength.

Where can I learn the sit to stand exercise in Darwin?

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga at Woolner in Darwin and live online. Beginner classes use chairs, a wall and other props, and the teacher adjusts each pose to your body.

Where to next

• New to yoga, or coming back? Start with our half price 10 class pass with 2 classes free, in Darwin or live online.
• For a workplace, team or group: book private yoga classes for groups, online, at a Flametree studio or at your venue.
• Want to see class times first? Look at the beginner timetable.

Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and live online. This article is general information, not medical advice.

Sources: Moreland JD and colleagues, Muscle weakness and falls in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2004; Tiedemann A and colleagues, A 12-week Iyengar yoga program improved balance and mobility in older community-dwelling people: a pilot randomized controlled trial, Journals of Gerontology Series A, 2013; Çekok FK and Alcan V, Predicting risk of falling in older adults using supervised machine learning: a comparative analysis of model performance, Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 2025; Brito LB and colleagues, Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2013; Strong Bones, Steady Feet and Too Stiff For Yoga? ebooks.