How To Do Wall Walk (Wall Climb) Exercise

Do you want to improve your workout routine? Then you must try the Wall Walk exercise, also known as the Wall Climb. This particular exercise is renowned for its ability to overcome gravity and enhance your full-body strength, balance, and core stability.

Wall walks are a great way to break up your regular workout, whether you’re a CrossFit enthusiast, a gymnast, or someone who just wants to do something different.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you—step by step—through this empowering exercise that targets everything from your shoulders and chest to your back, arms, and core.

What is Wall Walk (Wall Climb)

The Wall Walk, also called the Wall Climb, is a bodyweight workout that works all of your body parts. It helps you get stronger, more stable, and more coordinated in your upper and lower body.

To do this exercise, you start in a plank position facing away from a wall. Then, you walk your feet up the wall while moving your hands toward it.

The goal of this exercise is to walk your feet up the wall until you are in a handstand position, and then walk back down to the starting position.

Wall climbs work several muscles in the upper body, including the shoulders, chest, triceps, and upper back, as well as the core muscles, including the abs and lower back.

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Why Do You Do Wall Walks

Wall walks are a versatile movement that offers a variety of benefits. Here is why you should include Wall Walks in your regular exercise routine.

1. Full-Body Workout

One of the most compelling reasons to do Wall Walks is that they work multiple muscle groups at once. Unlike isolated exercises that focus on one specific area, Wall Walks demand coordination and strength from your entire body.

Your shoulders, back, chest, arms, and core must work in harmony in order to execute this exercise effectively.

2. Improves Balance and Stability

Balance isn’t just about standing on one foot; it’s about the ability to control your body through complex movements. Wall Walks demand a high level of balance and coordination as you “walk” up and down the wall.

This can significantly improve your proprioception, which is your body’s sense of positioning in space. This will improve your overall balance and stability.

3. Enhances Functional Strength

A functional strength refers to the type of strength that is applicable to real-world situations.

Wall Walks are more than just lifting heavy weights in a controlled environment. They also help you build strength in your upper body and core for everyday activities and sports.

4. Increased upper body strength

Wall climbs work the shoulders, upper back, chest, and triceps muscles. This can make the upper body stronger.

5. Improved core strength

It is important to remember that wall climbs engage the core muscles, including the abs and lower back, which can help improve core strength.

6. Improve Overall Health

A recent analysis found isometric exercises to be highly effective for lowering blood pressure. Isometric exercises involve contracting muscles without moving joints, like planks, wall sits and walk climb.

Holding an exercise position statically can be a simple yet powerful way to improve cardiovascular health.

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Muscle Worked During Wall Walk

Wall walks are a multi-joint, compound exercise that targets a broad spectrum of muscle groups. This exercise requires strength in the upper body, stability in the core, and control in the lower body.

Here’s a closer look at the main and supporting muscles used during Wall Walks.

Primary Muscles Worked

1. Shoulders (Deltoids): The act of walking your hands towards and away from the wall activates the front, side, and rear deltoids.
2. Chest: Pushing your body away from the wall during the descent phase activates the chest muscles.
3. Upper Back: As you climb and descend, your lats and rhomboids work to keep your torso straight.
4. Core: Wall Walking requires a strong and stable core to keep your body in place. It is the rectus abdominis and obliques that provide stability. In order to stabilize the spine, the lower back muscles are engaged.
5. Triceps: During the descent phase, when you move your hands away from the wall, these muscles are involved.

Secondary and Stabilizers Muscles Worked

1. Forearms: It works to grip the floor and provide stability.
2. Glutes and Hamstrings: They help to maintain a straight body line and provide stability as you walk up and down the wall.
3. Calves: extend ankles to keep feet pointed on wall
4. Serratus Anterior: This muscle helps with scapular stability and is subtly activated during the Wall Walks.

How To Do Wall Climb

1. Start in a high plank position with your feet against the wall and your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor.
2. Press your toes into the wall, and lift one foot at a time to place them against the wall.
3. Engage your core and stabilize your upper body to prepare for the climb.
4. Slowly start to “walk” your feet up the wall while moving your hands toward the wall as well.
5. Keep your body straight as possible, engage your core and maintaining a tight line from head to toe.
6. Once your feet are up the wall and your hands are close to it, you should be in a handstand-like position.
7. Pause for a moment to stabilize your position.
8. Start walking your feet back down the wall, while simultaneously moving your hands away from the wall.
9. Take your feet off the wall and return to the starting plank position.
10. The above will complete 1 repetition of a wall climb.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

1. Arching the Back

• Mistake: Allowing the lower back to arch, putting strain on the spine.

• Fix: Keep your core engaged to maintain a straight body line.

2. Overextending the Shoulders

• Mistake: Pushing the shoulders too far forward.

• Fix: Keep shoulders stacked above wrists for proper alignment.

3. Rushing the Movement

• Mistake: Moving too quickly, leading to loss of form and balance.

• Fix: Slow down and focus on controlled, deliberate movements.

4. Incomplete Range of Motion

• Mistake: Not fully walking up the wall or cutting the descent short.

• Fix: Aim for a full range of motion to maximize muscle engagement.

5. Ignoring the Core

• Mistake: Failing to engage the core muscles, leading to instability.

• Fix: Actively engage the core throughout the exercise for better stability.

6. Incorrect Hand Placement

• Mistake: Placing hands too wide or too narrow.

• Fix: Keep hands at shoulder-width for optimal stability and strength.

7. Skipping the Warm-up

• Mistake: Starting the exercise without a proper warm-up.

• Fix: Warm up your shoulders, wrists, and core before attempting Wall Walks.

8. Poor Foot Placement

• Mistake: Letting the feet slide or using only the toes for support.

• Fix: Use the balls of your feet for stable and controlled movements.

Walk Climb Modifications and Variations

Changing your routine or trying new things can make you feel fresh and challenge you in new ways. There’s a Wall Walk variation for you, whether you’re a beginner who wants to do the Half Wall Walk or a more advanced athlete who wants to do push-ups or shoulder taps.

Here are some modifications and variations you can try.

1. Half Wall Walks

This is a simplified version of the full Wall Walk, which is ideal for beginners.

It’s easier on the shoulders and doesn’t require as much core strength, so it’s easy for people who are new to the exercise.

How To Do It

• Instead of walking all the way up to a handstand position, stop midway.
• Then walk back down to your starting position.

2. Wall Walks with a Push-up

This variation adds a push-up at the beginning or end of the Wall Walk. It makes exercise more challenging and effective for a full-body workout.

How To Do It

• Start in a plank position.
• Perform a push-up, then immediately proceed to do a Wall Walk.
• Alternatively, you can add the push-up after you come down from the Wall Walk before resetting to the starting position.

3. Wall Walks with a Shoulder Tap

The shoulder tap at the top of this variation adds a challenge to your shoulders and core.

The exercise is more challenging because it enhances shoulder stability and engages the core more intensively.

How To Do It

• start in a push-up position with your feet against the wall.
• Then, walk your hands and feet up the wall until you reach a comfortable height.
• At the top of the wall, tap your right shoulder with your left hand.
• Repeat on the other side before walking back down.
• Then, walk back down the wall to the starting position.

Conclusion

The Wall Walk is a dynamic, full-body exercise with numerous benefits. This workout targets key muscle groups like the shoulders, chest, back, arms, and core.

Wall climb are an excellent exercise for developing coordination, stability, and total body strength. Just make sure you ease into them, be careful, and keep your posture in check.

I hope this guide helped you understand how to perform wall walks safely and correctly. Add them to your workouts to improve your physical fitness.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.