FitnessWorkouts

A Pilates Workout You Can Do at Home Using Nothing but a Wall

Learn the most effective exercises you can do at home if you're interested in trying wall Pilates on your own, or follow a 10-minute routine.

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Photo: W+G Editorial
Updated Jun 26, 2023

Written by 

Haley HiltonRachel Kraus

When you’re working out at home, you often have to be a little… creative. Don’t have a barre? Grab the back of a chair. Don’t have light dumbbells? Soup cans will do.

Experts in This Article

Chloe de Winter

physiotherapist, master Pilates instructor, and founder of Go Chlo Pilates

Jennifer Kreichman

Pilates instructor based in New York City

As Pilates grows more popular, those of us without classical Pilates apparatuses like a reformer or Cadillac at home (and by that we mean, most of us) might be on the hunt for other ways to level-up or modify our mat work. Enter: The wall.

Yep, even just the four walls of any room can be a major tool in your Pilates practice. Pilates instructor Chloe de Winter calls the wall “one very special prop” because doing the right moves with the assistance of a wall can help your body “mobilize and move through the spine but also strengthen and stretch” in a way you might not be able to without that added piece of resistance.

But the wall can be a bit of a blank canvas. Where to start your wall Pilates journey? De Winter has put together a 10-minute wall Pilates routine for Well+Good’s Trainer of the Month club. It’s meant to be a full-body workout that also delivers a great stretch for muscles tight from looking at screens or staying in one position for too long. For example, a series of wall-assisted bridges is going to “give you nice stretch in the back of the legs but also strengthen through the back muscles and strengthen through the hamstrings,” de Winter says.

You can follow along in the video above, or move through the exercises on your own by following the step-by-step instructions below.

A 10-minute wall Pilates workout

1. Wall-assisted bridges (40 seconds)

  1. 1.
    Lay on your back, and place your feet on the wall, with your knees over your hips, so that your knees are bent and your calves are just about parallel to the floor, with your feet slightly higher than your knees.
  2. 2.
    Press into the wall with your feet and lift your hips up into a bridge position.
  3. 3.
    Drop the hips back down.
  4. 4.
    Repeat

2. Wall marches with straight legs (40 seconds)

  1. 1.
    From a wall-assisted bridge, walk your feet up the wall until your knees are straight, tucking your tailbone under.
  2. 2.
    Lift the left leg off the wall and sweep it up towards your head.
  3. 3.
    Return the left leg to the wall, then repeat with the right leg.
  4. 4.
    Continue to alternate.
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3. Wall squat with arm lifts (1 minute)

  1. 1.
    Standing straight and upright, press your back into the wall.
  2. 2.
    Walk your feet out in front of you.
  3. 3.
    Slide your back down the wall so you come into a wall squat with your knees bent and your ankles under your knees.
  4. 4.
    Think about digging your heels down and pushing the floor away with your feet, so that your leg muscles fire.
  5. 5.
    Starting with your straight arms against the wall with your palms facing the wall, lift them out in front of you and up overhead, then reverse, and repeat.

4. Wall squat with heel raises (1 minute)

  1. 1.
    From a wall squat, lift your left heel and then lower it back to the floor.
  2. 2.
    Repeat on the right side.
  3. 3.
    Continue to alternate.

5. Wall squat with cactus arms (1 minute)

  1. 1.
    Come into a wall squat.
  2. 2.
    Sweep your arms in front of you and bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle, with your palms facing each other.
  3. 3.
    With bent elbows, move the arms back so that your forearms and outer hands tap the wall.
  4. 4.
    Bring the arms back in and repeat.
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6. Wall lunge pulses (30 seconds per side)

  1. 1.
    Stand upright with your back facing the wall.
  2. 2.
    Take a big step forward with your left leg.
  3. 3.
    Shift your weight to your left leg.
  4. 4.
    As you bend the left leg, lift a bent right leg up behind you toward the wall, and place the right foot on the wall, about in line with your hips. Place your hands on your hips.
  5. 5.
    Pulse the left leg, bending a little deeper, and then returning to the starting bend.
  6. 6.
    Repeat on the other side.

