Fitness trend: What exactly is wall Pilates?

Fitness trend on social media
What exactly is wall Pilates?

A training device that costs nothing, is easy to find anywhere and is suitable for many exercises? How practical! That could explain why many people on social media swear by Wall Pilates.

“Some of the things shown there look very acrobatic,” says Pilates trainer Natalia Cichos-Terrero. But she believes that wall Pilates exercises don’t have to look spectacular; they should primarily suit your own body. “So don’t be impressed by social media!”

In the interview, Cichos-Terrero explains what exactly Wall Pilates is all about – and reveals a simple exercise for a beneficial opening of the chest.

What does wall Pilates involve?

Natalia Cichos-Terrero: Wall Pilates means that you do Pilates exercises that you would normally do on a mat or on equipment on a wall. Even though wall Pilates has become a trend on social media since last year, such exercises have been around since Pilates was invented. This type of training is already about 100 years old.

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There are a few misconceptions about Pilates in general, which is why some people are hesitant to try it. You have to know: Pilates is not just a back workout, nor is it just an abdominal workout. It is also not just about stretching, which is why it is often confused with yoga. Pilates is a strength-based, full-body workout that focuses on stretching and strengthening the muscles at the same time.

What advantage does the wall bring to training?

Natalia Cichos-Terrero: First of all: You can find a wall almost anywhere – at home, at work, in a hotel room when you’re travelling. You can do exercises on it in a very targeted and precise way. For example, if you stand with your back to the wall and have a certain amount of power, you immediately notice how your pelvis suddenly shifts and you stand crooked. The wall reveals these asymmetries and imbalances. They happen on the mat in the same way – but you don’t notice them there, or only notice them much less.

Wall Pilates is ideal for beginners as the wall provides stability and support. And some people with physical problems or pregnant women can no longer do exercises on the mat so easily. In this case, the wall is a much better training device.

However, if you have been doing Pilates for a long time, you can increase the resistance by doing exercises on the wall to intensify the strengthening and stretching of the muscles even further.

For anyone who wants to try wall Pilates: Which exercise is suitable?

Natalia Cichos-Terrero: A good exercise for beginners is called “Chest Expansion”. This exercise mobilizes the entire core muscles and stretches the neck and shoulders at the same time. After this exercise, you will notice that you can breathe better – and that your chest feels freer.

The exercise is done by standing upright with your back against the wall – your feet about two feet away from the wall, in what is known as a V. This means that your heels are together and slightly pressed together, and your toes are slightly apart. This activates the insides of your legs.

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And then – with your back against the wall – stretch your arms forward at shoulder height. The palms of your hands face the floor. Then breathe in and press your arms slightly backwards against the wall, against any resistance you feel. They don’t have to be against your body, but can be opened to the side.

You turn your head to the right and then to the left. Then you come back to the middle and, while exhaling, bring your arms forwards to the starting position – stretched out at shoulder height. Then you repeat everything, this time first with your head to the left and then to the right.

There are a few details to pay attention to: For example, try to lengthen your spine along the wall. You can do this by pulling your belly button in and up, as if it were riding in an elevator. And try to pull your lower abdominal muscles and ribs in, as if there were little magnets on the wall pulling you backwards. The insides of your legs remain active and the back of your pelvis is pressed lightly against the wall. If you pay attention to the details, even such a simple exercise feels like a full-body exercise.

To person: Natalia Cichos-Terrero is a Pilates trainer and author (“Wall Pilates – defined muscles, stronger back, better posture”). She runs a studio in Bad Herrenalb (Baden-Württemberg).

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