When it comes to training your lower body, there are often a few exercises that come to mind — squats, lunges, and deadlifts to name a few. While these are all great at working out different muscles in your legs, if you’re looking to mix things up, we’ve found a super easy exercise that will burn your quads like never before.
The best part? Unlike other lower body exercises, you don’t have a adjustable dumbbells or resistance bands† You just need your body weight and a wall.
Wall sit, also known as wall squats or the devil’s chair, primarily targets your quads — the muscles in the front of your thighs. It is an isometric movement, which builds strength and endurance in the muscles without any movement. It also hits the glutes and calves and can be done almost anywhere, without equipment. Read on to learn more about doing a wall sit and the variations to try.
How to do a wall seat
To do a wall sit, start with your back flat against a flat wall. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart and about two feet from the wall. Keeping your back flat against the wall, slide down until you have a 90-degree bend in your knees — your quads should be parallel to the floor and your knees should be directly over your ankles. Hold the wall as long as possible: aim for 20 seconds to start, and build up. You should feel a stretch down the front of your thigh, and it shouldn’t be long before it starts to burn.
Make sure to never let your knees go past your ankles in this move, as this will make it less effective and train your calves, not your quads. Keep your core engaged throughout the movement; think about sucking your belly button into your spine and keeping your weight on your heels, not your toes. You should also not sink into your knees at the end of the movement; instead, you should press your heels back and push your back against the wall until you stand.
The advantages of a wall seat
Since wall sitting isolates your quads, it’s great for building strength in the front of the leg. This is great for runners because running primarily targets the hamstrings, so wall sitting can help balance the muscles in the legs. Activating the low slow-twitch fiber muscles also helps build muscle endurance, which won’t help you gain bigger muscles, but will help you move faster.
As you’ll soon notice after you try your first wall, they get your heart rate up quickly and help torch your calories. Unlike a squat, where you have periods of work and rest as you move up and down, in a wall sit you keep your muscles working hard throughout the movement, increasing your heart rate and, in turn, the calories burned.
Variations on the wall to try
There are no ifs or buts – sitting the wall is an intense exercise and beginners may find it difficult. Fortunately, there are a number of variations to make the exercise easier or more difficult.
To make the movement easier, don’t lower yourself so far in the seat. Aim for a 45-degree angle, not a 90-degree angle, as this will take some of the pressure off your quads and knees. You can also shorten the amount of time you spend moving — try five seconds first and build it up, or place an exercise ball between your back and the wall.
To make the move more difficult, hold the move longer or try one of these variations:
Wall seat with one leg: To really torch your quads, try doing a wall on one leg. To do this, get into the seated position, shift your weight to one leg and extend the other in front of you. Hold for a few seconds before lowering the leg back to the starting position. Repeat on both sides.
Weighted wall sit: You guessed it, for a weighted wall sit, you’ll want to add weight to the movement by placing a weight plate or barbell over your thighs. Be sure to remove the weight before standing up.
Wall seat with curl: To get an upper and lower body workout, hold a dumbbell in each hand and once you’re in the wall sitting position, add some shoulder presses or biceps curls.
Looking for more training inspiration? This exercise is better than squats to train your glutesthese are the best exercises to try if you sit all dayand the best abs exercises you can do it from almost anywhere. For a different take on squats, try the Bulgarian split squat to work your glutes and quads.
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