Week 3: upping the intensity

As I enter week three, it’s time to step up the challenge so I start holding each wall sit for five seconds longer, as per Arnold’s suggestion. My quads may be sore but at least I’m progressing. And despite the heavy workload this week, I start looking forward to my mid-morning exercise. It’s a great way to combat that sluggish feeling you get after a few hours stuck at a desk.

Week 4: trying wall sit variations

As my challenge comes to an end, it’s time to up the ante with a bunch of wall sit variations.

First up, I try a single-leg wall sit which involves extending one leg out in front of your body. Sabri tells me this makes the other leg work even harder and also helps with balance. It’s certainly challenging, but it’s a big mental relief to try something new.

Next, I put a 5kg dumbbell on my lap to increase the intensity, and find that I can barely keep it on there for 30 seconds. I switch to a 3kg plate for the remaining two sets which is more manageable but still killer. My legs are like jelly by the end and I collapse on the floor as soon as the timer goes off.

For the last few days of my challenge, I alternate between single-leg and weighted wall sits which aren’t getting much easier but I’m learning to enjoy them more and more.

On day 30, I redo the max test to see how far I’ve come and find that I can now hold a wall sit for 90 seconds without a single wobble. That’s a huge improvement. I finish off by doing a regular wall sit for 60 seconds, a weighted wall sit for 50 seconds and a then single-leg wall sit for 30 seconds on each leg. And just like that, the challenge is complete.

“I did wall sits every day for 30 days – it’s the most effective fitness challenge I’ve done“