Wall sits may be an exercise that gives you nightmares of shaky legs from P.E. class in elementary school, but sitting like a chair has some major muscle perks!
All you need to master the multitasking move is a wall and your legs. The quad burner is not a complicated exercise, but many people get it wrong because the imaginary chair pose is harder than it looks so we move our bodies in all sorts of ways to compensate for that. You know you are doing the move right if your back is flat against the wall, your heels are on the ground and you form a right angle at your hips and knees.
The static exercise produces little or no movement in the contracting muscles while simultaneously strengthening many muscles in your lower half.
Primary muscles engaged:
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Adductors
- Glutes
- Calves
Adding wall sits to the end of a workout is a great way to engage these muscles and finish up your routine. The wall sit exercise will help improve your performance in running, skiing or any jump-related sport.
Back to Basics Boot Camp Tip: Be sure to keep your weight off your toes. This will avoid any added stress to your knees.
Perfect the pose with the help of this video from Livestrong:
Variations to try:
- Place a ball between your knees and squeeze to work your inner thigh muscles.
- Add intensity by using weights and doing dumbbell curls in conjunction with the wall sit.
- Extend the amount of time you are in the seated position.
- Start your wall sits at a 45 degree angle and increase how far your slide down the wall as you get stronger until you are at the most advanced stage of having your hips at a 90 degree angle.
- Lift one leg off the ground and hold it out in front of you. Switch legs and then return to center.
Do you do wall sits as a part of your fitness routine? What variations have you tried?
