How to Complete the “Wall Sit” Challenge

The Wall Sit Challenge has gained significant popularity in recent years as a test of endurance and strength. This exercise involves sitting against a wall with your back flat against it and your legs bent at a 90-degree angle. While it may seem deceptively simple, the Wall Sit Challenge is anything but. Pretty quickly, your legs will start to shake, your core will burn, and you’ll be wondering where all of your strength went! In this challenge, you will have the freedom to change the parameters, time limits, and incentives to push yourself or complete the challenge with a group. One of our personal favorites for completing this with a group is “Everyone does 10 minutes of wall sits a day or you buy lunch at that fancy place” (sometimes you have to make it sting). Whichever way you go about completing a Wall Sit Challenge, go in with set expectations and measurable goals! 

Key Takeaways:

- Get ready to be challenged physically AND mentally

- How to do a proper wall sit

- What kind of challenge should you do?

- Some shared experiences from those who completed a Wall Sit Challenge

All It Takes Is You, the Wall, and a Concentrated Power of Will

Strengthening Your Lower Body, One Sit at a Time

The Wall Sit Challenge is a great way to build muscle strength and stability in your lower body. It strengthens your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and other muscles in your legs. Stronger legs can improve your balance and posture while also helping to reduce the risk of injury. And if you’re anything like us and primarily work crouched behind a computer, you might need some help with posture. But maybe that’s just us.

It’s a Whole Body Experience

When you hold a position for an extended period of time, you can improve your muscular endurance and mental focus. Nothing sharpens the mind like some pain in the quads - it’s hard to think about much else! A Wall Sit Challenge can also help to improve your cardiovascular health. By increasing the intensity of the challenge, you can get your heart rate up and burn more calories. Feeling out of wack? This challenge can help to improve your coordination and agility, as you must maintain your balance while in the wall sit position. 

It’s All In Your Head

While the Wall Sit Challenge primarily targets the lower body, the benefits extend far beyond the body. Participating in this strength-building challenge daily can have a profound impact on your mental health. Some of the most prominent are:

1. Increased Mental Resilience: Pushing through the discomfort of the wall sit challenge builds mental fortitude and resilience, fostering a "can-do" mindset that transcends fitness goals. Sometimes we just need to prove to ourselves that we can do hard things. 

2. Stress Relief: The focused concentration required during the challenge can act as a mindfulness practice, providing a temporary respite from daily stressors and promoting mental relaxation. Many people who take on this challenge try to use this time as an opportunity to meditate on a specific image or setting. It’s crazy how much we can physically endure if we keep a calm mind. 

3. Improved Discipline and Confidence: Successfully completing the challenge requires discipline and perseverance, which aren’t created overnight! This leads to a strong sense of accomplishment and increased self-confidence, which we’re all about!

Read more about the amazing benefits wall sits have on your mental health in this article.

Your mind is an incredibly powerful tool. Physically demanding challenges can help you wield that tool to serve you and build you up!

Have a Seat!

While it is a simple exercise, you should still learn the proper way to hold a wall sit. You’ll also want to know what you shouldn’t be doing! 

Prepare Yourself

Before doing the Wall Sit Challenge, you should warm up your muscles with some light stretching. This will help reduce the risk of injury and make the exercise more effective. You should also make sure you have a sturdy wall that is not too soft or too hard to sit against. A wall with texture, such as brick or concrete, is ideal.

What to Expect While Sitting

• When you are ready to begin the challenge, make sure you are standing with your back against the wall and your feet shoulder-width apart. 

• Your feet should be about a foot away from the wall. 

• Keep your back straight and your chin up, and slowly lower yourself down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. 

• Hold this position for a set amount of time.

• Slowly stand back up.

It is important to remember to take breaks throughout the challenge if you need to. You should also make sure to stretch before and after the challenge to help reduce the risk of injury. Additionally, it is important to stay hydrated throughout the challenge to help keep your muscles energized and to help your body recover afterward.

Read this article for more details on wall sits!

Tips for Maximizing the Wall Sit Challenge

To maximize the benefits of the Wall Sit Challenge, it is important to focus on your form. Make sure that your back is flat against the wall and that your legs are fully bent at a 90-degree angle. You should also be conscious of your breathing - take deep breaths to keep your muscles relaxed and oxygenated. Finally, make sure to keep your chest up and arms at your sides throughout the exercise.

