When you’re thinking of moves that work your legs, squats, lunges, and deadlifts are probably front and center. But the wall sit exercise is actually a great option to add to your workout routine.
So what exactly is the wall sit? The wall sit exercise is exactly as it sounds: Imagine sitting on a box in front of a wall with your back flat against said wall. Now, think about taking the box away. The muscles in your legs need to fire to keep your body steady as you hold that seated position—that’s a wall sit.
Wall sits are great lower-body exercises for beginners, people coming back from injury, or exercisers looking for a greater challenge. In fact, one of the great things about the wall sit is that it’s super customizable to a whole bunch of fitness levels.
Interested in giving the wall sit exercise a try? Before we demonstrate how to wall sit, read on for some background on the exercise, as well as some tips on how to put it into practice in your exercise routine.
What is the wall sit exercise?
The wall sit exercise is a lower-body strengthening exercise that works your muscles through isometric contractions, or by holding a position without moving, certified strength and conditioning coach Evan Williams, CSCS, CPT, founder of E2G Performance, tells SELF.
Here’s a quick refresher: Your muscles perform three types of actions: concentric, eccentric, and isometric. In the context of a squat exercise, when you’re lowering your butt toward the floor, your muscles are lengthening in the eccentric phase. When you’re pushing back up, your muscles are shortening in the concentric phase. In between the two? When you pause at the bottom of the squat—when you’re staying still, but your muscles are still firing to maintain tension—that’s the isometric phase. (In addition to the wall sit, other classic isometric exercises you might know include any type of plank and the glute bridge hold.)
The wall sit basically takes the isometric portion of the squat and blows it out into its own, leg-quaking move.
What muscles does the wall sit exercise work?
The wall sit exercise is a lower-body move that works your quadriceps, or the muscles in the front of your upper thighs, Williams says. You also get slight activation of your lower leg muscles, like your calves, as well as your core and glutes, but the wall sit primarily targets your quads.
“When you’re in that seated position—that in-between phase of the eccentric and concentric contractions—you’re really activating your quads by pushing through the ground, and not allowing yourself to fall or rise from your position,” Williams says. “You’re fighting gravity to maintain that seated position. We call that time under tension.”
What are the benefits of the wall sit exercise?
The wall sit exercise is great for building strength in your quads, which help you extend your knee and flex your hip—meaning your quads help you do everything from walking to running and from getting up from a chair to climbing up stairs. Your quads also play a role in knee stability, and strong quads have been shown to help reduce the risk of knee pain.
The squat exercise does all of this too, but there are some specific benefits of the wall sit to keep in mind, especially for certain groups of people. For one, the wall sit is a great exercise for beginners, Williams says. That’s because it familiarizes them with how it feels to hit the bottom portion of the squat—the isometric portion tends to be “the hardest of all three movements”—and effectively activate their quads while holding that position, he says. It’s also a helpful exercise for people who have difficulty executing the squat, or who are coming back from injuries and need to ease back into the full range of motion with squatting.
“I also use the wall sit to increase patella tendon health,” Williams says. In fact, a 2017 study published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found that isometric leg exercises were effective for relieving pain associated with the patella tendon, which connects the kneecap to the shin.
How long should you do wall sits?
There’s no one answer to how long to do wall sits for—it all depends on things like your fitness experience and your workout routine. But there are a couple general guidelines that can help you program the wall sit into your routine.
If you’re doing wall sits for the first time, try to hold the position for 15 to 20 seconds to start with, Williams says. After resting (generally at least a minute or so), you can start your next set. Aiming for three sets is a good benchmark, he says.
Once that 15 to 20 seconds starts to feel easy, you can gradually begin to increase the amount of time for each set. Increase slowly, though, Williams says—try adding on 5 to 10 seconds at a time to see how you feel.
What are some tips to keep in mind for the wall sit?
When doing the wall sit, your thighs should be parallel to the floor to get the greatest benefit of the move, Williams says. (If you don’t squat low enough, you may not feel it as much in your quads.) Make sure your knees line up with your ankles and don’t cave inward.
“Try to push through the ground with your feet to get more quad activation,” Williams says.
If bodyweight wall sits begin to feel too easy—even after increasing the amount of time of each set—you can try to vary your hand positioning. For instance, holding your arms out in front of you will add a greater challenge than placing your hands on your hips. Or you can also add external resistance to the move. You can hold a dumbbell at your chest in goblet position, a pair of dumbbells in each hand at your side, or you can place a weight plate on your lap.
How to Do a Wall Sit
- Stand with your back against a wall or door frame and engage your abs to push your lower back against the wall.
- Walk your feet out until you lower enough that your knees are bent to 90 degrees, your thighs are parallel to the floor, and your back is still completely pressed against the wall.
- Hold this position with your core engaged. Your hands can rest on your thighs or you can place your hands on your hips. For more of a challenge, extend your arms straight forward at chest height, making sure to keep your shoulders pressed down. You can also hold dumbbells or a weight plate.
- Hold for 15 to 20 seconds.
