No one denies the importance of the lower body fitness as it plays a pivotal role in carrying day-to-day activities. In particular, there are multiple workouts targeting lower body muscles and build strength. But Wall Sit is an isometric movement that brings very positive results and is very gentle for your basic joints. No doubt that there are different exercise categories that will keep the lower body muscles active. But you must include only those exercises in your routine that are useful and valuable. In this guide, we will discuss Wall Sit exercise deeply and take a close look at Alternatives to Wall Sit. Let’s get started without waiting a while.
Basic Workout
Wall Sit is one of the most common and beneficial exercise for the lower body muscles especially glutes and calves. The exercise allows you to hold a chair position with your back on the wall and feet on the floor. Moreover, this exercise builds endurance and agility in the lower body even without any physical equipment.
Additionally, you can carry out this exercise anytime and anywhere so you don’t need to access a commercial fitness center or teaching faculty. Along with lower body muscles, your core also gains stability and power as supportive muscles. This exercise is very handy for knee muscles as the chances of knee injury/pain are very negotiable.
Benefits of Wall Sit
Although Wall Sit is an amazing exercise for every fitness lover and offers bunch of benefits. Here are some of the favorable advantages of including this workout in your routine:
Lower Body Strengthening: Wall Sit exercise brings remarkable strength in the muscles like hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and glutes. This workout is a gift for those who want to train lower body muscles without any weight.
Boost Endurance: Wall Sit will increase overall stamina by improving the endurance as you are carrying a pose. If you hold a position for a longer time, it will surely bring positive results for your stamina rate.
Stabilize the Joint Muscles: Knee joint stabilization is achievable with the Wall Sit exercise as it activates the blocked muscles around knees.
Core Engagement: While doing the exercise, you have to engage your core that will provide external assistance in holding the position longer. Thus your core muscles also gain strength and support along with lower body muscles.
Versatile Option: As this exercise does not require optimal equipment or any other physical accessory allowing you to perform during busy schedules or at home.
How to Perform
An exercise is useful and beneficial only if performed with extreme care and proper form. This article section will point out some basic instructions to carry the movement.
- Place your feet strongly on the floor and back against the wall with the hands on the wall.
- Bend the knees to 90-degree angle and pose like you are sitting on a chair.
- Make sure that the knees and ankles are in parallel direction to avoid any pain in the knee joints.
- Wait for 30-40 seconds in the same pose and let your muscles gain activation.
- As you become habitual with the stamina and bearing capacity, increase the holding time.
Why People Seek for Alternatives to Wall Sit?
Wall Sit is a fantastic addition to anyone’s fitness routine but it may not bring suitable results for individuals suffering from knee pain. Moreover, if you don’t switch to different lower body exercises and continue performing Wall Sit regularly, it will become monotonous.
To avoid this manipulation, we have researched some of the top best alternatives to Wall Sit that are dynamic and user friendly exercises.
Alternatives to Wall Sit
Here are some of the best possible alternatives to Wall Sit that you are consider for your lower body strength.
1. Squats
Squats are one of the preferable alternatives to Wall Sit because it targets the same muscle groups as Wall Sit does. By allowing a full range of motion and continuous movement, this exercise will keep your heart rate up. All you need is to stand straight and keep lowering the body to a specific level. As you approach the dedicated point you must bring your body up and then repeat the process.
While doing so, ensure to keep the knees just behind the toes and make a cross elbows in front of the chest by keeping the hands on the shoulders. After mastering simple squats, you can try different variations like Pistol Squats or Jump Squats to challenge yourself.
2. Lunges
Lunges fall under the lower body workout category and thus considers as a valuable alternatives to wall sit because its equipment free. Moreover, this exercise targets the same muscles as you are expecting from the Wall Sit but with different angle and approach. Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, and Calves are the primary targeted muscles.
The movement requires a simple process of forwarding one leg and lower down until both of your knees are at 90-degree angle. You can also give a try to some other variations of Lunges such as Curtsy Lunges, Reverse Lunges, etc.
3. Glute Bridge
Glute Bridge is another lower body exercise that will keep strengthening the core along with glutes and hamstrings. This exercise simply requires you to lie on the floor with your straight feet and bent knees. All you need is to lift off the hip in the upward direction by keeping your back at rest.
As you attain a peak position, you must hold the position for a while and then return back to the initial point. To make this exercise more interesting and challenging, you can add weight like placing a weighted barbell.
4. Step Ups
Step Ups are crucial and considerable choice in place of Wall Sit as this activity is included in domestic activities. Everyone climbs stairs whether at home or at office so it becomes easy to carry this exercise anywhere without any additional time. But for those who are not familiar with stair climbing, they must find a feasible top place approximately 2 inches higher than floor.
Step onto the platform with one leg and then return back to activate the muscles. If you hold weight in hands, the exercise intensity will surely become double and your stamina will boost up like a rocket.
5. Box Jump
Box Jump is one of the most demanding and common exercise amongst lower body workouts. This exercise gains fame just due to its simple yet beneficial movement. All you need is to jump over a heighted box and then return back to the floor. This activity will strengthen the lower body muscles and proves to be beneficial for hip flexors.
Additionally, you can make this exercise more intense by holding a weight in hand. Jump Box exercise is not a bed of roses as it demands a specific amount of stamina and endurance.
Final Words
However, primary exercises of lower body strengthening are countless but Wall Sit gains a significant position. But you must incorporate other exercises like Squats, Lunges, and Jump Rope in your fitness routine to change the procedures.
All of these workouts are specialized in something and provides flexibility and balance across the whole body. It is important to mix up your workout routine and challenge yourself to increase excitement!