5 Chair Moves to Boost Glute Strength Over 60—Faster Than Yoga

Strengthen your glutes without hitting the gym with these easy-to-do chair exercises.

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Aiming to fortify your gluteal muscles is a savvy move, as maintaining muscle strength is crucial for staying agile and flexible in the long run. While many might instinctively think of gym equipment for this task, home-based chair exercises are a surprisingly effective alternative for enhancing glute strength.

The appeal of chair exercises lies in their focus on activating the glute muscles effectively while ensuring the safety of your lower back and knees. They offer a foundational stability perfect for building posterior strength without added risk.

We had a conversation with Terry Tateossian, the Founder and Certified Lifestyle Medicine Coach at THOR – The House of Rose. With her expertise in women’s health and weight loss for those over 40, she shared five highly effective chair exercises that can rejuvenate glute strength more efficiently than yoga, especially for individuals over 60.

However, it’s worth noting that yoga remains a fantastic component of a balanced exercise routine, contributing significantly to overall wellness.

In fact, according to Tateossian, “[Yoga is] one of the most beneficial physical practices for adults over 60, and I recommend it to almost every client where applicable. [That said,] traditional yoga is not designed to build strength through progressive overload.  Chair exercises like the ones I mentioned deliberately concentrate the load on the glutes, which is how you strengthen and rebuild them. In addition, yoga sustains and gently stresses the muscle—like in the warrior pose. Chair exercises overload it progressively.”

Below, Tateossian shares five chair exercises to add to your routine.

Sit-to-Stand

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“This is the single most important glute exercise for adults over 60 as it delivers independence as we get older.  Sit to stand without using your arms directly loads the glutes in the exact patterns needed to stand up from a couch, the bathroom or a car. It directly transfers to real life movement,” Tateossian shares.

1. Begin seated at the front of a sturdy chair, feet under your knees.
2. Lean forward just a bit.
3. Try to stand up without using your knees, hands, or additional support.
4. Then, use control to slowly sit back down for a count of 3.
5. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps, sticking with tempo 3010.

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Chair-Supported Standing Hip Extensions

“This is a great isolation exercise for the gluteus maximus that targets the glutes through a pure hip extension without any help from the quads,” Tateossian says.

1. Begin standing tall behind the chair with your hands resting on the back for balance and feet hip-width apart.
2. Slowly kick one leg straight behind you.
3. Squeeze the glute of the working leg, holding for 1 second at the top.
4. Return it to the start position.
5. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps per side, sticking with tempo 3010.

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Chair-Supported Standing Side Leg Lifts

“This is a great exercise to help with a ‘waddling’ gait while walking. It also stabilizes the standing leg and helps restore lateral hip stability for adults over 60,” Tateossian tells us.

1. Begin standing tall behind the chair with your hands resting on the back for balance and feet hip-width apart.
2. Lift one leg out to the side, keeping your toes pointed forward.
3. Hold for 1 second at the top.
4. Return it to the start position.
5. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps per side, sticking with tempo 3010.

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Seated Glute Squeeze Hip Abductions

“When we spend all day sitting, our glutes become ‘sleepy,’ and our bodies unlearn how to activate them. Isometric squeezes like this can turn the switch back on,” Tateossian says.

1. Begin sitting tall on the chair with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can, holding for 10 seconds.
3. Release.
4. Repeat 18 to 20 times for 3 sets.

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