Wall slides
Muscles worked : Shoulders, upper back
How to do it
- Stand with your back to a wall, lower back, upper back and head in contact with it.
- Place the arms in a "W", elbows and wrists against the wall.
- Slide the arms upwards keeping contact with the wall, towards a "Y".
- Lower under control back to the starting position.
Common mistakes
- The lower back arching and lifting off the wall.
- Elbows or wrists losing contact with the wall on the way up.
- Forcing range beyond what the shoulder allows without pain.
Where you should feel it
Work between the shoulder blades and at the back of the shoulders, often with a stretch across the front of the chest. That is exactly the intent: open at the front, switch on at the back.
Range of motion
Go as high as you can while keeping elbows and wrists on the wall. The point where contact breaks is your limit for the day — going past it by lifting the arms removes the entire point of the exercise.
Tempo and breathing
Three seconds up, three seconds down. The wall is the constraint: it is what prevents compensation, provided you stay slow.
What works, precisely
The lower and middle trapezius along with the rhomboids draw the shoulder blades together and down. The external rotators of the shoulder hold the "W" position. On the opposite side, the pectoralis minor and the shoulder flexors are placed under stretch.
Movement mechanics
A combination of shoulder-blade elevation and rotation coordinated with shoulder abduction in the frontal plane. The wall imposes a reference plane: it makes any compensation by arching or rolling visible and impossible to ignore.
Benefits
- Directly counterbalances the rolled-forward posture that prolonged sitting installs.
- Restores the shoulder mobility needed before any overhead pushing work.
- The wall gives immediate feedback on execution quality, with no mirror or outside eye required.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Step the feet slightly away from the wall and bend the knees: this reduces the arch and makes contact easier to hold.
- Harder : Slow down further, or hold two seconds at the highest point.
- Move on when : When the full range goes by without the elbows lifting, add the pause.
Precautions
Losing contact with the wall is not a failure but information: it is your current mobility. Forcing past it by arching does not improve that mobility.