7. Pec stretch (30 seconds per side)

  1. 1.
    Stand upright facing the wall.
  2. 2.
    Lift your right arm to about shoulder height, bending your elbow, and press your right hand into the wall.
  3. 3.
    While pressing with your right hand, twist your body to the left so that you feel a stretch in the pec and shoulders.
  4. 4.
    Repeat on the other side.

5 more super-effective wall Pilates moves

Looking for more wall Pilates fun? Pilates instructor Jennifer Kreichman also shared five of the most effective exercises you can do at home using nothing but a wall. “Each is born from a classical Pilates foundation, with a focus on strengthening the abdominals, and creating a sense of overall body coordination,” Kreichman says.

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1. The hundred

You’ll be hard pressed to find any kind of Pilates workout that doesn’t include the Pilates hundred. But it can be a bit intense. For those just starting out on their strength journey, using the support of the wall may be a great first step. Below are three increasingly difficult versions of the exercise.

Feet on the ground variation

  1. 1.
    Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. They should be hip bone–width apart and the tips of your toes should touch the wall. This will keep your feet in the same line.
  2. 2.
    Elevate your arms to a 45-degree angle, in line with your thighs. Then lift your neck and shoulders off the mat, contracting your upper abdominals.
  3. 3.
    Pump your arms as you inhale for five counts and exhale for five counts. Repeat until you reach a total of 100 pumping counts.

Level up: Legs at table top variation

Instead of keeping your feet on the ground, lift your legs into the air and set your feet onto the wall in a table-top position: Your shins should be parallel to the floor and your thighs should be perpendicular to it while your feet are flexed and flat against the wall.

“Because the legs are now elevated it will require a greater degree of core strength,” says Kreichman. “The wall will once again assist in establishing the alignment of the feet, knees and hips.”

Level up: Legs extended at a 45-degree angle

This time, extend your legs at a 45-degree angle so just the tips of your toes touch the wall.

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“Touching the wall will give you a little bit of support for your legs as you work your way through the exercise,” says Kreichman. “As a goal, strive to raise your shoulders to the tips of your shoulder blades, rather than lifting your head a couple centimeters off the ground.”

2. Shoulder bridge

  1. 1.
    Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Your feet should be hip-width apart and the tips of your toes should touch the wall. Imagine pulling the abdominals inward and upward with your back resting on the mat.
  2. 2.
    Engage your glutes, and curl your hips under to lift them up into the air for four counts. As you press into your feet, hold for four counts before rolling down for four counts, and resting for four counts.

“Depending on your level of strength, the exercise should be repeated anywhere between four and 10 times,” says Kreichman.

Level up: Feet on the wall

“This is likely the first thing you will see when Googling ‘Pilates wall workout,’” says Kreichman. It’s the same action as the standard shoulder bridge, but with your feet flat against the wall in tabletop as you raise and lower your hips.

“Approach this version with a level of consciousness that engages your abdominals, glutes, and hamstrings to support the spine. This should be pretty hard.”

3. Arms overhead

“This is a great chest, shoulder, and upper back strength/mobility exercise,” says Kreichman. “It’s especially helpful for people who are hunched over their work all day.”

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  1. 1.
    Face away from the wall, stand with your feet about a foot away, and let your back, hips, and shoulders lean against it.
  2. 2.
    Lift your arms over your head with your elbows bent, pressing back against the wall while your fingertips touch and create the shape of a diamond. “For some people, even just that motion is really difficult,” says Kreichman.
  3. 3.
    Push your arms upward, straightening them as much as you can while maintaining contact between your elbows and the wall, and keeping your fingertips together. Repeat six to 10 times.

4. Wall squats

  1. 1.
    Just like the last exercise, stand with your feet out about a foot away from the wall, facing out, while your back, hips, and shoulders lean against it. Your arms should be at your sides with the palms of your hands facing the wall.
  2. 2.
    Bend your knees and slide down the wall. The goal is to get your thighs parallel to the floor. As you do this, your arms should lift forward until they are also parallel to the floor at shoulder height.
  3. 3.
    Straighten your legs back to your starting position. As you do this, your arms should once again push back down to your sides to touch the wall. “Rhythmically, you should go down for four counts, hold for four counts, and come up for four counts,” says Kreichman. Repeat that six to 10 times. “You should not hold it until you are fatigued. That is not the goal of Pilates. This exercise will work your quads, glutes, hamstrings, inner thighs, hip flexors, core, back and shoulders. It is holistic.”

