Every day brings another viral workout routine on TikTok, this time it’s the Wall Pilates Challenge that’s spreading across FYP.
Google has also seen a surge in searches for the free 28-day wall pilates challenge.
Pilates has been on trend for the past few years, with ClassPass reporting a 92% increase in bookings in one year and shaping up to be the most popular workout for 2023, with wall Pilates being the latest style to become popular.
There are videos posted online of people claiming the workout will do everything from build muscle to lose weight to relieve pain.
What is the Wall Pilates Challenge?
“Wall Pilates is an evolution of mat Pilates, adding a wall for added resistance and support and allowing you to do it at home,” explains Paola Di Lanzo, founder of Paola’s Body Barre.
“In Pilates, you press your body against a wall and perform a variety of Pilates exercises.”
“Like adding a ball or Pilates ring, a wall adds variety and added benefits to a workout done in the comfort of your own home.”
Most online wall Pilates challenges involve taking a wall Pilates class every day for 28 days, but some creators have their own rules and guidelines for the challenge.
What are the benefits of the 28 Day Wall Pilates Challenge?
There’s been a ton of praise for the 28-Day Wall Pilates Challenge online, so we spoke to experts to find out the legitimate benefits you can get from trying it.
Strength and Health
For some people, using a wall can provide additional depth and resistance. For example, performing a glute bridge with your feet up a wall increases your hip range of motion and improves muscle engagement, strength and mobility more than doing the exercise on the floor.
“Wall Pilates gives you the opportunity to adapt your exercises by changing the angle and using the principles of progressive resistance, providing an added incentive to bodyweight movements,” explains personal trainer Nancy Best, founder of Ladies Who Crunch.
Progressive resistance means continually increasing the challenge on your muscles (such as by increasing weight or repetitions) to keep building strength. “If you’ve been doing bodyweight exercises in a Pilates sequence for months, using a wall allows you to strengthen and progress your movements while still doing the same exercises,” adds Nancy.
Suitable for all levels
Wall Pilates can be used to scale up your workout as well as scale down for those who find Pilates too difficult – for example, it can be used to assist standing exercises if you have trouble with balance, or to enhance movement if you have trouble getting off the floor completely.
“A wall not only provides support but also a challenge. For example, a wall plank puts less strain on the wrists than the mat version. Similarly, I often use the wall to do push-up regressions with beginners or Ladies Who Crunch members recovering from shoulder injuries,” says Nancy.
Reduce pain Improved posture
If you have problems with your posture during Pilates (or in everyday life) and find the movements painful, wall Pilates can help.
Nancy says: “Wall Pilates supports postural alignment in compound movements such as wall sits and single leg RDLs, ensuring your technique is correct and you can complete multiple repetitions with confidence that your hips, knees and spine are correctly aligned.”
Consistency
28 days is a good length of time to continue to feel and see results, says Paola: “If you are consistent and complement your workouts with other lifestyle elements like proper nutrition, adequate rest and stress management, a 28-day fitness challenge is long enough to see results.”
“It’s important to remember that the greatest gains aren’t always visible, especially with Pilates, which is designed as a complete rehabilitative exercise for the mind and body. I find challenges like this are great for building a sense of consistency and commitment to your workout routine, and will definitely give you a great sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep moving in the months to come.”
While it’s important to take rest days, a gentle wall Pilates workout might be considered low-intensity enough to do every day without putting too much strain on your body, but it’s always best to do what feels good for you and if working out every day for 28 days seems like too much, take a break.
Is wall pilates effective?
All these benefits aside, can the 28-day wall Pilates challenge really deliver the kind of results that are being shared online? Two experts say it’s unlikely.
“I worry about the big claims that come with these challenges. After all, everyone is different and the results one person will get from a 28-day challenge may be very different to what they would get from another,” Paola says.
“In my opinion, consistent participation in the Pilates Challenge is very likely to produce results such as improved core strength, flexibility and muscle engagement. Many people will also experience improved posture, reduced pain and an overall sense of wellbeing. However, significant changes in body composition such as loss of body fat and gain of muscle may require more time.”
It’s also worth noting that, as many of Wall Pilates’ creators claim, it’s not possible to spot-balance your body fat. That is, you can’t intentionally lose fat from a specific area by focusing exercises on that area (your stomach, for example).
Nancy adds: “Gaining muscle mass is not a one-size-fits-all approach and it’s important to take factors like genetics and nutrition into account.”
“We recommend combining wall Pilates with strength training using dumbbells or kettlebells, as these machines help ensure that muscle fibres have sufficient opportunity for progressive resistance to continually develop.”
“For example, walls are great for exercising away from home, but they are not sufficient as the sole form of resistance to reduce the risk of osteoporosis as we age.”
“As a professional, licensed coach, I am always skeptical of claims without empirical data. Wall Pilates is great exercise, but like any type of exercise, results vary from person to person. While it will undoubtedly be powerful and transformative for one person, it does not guarantee the same physical and emotional results for the next person.”
Is the 28 Day Wall Pilates Challenge worth doing?
If you’re looking to relieve pain, improve your flexibility and mobility, increase the consistency of your movements, or add variety to your workouts, a wall Pilates challenge is a good idea.
Even without the weight loss, body makeover, and hyperbolic transformation hype of TikTok, it’s enough that it’s low-impact, simple, and good for you.
“I think TikTok has made Pilates too fetishistic, which can make certain demographics feel alienated, but wall Pilates is accessible and valuable for everyone. I’m a big advocate of incorporating variety into your training and keeping exercises fresh, so unless you’re rehabbing a specific injury that means you can’t do Pilates, everyone should be able to give it a try,” agrees Nancy.
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