Wall Sit Exercise - Benefits, Variations and How to Do it

Wall sit (wall squat) is lower body exercise that work on your large muscles in front of the thigh, known as quadriceps. It is an isometric exercise, If you’re looking for a simple exercise to help you build leg strength, then wall sit are best exercise and it is harder than it looks.

We mainly focus on difficult exercises for legs and don't give importance to basic exercises like wall sit, Because most of us think basic exercises are not effective. Well, wall sit is simple and effective exercise you can include in workout. Despite it have many benefits that most of the lower body exercise doesn't provide.

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What is wall sit exercise?

Many beginners maybe don't know about this exercise. Wall sit are isometric exercise where you have to hold yourself against the wall for 20-30-60 seconds in a seated position. As you’re maintaining this position for a specific amount of time, You’ll notice that after a while your quads and glutes getting fatigue, as they work hard to keep you in this position.

The "wall sits" are an exercise to train the waist, thighs and buttocks also they are good for toning your thighs, calves, hips and it also works on your lower abs. However, it does not require any equipment other than your body and a wall. This exercise mainly strengthens your quadriceps muscles.

Benefits of wall sit

1. Improve your lower body strength

Wall sit are compound exercise that build isometric strength and endurance in your lower body. Wall sit works major muscles of your lower body such as quadriceps, calves and glutes. Though this exercise won't build muscle mass but it is very effective for increasing endurance or your lower body.

At the beginning it is quite difficult to hold this position but, with regular practice it gets easier and you can able to hold it for longer duration.

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2. Wall sit strengthens your calf muscles

Legs are the base of your body which carry your whole body weight. If you want your legs more attractive like fitness model then you must do exercises that tone your calf muscles. Strong and toned legs are important for athletic performance also it looks amazing in short dress.

Wall sit uses your calf muscles, and this position brings body weight on your legs which can tone your calves muscle. To feel its effect on your calves and leg, try to hold wall sit more than 30 seconds. As it increase tension in your calf which help to strengthen and tone your legs. Having strong calf muscles and legs have other benefits too, that helps you with regular activities.

3. Burn calories and help you get abs

The fact is lower body exercise burn more calories, because leg muscle are bigger in size. Even though wall sit are just isometric hold still burn your calories.

Wall sit requires effort to maintain the position. When you hold wall sit more than 20 seconds your heart rate elevates, it also increases your muscles tension, which not only burn calories but also increases its difficulty. It would be great if you include wall sit in your workout routine. Sometimes you can do this at the end of a workout.

4. Improve your focus

Focus and concentration are difficult to keep because of distracting things. But wall sit are great for your mental health. When you do wall sit regularly it also train your mind, as you concentrating on breathing and maintaining proper form that promote better mental health and improve focus.

This actually trains your brain, because when you focus on breathing it affect you neurotransmitter (noradrenaline) in the body which helps to improve your focus and concentration.

Better focus is important and help you in everyday task such as reading, help you in your work and many other things you do daily.

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5. Can help you to better balance

Stronger legs are associated with better balance, as you know wall sit helps you to get stronger legs. When your legs get stronger it also reduces the risk of falls that are common problem in old people.

During wall sit you balance your body against the wall and your feet rest on the ground. It's totally different than sitting on chair because when you do wall sit all your weight rest on your legs and your back has only wall support, resulting better balance and stronger legs.

6. Easy for beginners and anyone can do it.

Another benefit of wall sit exercise are it is easy exercise for beginners. If you just started workout then wall sit can help to improve your lower body strength. It's always better to start from basic exercises at beginning, then gradually move to difficult exercises once you master in basic.

Wall sit can be done anywhere whether you are at home or somewhere all you just need a vertical wall and a body, of-course. Even you can do this anytime if you don't have time for gym.

7. Improve your running and fitness

Although wall sit are not for building muscles mass but it is great endurance exercise which improve your lower body endurance. It also strengthen your abdominal and legs.

As your body gets stronger which means you can perform your regular activities much better than before such as walking, jumping, climbing stairs.

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How to do Wall sit

Step 1

Step 2

Engage your core place your feet slightly forward and slide down the wall until your thigh parallel to the floor.

Step 3

Your knees should be bent at right angle. This is the correct form of wall sit and gives you more benefits than incorrect form.

Step 4

Hold this position for 15-30 seconds. Repeat this 3-6 times or try adding more seconds to increase difficulty.

Step 5

Come back to starting position.

Avoid this Wall sit Mistakes

To make wall sit more effective you must do this exercise with proper form, following tips will help you to avoid critical mistakes while doing wall sit.

As you know this exercise does not require any movement, so there is nothing difficult things to learn. Wall sit exercise are simply about maintaining a static position.

You have to bend your knees to getting a good position similar to sitting in an imaginary chair. If you bend your knees too much, it will be more like squatting against the wall, this will put more weight on your knees and you won't get much benefits of your quads.

Besides, the less you bend your knees, the less weight you'll put on your quads and the less effective the exercise will be. best angle is 45-90 degree from your hip to knees.

Your leg placement also important while doing wall sit. Don't come too close or don't spread too wide. Just keep your leg distance normal (25 centimeters).

Wall sit variations

Weighted wall sit

To increase the difficulty of wall sit simply add weight. you can use dumbbell or weight plate (you can rest weight plate on your lap).

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Single leg wall sit

Same as normal wall sit but lifting one leg definitely make it more difficult. Start with wall sit then raise your one leg in front of you. Raising one leg make this move more challenging it also beneficial for your abdominal muscles.

Wall sit bicep curl

If you do above variations easily then do some bicep curl with light weight dumbbells. This variation also works your upper body and builds biceps. You can also do wall sit lat raises to or dumbbell shoulder press. This way you can work with your upper body as well as lower body, It is a great full body workout.

Last-Line

Wall sit are simply great exercise for lower body which increase strength, endurance in your legs. However, to get more benefits you can do other exercises because wall sit don't gives you complete workout. If your goal is to increase muscle size then you need other strength exercises that build specific muscles.

You can do some other exercises with wall sit to get full body workout benefits. If you want to make wall sit more challenging then you can try above variations.

Avoid this exercise if you have knee injury or any injury in your legs.