How to use the online timer
A minute against the wall is a simple leg exercise that needs no equipment and rapidly stops being simple. Slide down until the thighs are parallel to the floor with the knees directly above the ankles at a right angle, back flat against the wall, weight through the heels rather than the toes. Sitting higher makes it considerably easier, which is worth knowing when a full minute is not yet realistic.
The burning in the quadriceps arrives somewhere around thirty seconds and is the point of the exercise rather than a sign to stop. What does justify stopping is the position falling apart: hips creeping up the wall, knees rolling inwards, or hands pressing on the thighs to take the load off. At that stage the minute has become a different, easier exercise pretending to be this one.
Keep breathing rather than holding on grimly, and let the arms hang or fold rather than propping anything. Because it is isometric and needs nothing but a wall, it fits anywhere: a corridor, a kitchen, the changing room after a session. Once a minute is manageable, holding a weight across the chest or lifting one heel adds difficulty far more usefully than sitting there for three minutes.
Common questions
How low should I go?
Thighs parallel to the floor with the knees above the ankles at a right angle and the back flat against the wall. Sitting higher is easier, which is a sensible way in while building up to a full minute.
My legs burn after thirty seconds. Should I stop?
The burn is the exercise working. Stop when the position falls apart instead, meaning the hips creep up the wall, the knees roll inwards or the hands start pressing on the thighs.
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