Grow your glutes by adding these productive chair exercises to your lower-body workouts.
If you’re over 60 and looking to boost your glute strength, kudos to you. Doing so can help preserve balance and hip stability, which in turn, decreases the risk of falling. It can also make daily tasks like climbing stairs and getting out of a chair much easier to do.
We spoke with Dr. Jaime Bayzick, Associate Professor of Practice in Physical Therapy at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA, to learn five chair exercises to restore glute strength quite effectively. In fact, this workout will help you reach your goal faster than yoga after 60.
“Many adults over 60 assume weak muscles are simply part of aging. In reality, the issue isn’t only about aging itself and more about how we move—or don’t move—throughout the day,” explains Dr. Bayzick. “The gluteal muscles are key in helping support posture, balance, walking, stair climbing, and the ability to move confidently without feeling unstable. They are made of three specific muscles: Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius, and Gluteus Minimus.”
Traditional lower-body workouts may feel intimidating to older adults. On the contrary, chair-based exercises provide a safe and approachable place to begin. When performed regularly, chair moves can help rebuild strength, boost stability, and make daily movement feel much more seamless.
Now, let’s dive in!
Seated Glute Squeezes
This exercise might look simple, but it’s one of the most productive ways to activate muscles that typically become “lazy” after years of sedentary habits.
“Many older adults have difficulty fully activating their glutes, especially if they spend a large portion of the day sitting. This exercise helps restore that brain-muscle connection,” Dr. Bayzick says.
- Begin sitting tall on a sturdy chair.
- Tighten your glutes firmly for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Release.
- Repeat for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.
Sit-to-Stands
“If there’s one exercise that carries over directly into daily life, this is it,” Dr. Bayzick tells us. “Sit-to-stands strengthen the gluteus maximus along with the quadriceps and core muscles, but they also train one of the most important functional movements we perform every day: getting up safely from a chair. That becomes increasingly important with age because lower-body weakness is strongly associated with loss of balance and falls.”
- Begin seated at the edge of a sturdy chair, feet under your knees.
- Lean forward just a bit.
- Try to stand up without using your knees, hands, or additional support.
- Use control to slowly sit back down.
- Perform 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.
Seated Hip Abduction Presses
“This exercise targets the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, the smaller stabilizing muscles along the sides of the hips that help keep the pelvis level during walking,” Dr. Bayzick explains. “These muscles are incredibly important for balance. When they weaken, people often develop shorter steps and that side-to-side “wobble” during walking. Strengthening them can make movement feel smoother and more stable surprisingly quickly.”
- Begin sitting tall on a sturdy chair.
- Position a resistance band around your thighs.
- Gently press your knees outward.
- Slowly return to the start position.
- Complete 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.
Seated Hip External Rotation With Resistance Band
“Rotational hip strength is something many adults stop training altogether, even if they stay active,” Dr. Bayzick notes. “This exercise strengthens the deeper glute muscles that help stabilize the hips during turning and directional changes. It’s especially helpful for improving hip control during walking and balance activities. The key is keeping the trunk and knee stable throughout the movement. The rotation should come from the hip itself—not from twisting the upper body or allowing the knee to drift excessively.”
- Begin sitting tall on a sturdy chair.
- Place a resistance band around your ankle.
- Gently rotate one leg outward while maintaining tall posture and control.
- Repeat on the other side.
- Perform 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.
Seated Hip Internal Rotation With Resistance Band
“Internal rotation strength is often overlooked, yet it plays an important role in hip stability and walking mechanics,” Dr. Bayzick explains. “The movement should come from the hip itself without twisting the trunk or allowing the knee to drift excessively. This exercise targets smaller stabilizing muscles around the hip joint that help maintain alignment and control during walking. Just like with external rotation, the movement should come from the hip—not from the trunk leaning or the knee moving excessively side to side. Controlled movement matters much more than the amount of motion.”
- Begin sitting tall on a sturdy chair with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground.
- With a resistance band attached to a nearby stable object or anchor point, wrap it around your ankle.
- Gently rotate that leg inward against the resistance. (You might need to move the other leg slightly to the side to allow for this motion.)
- Repeat on the other side.
- Perform 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.
Alexa Mellardo