5. Wall stretch

  1. 1.
    Stand with your feet extended out about a foot-and-a-half away from the wall this time, facing out, while your back, hips, and shoulders lean against it.
  2. 2.
    Begin to fold forward by gently lowering your head, and peeling your shoulders off the wall one vertebrae at a time. Continue rolling forward until just the back of your hips are against the wall.
  3. 3.
    In this folded position, gently make five circles with your arms moving away from your center. Repeat this motion five more times in the opposite direction. Then rise back up, following the same pathway and repeat two to four times. Keep your abdominals pulled in and up as always. “Because this exercise is a stretch, there should be no real tension anywhere,” says Kreichman. “You just want to let the shoulders hang, and press that low back against the wall.”

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FitnessWorkouts

Adult Ballet is on the Rise—And Yes, You Should Totally Try it

Here's what to know before your first class.

Published Feb 26, 2025

Written by 

Lauren Wingenroth

Maybe it's the reemergence of balletcore, or maybe we're all just trying to discover our inner child, but ballet classes for adults are majorly on the rise. 

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Former Miami City Ballet dancer Miriam Landis has seen the adult ballet boom firsthand in her adult beginner classes at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle. “My classes have grown up to the point where I’ll have 50 people in one class,” she says. “Especially since COVID, people really have this need for connection and shared sense of purpose. It’s really different from going to an exercise class—it’s a little bit of a meditation.” 

While many adults are finding community, creativity and purpose in ballet classes, there can also be an intimidation factor. After all, it’s an art form often depicted as elite and exclusive. But Landis says the vibe of most adult classes couldn’t be further from the cutthroat worlds of Center Stage or Black Swan. 

“People do feel like it has an exclusive aura,” she says. “But we’re really trying to include rather than exclude. I’ve had students say they were always too scared to come, but they were so glad they did. When people discover it, it really becomes something meaningful in their life.”

Inspired to hit the ballet barre? Here’s what veteran teachers and adult ballet regulars think you should know before you go, plus the benefits you can expect to get out of ballet as an adult. 

What to know before your first adult ballet class

“Beginner” doesn’t always mean beginner.

Confusingly, just because a class is labeled “beginner” doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for first timers, says Landis. Instead, look for classes called “absolute beginner” or “fundamentals” to learn the basics. “It’s like a language,” says Landis. “It’s not like a yoga class where you can go in and follow along.” 

If you aren’t sure, call the studio to ask if a class is intended for first timers. Or, some studios will even let you observe a class before you try it, says Dawn Hillen, who teaches absolute beginner ballet at The Ailey Extension in New York City. “Go see the teacher, and watch how they interact with the students,” she says. “That’s the single best way to know if it’s a good fit for you.”

It isn’t a fitness class.

Yes, ballet is a form of exercise. But a ballet class is not a fitness class. Plenty of first timers come in with that mindset, only to have their understanding deepen over time, says Landis. “There’s a real artistic aspect to it that doesn’t exist in an exercise class,” she says. “You’re going to be thinking about every part of your body, not just executing a step, but how you execute the step; the quality of it.” (FYI: Though barre classes often claim to be ballet-inspired, real ballet classes are actually very different.) 

Expect your ballet teacher to speak in metaphors and imagery more than you may be used to. (For instance, Landis might tell students to hold their hand as if they have “a million diamonds on their fingers.”) There’s also the focus on moving to the music, and on performing for an imagined audience. “Everything is taught based on how your audience is going to receive it,” Landis says. “How are you going to offer your cheek to the person sitting in the third ring so that what you’re projecting reaches them?” 

Though you’ll likely gain strength, coordination and flexibility from a ballet practice, ultimately ballet is about learning a craft, says Landis. 

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You don’t have to splurge on leotards—unless you want to.

