Pilates Chair Workout for Lean Muscle

The Pilates Chair is my favorite piece of gym equipment and provides me with my favorite workout of the week, helping me to develop lean muscle in my body. These 28 fun exercises will sculpt, strengthen, and define your entire body using the Pilates Wunda Chair.

What is the Pilates Chair?

The Pilates Chair is one of several resistance exercise machines invented by Joseph Pilates.

It’s a chair that is essentially a sturdy, cushioned box – with a resistance panel that can be pressed down. The video lower within this article shows you a complete Pilates Chair workout.

The panel has a pedal on its end upon which you can place your feet or hands – and metal springs inside the box make it easy to customize the level of resistance.

Since the Pilates Wunda chair was invented in the 1920s, there have been many variations of the chair – sometimes with optional handles and a high back.

Why the Pilates Chair is Genius for Creating Lean Muscle in Your Body

This Pilates Chair workout has been extremely helpful to me. It has improved my physique – adding lean muscle that is well-shaped and defined.

It has also strengthened the all-important “powerhouse” – my body’s core of abdominal and lower back muscles.

Additionally, it has improved the mobility of my joints and spine (of paramount importance now that I’m age 57).

I’ve been using the chair for many years, and it never seems to get old. The more I use it, the more skilled I become and the more fun I have during my workouts.

It keeps me coming back.

The real brilliance of the Pilates Chair is that it places you into postures and maneuvers that require the engagement of smaller, stabilizing muscles (not just the usual major muscle groups). Everything is called upon. This makes a big difference in terms of your results.

Long-term, you’ll not only see a difference, but even after one workout, you’ll feel something significant is happening. It’s as though all the muscles are vibrating near the skin and bone-deep.

Try these 28 exercises and see if you see and feel a difference.

List of Exercises – A Strategically Sequenced Workout on the Wunda Chair

Sometimes I do Pilates Chair exercises in the classical sequence, but other times I do a different sequence that reduces the number of times I need to change spring settings. This helps me to keep my heart rate up without having to take extended breaks in between movements.

1. Footwork (turned out, balls of feet on pedal, relevé)
2. Footwork (arches on pedal, parallel, together)
3. Footwork (heels on pedal)
4. Exaggerated Heel Raises (full range of motion)
5. The Pull Up
6. Hundreds
7. Single Leg Pull
8. Double Leg Pull
9. Single Straight-Leg Stretch
10. Double Straight-Leg Stretch
11. Criss Cross
12. Going Up Front
13. Going Up Side
14. Pike (tendon stretch variation)
15. Table Top
16. Frog In
17. Frog Out
18. Push Down
19. Kneeling Push Down
20. One-Arm Push Down with Twist (from side)
21. Teaser on Chair
22. The Barbie
23. Sphinx
24. Flying Eagle
25. Frog Lying Flat
26. Swan
27. Spine Stretch Forward
28. Chair Teaser (on the floor)

I have a few suggestions that might prove helpful as you try this Wunda chair workout.

Each time I do an exercise, I ask myself, “what can I do to make this even more effective?”

For example, at the beginning of this fitness workout during the Footwork Series, the temptation is to sit heavily on the chair and turn off your glutes. However, you want to do the opposite. Pretend you’re sitting on hot coals. Activate the glutes and direct your energy upwards away from the chair with a tall torso.

Furthermore, where on the chair you sit makes a lot of difference regarding how challenging the exercise is.

Experiment with the Pilates Chair; sit closer to the edge during footwork, then sit farther back. Which is harder? Where is the right spot on the chair to sit to make the exercise maximally effective for you?

• Can the exercise be slower or faster?
• Can the spine be longer?
• Can breathing be improved?
• What about neck positioning?

• Are the limbs long enough?
• Is the movement being initiated from the core?
• Are the top ribs compressed enough?
• Is the navel being drawn in with enough intensity?

Sometimes, the more springs you add, the easier the exercise becomes. The more springs you add, the harder the exercise becomes. It depends on the particular exercise. The idea is to choose a spring setting that challenges you while still being safe.

Do you want more lean muscle in your own body? I invite you to try these 28 exercises.

BONUS: Leg-Pump Finisher

For extra credit, the Pilates leg-pump series on the Wunda Chair makes a great finisher. Try this series of exercises at the end of a complete Chair workout for additional thigh conditioning! If you’re limited on time, you can remove Frog-In (#16), Frog-Out (#17), and Swan (#26) from the first part of the workout.

Leg pumps, as shown in the bonus video below, are effective for strengthening and firming the quads, hamstrings, inner thighs, outer thighs, and glutes.

I encourage you to seek a Pilates trainer specializing in the chair. If you have your own chair at home, you might need only a few private sessions before you’re ready to move on to a group chair class or try it on your own for a while.

All exercise involves risk, so your common sense and personal responsibility are required.

See your medical doctor before beginning any new strenuous exercise program or lifestyle change.

Important: during some of the balancing poses, when you stand upon the chair, you’ll want to consider moving the Pilates Chair near a wall for support or ask a friend to spot you.

The Pilates Wunda Chair can be a safer way to receive all the essential benefits of exercise after the age of 50 – including bone density, improved circulation, and a reduction in arthritis symptoms. Chair exercises can also improve the appearance, shape, and definition of the body’s musculature.

(Photography and videography by Jeremy Blaine)

Additional Resources Related to the Pilates Chair Workout:

Exercise Helps Bone Density – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6323511/

Safe Movements Can Reduce Arthritis Symptoms – https://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Living-Well-with-Rheumatic-Disease/Exercise-and-Arthritis#

Working Out Helps Your Veins and Circulation – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3334245/