It is also important to maintain proper posture while doing a wall sit. Make sure your shoulders are back and your head is up. This will help you to keep your spine in a neutral position and reduce the risk of injury. Additionally, you should keep your core engaged throughout the challenge. To do this, imagine pulling the spot below your belly button towards your spine. This will help to support your lower back and ensure that you are getting the most out of the exercise.

BONUS TIP: If you feel like a distraction might help you get through the burn in your quads, look through what goals your friends and inspiration are completing in Elephants! Thinking about accomplishing other goals can give you the motivation to complete your challenge on the wall! It will probably be more fulfilling than scrolling through TikTok. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid with the Wall Sit Challenge

• Make sure you do not arch your back or lean forward during the challenge. Doing so can put strain on your lower back and cause injury.

• Additionally, be sure to not fully lock your knees when bending them at the 90-degree angle.

• Locking your knees can cause strain on your kneecaps and restrict blood flow.

It is also important to make sure you are using the correct form when doing the Wall Sit Challenge. Make sure your feet are flat on the ground and your back is straight against the wall. Additionally, ensure that your thighs are parallel to the ground and your arms are at your sides. Doing the challenge with the correct form will help you get the most out of the exercise and avoid any potential injuries.

What kind of Challenges Should You Do?

Intrigued by the challenge, but don’t know how you should structure it? We got you. Read through these and get inspired:

• Time-based Challenge: Set a specific time goal and aim to hold the wall sit position for a longer duration with each attempt. Start with a comfortable time limit, such as 30 seconds, and gradually increase it by 5-10 seconds as you build strength and endurance.

• Weighted Wall Sit Challenge: Intensify your wall sit by adding weights. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in your hands while maintaining the wall sit position. Start with lighter weights and gradually increase the load as you become more comfortable.

• One-Leg Wall Sit Challenge: Take your wall sit to the next level by lifting one leg off the ground while maintaining the position with the other leg. Alternate between legs or challenge yourself to hold the single-leg wall sit for as long as possible.

• Wall Sit Pulse Challenge: Incorporate pulsing movements into your wall sit routine to add an extra challenge. After assuming the wall sit position, lower your body a few inches and then rise back up repeatedly, adding an up-and-down motion to the exercise.

• Wall Sit March Challenge: Engage your core and challenge your stability by performing a wall sit while marching in place. Lift one knee towards your chest, lower it, and then lift the other knee, alternating between legs.

• Wall Sit with Upper Body Exercises Challenge: Make your wall sit a full-body workout by incorporating upper-body exercises. While holding the wall sit position, perform bicep curls, overhead presses, or lateral raises with dumbbells to engage your arms and shoulders.

• Wall Sit Tabata Challenge: Incorporate high-intensity interval training (HIIT) principles into your wall sit routine. Perform wall sits for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Repeat this cycle for four minutes, aiming for as many rounds as possible.

If you’re going to complete this challenge with a group, put some skin in the game! Make it a competition, add a reward or punishment, or make it even more interesting and put some money on it!

In our opinion, one of the most effective tools for accomplishing our goals is accountability. The easiest way to find accountability is to set a new goal in Elephants, then invite people to participate. Not only will this give you a super simple place where you can stay in touch, but the leaderboard features mean you can keep track of who is winning and add a competitive streak that will surely light a fire underneath all the participants!

What Other Sitters Have Said

Other people who have completed a Wall Sit Challenge shared what they experienced:

"I never realized how much strength I could gain from simply sitting against a wall. My friends and I all did a Wall Sit Challenge, and it not only transformed my quads and calves but helped me be stable during my weight lifting." - Sarah K.

"I’ve always struggled with consistency in my fitness routine. I’ll be on top of it for a week and then get distracted or start coming up with excuses. When my work started a Wall Sit Challenge, I took it as an opportunity to start working out again. Part of the competition was tracking our progress and reporting it every day. That was honestly what kept me going when I thought my legs were going to give out; I didn’t want to report anything other than progress. I guess my competitive nature took over and I haven’t stopped working out since, even though the challenge is over at work! I won, by the way" - Jacob B.

Don’t Sit This One Out

It might sound counter-intuitive, but completing something as simple as the Wall Sit Challenge can have a serious transformation on your physical and mental health. Often times, when we are looking for a new routine to get us out of a funk or move us closer to our ideal physique, the simple way is the better way! In this case, a daily set of wall sits can develop stronger lower body muscles, improve endurance, enhance stability, and experience a boost in mental resilience and confidence. Real people have shared their remarkable transformations and experiences. So, why wait? Snag some friends, grab a wall, and start sitting!