If your adult ballet dreams involve a leotard, pink tights and a ballet skirt, that’s great. Hillen says for some students, feeling like they look the part enhances their experience. But if you don’t feel comfortable in traditional ballet attire—or you don’t want to spend money for an activity you aren’t sure you’ll stick with—she says anything you can move in is fine to wear. Form-fitting activewear is ideal, she says, so that teachers can see the alignment of your body, but she understands that some beginners might feel better in looser clothes. 

Shoes are a different story. Street shoes are typically not allowed in dance studios, so you’ll either want to invest in ballet shoes (jazz shoes are also fine, says Hillen) or wear socks. But be aware that socks can be slippery, says Landis, who often sends new dancers to the school’s lost and found to try and find a pair that’ll work for them.

Be respectful, but don’t worry too much about “ballet etiquette.” 

If you’ve watched enough ballet movies, you may be familiar with the concept that ballet culture contains countless unspoken rules and etiquette norms. While there’s some truth to that, in the low-stakes world of an adult ballet class, you don’t need to worry about much that isn’t common sense or similar to what you’d encounter in a fitness class.

For instance, you’ll be in close proximity to others, so be mindful about personal hygiene and not wearing heavy perfumes, suggests Landis. Arrive early, try to avoid having to leave and reenter the class, and keep your phone in your bag and on silent. 

Spatial awareness is key: Avoid standing too close to anyone else, or standing directly in front of anyone while working in the center of the room. Landis says that it’s common for regulars to use the same barre spot during every class, so it’s a nice courtesy to ask someone if a spot is available before parking yourself there. And when you’re doing steps that travel across the floor, “maintain the traffic pattern, even if you mess up the steps,” says Hillen. “If you come to a dead stop and people are traveling behind you, people can get injured.”

It’s customary to thank your teacher (and pianist, if there is one) at the end of class, but Hillen recommends also saying hello before class begins, to introduce yourself, explain that you’re new, and flag any injuries you may have. 

Embrace the corrections. 

Unlike in a yoga class, where you may get one or two hands-on adjustments, or a fitness class, where the coach may give some general form suggestions, in ballet, teachers give individualized corrections near-constantly. 

When a teacher gives you a correction, rather than dwelling on the fact that you’re doing something wrong, try to see it as an opportunity to learn and grow, says Hillen. Often, she says, teachers give corrections because they see potential and they want to help you reach it. “If a teacher turns their eye to you, it’s a gift,” she says. That said, if you feel the environment of the class is such that corrections aren’t well-intended or are making you uncomfortable, you may want to find a teacher who is a better fit for you.

“I always tell students that they can mess up in front of me; that this is a safe space and I’m here to support their journey,” says Landis. “Even if teachers aren’t skilled at communicating that, their role is to help you learn the skill you’re there to learn.” 

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The benefits of adult ballet classes 

Practicing ballet as an adult has myriad benefits, depending on what you’re hoping to get out of it. First, there’s the physical: A ballet class is a form of anaerobic exercise, says Hillen, meaning there will be short bursts of movement that get you huffing and puffing, followed by rest as you learn the next combination. She says ballet also develops strength, flexibility, mobility, coordination, balance and good posture. 

There are also the mental benefits, she says, like greater spatial and body awareness. “You’re constantly being asked to remember new things,” Hillen says. “So you’re making a healthier brain by learning something quickly and producing it physically.”

For Beverly Lippman, a regular at Hillen’s class, ballet helps her “focus on the moment,” she says. “Everything else goes away. It’s a very restorative space.” Landis agrees. “The ability to slow down, listen to music, be in your body and be present is incredibly valuable,” she says. “That is so missing from our general lifestyle.” 

Often, adult ballet classes are highly social, welcoming spaces, says Adrienne Chan, who takes Landis’ class at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. “I’ve made a lot of friends—it’s been wonderful,” she says. “Everyone cheers each other on.”

For Melissa Castañeda, who teachers adult beginner ballet at the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance in New York City, there’s power in learning that you are capable of something new as an adult. “It’s always a joy to see students discovering something they didn’t know about themselves,” she says. “It’s common for people to discover that their bodies are able to move in ways they never thought they could move. Your confidence will increase if you’re training with a good instructor who allows you to discover that in yourself.”

“They’re just immeasurable,” says Hillen on the benefits of ballet. “It expands your life.”

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