21-Minute Full Body WALL PILATES Workout: (17 Exercises for Strength)

Traditional Pilates is effective, but adding the wall to your workout can elevate your strength and stability in ways you didn’t expect!

In this 21-minute session, we’ll guide you through 17 exercises that use the wall for resistance, helping you improve core strength, flexibility, and coordination.

Follow along as we focus on controlled movements that challenge your body in a supportive way.
Let’s dive into this full wall Pilates workout:

We’ll start with hip rolls to warm up your spine and prepare your body for the work ahead. 

Keep your knees pointed toward the wall throughout the movement, which engages your inner and outer thighs while mobilizing your back.

Let’s stretch the arms while working into the abs at the same time. This gentle movement helps connect your upper body mobility with core engagement as we transition into more challenging exercises.

Now we’ll reverse the movement to challenge your coordination in a different way. 

Pay attention to the breathing pattern here – inhale as your head comes down and exhale as you flex up, which is key for proper abdominal engagement.

This exercise combines upper body work with glute strengthening in one move. 

Position yourself at the right distance from the wall so you feel the work in your glutes, not strain in your hamstrings. 

If you’re using ankle weights, they’ll add extra challenge for both your arms and core.

We’re doing a tricep exercise while holding that bridge position throughout. Focus on squeezing those glutes at the top for full hip extension. 

This exercise challenges both your arms and posterior chain at the same time.

This is an isometric hold for the glutes – they have to keep you lifted the entire time. 

As your arms move and change position, they create a stability challenge for your core. 

Focus on maintaining that bridge position no matter what your arms are doing.

Go slow and controlled with this exercise – precision matters more than speed here. 

Try to lift straight up through your glutes so you don’t push yourself away from the wall. 

Maintaining proper alignment while working those triceps is more challenging than it sounds.

The three-second hold teaches proper abdominal engagement without straining your neck. 

Focus on flexing up rather than just bringing your head forward, and look right between your legs to maintain proper alignment throughout the movement.

Try to reach that elbow to the opposite knee during the three-second hold. Use the wall to help push yourself up more and ground yourself, which allows this targeted work to really engage those side abdominal muscles.

This exercise challenges your coordination while working your core at the same time. 

Try to keep those arms straight throughout the movement if you can. When things start to get challenging, focus on your breath to help maintain form.

This variation becomes more challenging with both arms reaching overhead. 

If it feels like too much, you can bring your hands by your ears instead. You can always switch halfway through if you need to modify for better form.

This single-leg work challenges your stability and targets each glute individually. 

There’s significant core involvement in keeping everything level and aligned. 

Focus on squeezing the glute of the supporting leg while maintaining hip alignment throughout.

We’re adding more challenge here by changing the position of that working leg. 

The further away from your body your leg moves, the more stability you need from your core. 

Your midsection has to work overtime to keep everything controlled and aligned.

Keep these circles small and controlled for the best results. The bigger your circle, the more challenging this becomes, so choose a size that allows you to stay stable. The goal is to keep everything controlled and working smoothly.

This exercise targets your upper back and helps with posture. Try to bring your elbows slightly further back from your shoulders during the movement. 

You should feel this working into the back of your shoulders and upper back muscles.

We’re combining two exercises here into one flowing sequence. Keep your abs engaged so you don’t extend through your spine as those arms reach up. Maintain that neutral spine position throughout the entire movement.

This gentle stretch helps release tension after all that strength work. Avoid rotating through your spine and instead reach directly to the side. The ankle weights aren’t required for this stretch, so feel free to remove them.