How to Use Furniture to Get Stronger
Let’s turn your living room into a strength studio. After all, furniture works far better as a prop than as something that keeps you sedentary!
Here’s how to use your furniture to rebuild mobility, restore joint function, and reintroduce strength in ways that transfer directly to real life situations.
One-Legged Sit to Stand from a Bench or Chair
Sit on a bench or sturdy chair. Extend one leg in front of you and slowly stand up using the other. This single-leg movement strengthens your quads, glutes, and core, and gives you feedback on imbalances between your right and left side. Start with both hands on a table or counter for balance if needed.
Over time, we build on this movement in classes using a wedge (I’m using a slant board) gradually working toward a full range one-legged squat. Practicing the sit-to-stand variation at home helps you develop the strength, balance, and mobility needed to progress safely. The goal isn’t perfection, but steady improvement and learning to control your body through a greater range of motion.
Couch Stretch
Place one foot up on the couch behind you, knee down on a soft surface. Bring your torso upright to open the front of your hip and thigh. This stretch targets the hip flexors and quads which get tight from sitting and can limit squat depth and spinal mobility if left unchecked.
Lunge with Foot Elevated on a Coffee Table
Place one foot on a low table or ottoman and step the other foot back, coming onto the ball of your back foot. Bend your front knee slowly past your toes as you lower into a lunge. This builds quad and hip strength, improves knee resilience, and restores ankle mobility. Place your hands on the table for balance and start with a shallow range, going deeper as you get stronger.
Assisted Deep Squat Holding On to a Table
Hold onto a heavy table or chair for support and lower into a deep squat. This helps you access a fuller range of motion in your ankles, knees, and hips without fear of falling or collapsing, and lets you re-pattern your squat safely and effectively. We incorporate squats in classes, and doing this at home can help you build even more strength and confidence.
The beauty of practicing these movements at home is that they prepare you to get even more out of classes. In the studio, we take these foundations and apply them towards improved balance, better range of motion, greater mobility, and lasting resilience. Each class builds on the last, helping you unlock new levels of strength and freedom in your body.
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