Wall Sits: Add Some Wall Spice

 

Wall-Sit Chop Down Position

Wall-Sit Lift Position

Your knees hurt. You hear clicking around your menisci (knee shock absorbers). You feel grinding of your knee joints. You want to do full squats, but the pain is unbearable. You really want to work out your legs, knowing that they give you a good workout. You have heard of wall-sits thought perhaps you remember them for the painful reason: they were used as punishment in gym class, during sport practice, or for a contest to see who could hold wall-sits the longest. Because the pain was uncomfortable, you were deterred from doing, not only wall-sits, but leg exercises in general. Therefore, leg day was skipped and in came upper body day...everyday. The connection between legs and arms and lower body and upper body was broken, cracked, and unfriendly. Your arms received all of the attention while your legs just dangled from your hips like a punished child sitting in the corner of the room as everyone else happily played.

Don't skip leg day.

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over left shoulder)

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over right hip)

Wall-sits are absolutely boring to many people. Yes, they are also painful. But, wall-sits benefit leg strength. If you cannot squat to 90 degrees, then you can do a wall-sit to 90 degrees or around 90 degrees. They are an isometric exercise, which means once your joint angle (your knee) reaches its maximum length for the given exercise, then you simply hold that position. The positive effect is that you do not have to fight through joint pain that degrades knee cartilage. In this case, the wall-sit becomes a test of how long can you hold up. This particular isometric exercise is a great primer for additional leg exercises. For example, doing a wall-sit and immediately following up the exercise with squats or even lunges will give your legs a better workout. However, if you are not ready for this muscle load, then do not force it. Otherwise, you will neglect the legs.

Don't skip leg day.

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over left hip)

Wall-Sit Diagonal Chop (over right shoulder)

The arms are a part of leg day. To glamorize the wall-sit exercise, a few things can be done:

- Use a medicine ball to either throw to someone or to bounce off a wall that may be in front of you.
- Use dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, towels, yoga balls, etc. to maximize your upper body potential in a wall-sit.
-- Use a BOSU ball, dyna disc, balance board, or other lower body balance apparatus to challenge your lower body.

Then, there is the option to use nothing as depicted in the photos. You can only use your arms to challenge yourself.

Wall-Sit Right Rotation

Wall-Sit Left Rotation

Purpose and Development,
Derek

Derek Arledge, CSCS          TEEM Performance Training          www.teempt.com