● Game Changers Lift your game
How to
do the wall sit
Prepare your thighs for a pasting.
Wallsareeverywhere.Eveninthecountry
there’llbea fewstonespiledontopof one
anothertostopsheeproamingfreeand
terrorisingtheneighbours.Andyetmost
humans– andsheep,forthatmatter– havenever looked
ata wallastheperfectpieceofequipmenttoimprove the
strengthoftheirlegs.Thatwillallchange,forhumans
atleast,oncetheylearnofthethigh-bustingbenefits
ofthewallsit.Thismovestrengthensyourlower body,
especiallyyourthighs,andimprovesstaminaso you’ll
bethatlittlebitmoresprightlyattheendofyour next
run.Sufferersofrunner’skneeinparticularcould benefit
fromwallsits,asthestrengtheningeffectthey have
onyourquadmusclescanhelppreventthecondition.
W
34 MEN’S FITNESS OCTOBER 2019
VARIATIONS
Weightedwallsit
Theeasiestwayto
progresstheexerciseis
toaddsomeweight.You
canholda medicineball,
dumbbellorkettlebell
infrontofyourchest
orresta weightplateon
yourlap.Eitherway,it’s
goingtouptheantefor
yourlegsandcore.
Single-legwallsit
Asyou’dexpect,lifting
onelegofftheground
makestheexercisemuch
tougher.Getintothe
standardposition,then
pointonelegstraight
outinfrontofyou.This
increasesthechallenge
toyourstandinglegas
wellastoyourcore,
whichhastoresistthe
naturalinclinationto
fallovertooneside.
Whichisnota goodlook.
Exerciseballwallsit
Yourthighsareundera
lotoftensionduringthe
standardwallsit,butif
youdeterminethatyour
innerthighsaregetting
offsomewhatlightly,you
cantargetthemdirectly
byholdinganexerciseball
betweenthemduringthe
exercise.Youcanusean
inflatableballor,formore
ofa challenge,a heavy
medicineball.If you’re
findingtheexercisetoo
toughthenjustlettheball
dropandseeif youcan
gettotheendofthetime
you’reaimingforinthe
standardwallsitposition.
■Standneara wall(around
60 centimetresaway).
You’reprobablythinking
anyolddistancewilldo,
butcomplacencyonwall
proximityis theonetrue
dangerinthewallsit.Stand
toofarawayandyou’ll
missthewallentirelyand
potentiallycrackyourhead
open,andbeingtoonearwill
preventyougettingyourlegs
intotherightposition
duringtheexercise.
Leanbackagainstthewall
withyourtorso,withyour
feetshoulder-widthapart.
Thenpressbackandslide
downthewalluntilyour
thighsareparallelwiththe
ground.Yourkneesshould
beaboveyouranklesand
bentatright-angles.Keep
yourhead,shouldersand
upperbackagainstthe
wallandholdtheposition.
Holdforbetween 20
secondsanda minute,rest
for 30 secondsanddoit
again.Repeatthreetofive
times,tryingtoaddfive
secondseachtime.Then
thenexttimeyoudothe
exercise,seeif youcan
holdyourfirstsitfor
10 secondslonger.
DIRECTIONS
11hrs
Thelongeststatic
wallsit,achieved
by Dr Thienna Ho
in 2008.
51 min 14 sec