Exercise Tutorial: Down the Mountain on the Wunda Chair

Hey there all you Wunda Chair lovers!

This post is for you 🙂

One of the best features of our beloved Pilates System is that you’ve got so many fun ways to care for your body, your most precious asset.

Sure the exercises can be challenging, but it pleases me when there’s a fun acrobatic way to improve your connection and proficiency.

Yes, you could choose to always do the “usual suspect” exercises, the meat-and-potatoes of a fundamental or intermediate workout.

And that is awesome!

But I find the addition of more difficult or previously unreachable exercises to be motivating, enlivening and exciting.

Today I have an exercise tutorial on Down the Mountain on the Wunda Chair.

Fans of the standard Mountain Climb exercise will rejoice (perhaps). It’s also ok if you groan.

The Big Picture

Here’s a short workout from last year that features the full combination of Down the Mountain Climb.

This one is no joke, but you can start with a portion of the exercise and gradually work up to the full expression of this combo.

None of it is easy.

If you struggle with imbalance side to side or balance, use a Gondola Pole to aid your balance, place your Chair next to the Cadillac or recruit a friend to spot you.

Take care of yourself and above all, have fun. Maybe even celebrate a bit afterwards…

Down the Mountain

• Use a 2-spring setting that offers you good support: 1 top spring + 1 bottom spring on a Gratz Wunda Chair. I’m petite so I use 1 middle spring + bottom spring so the spring tension doesn’t push me around but still feels supportive. See what would work best for you.
• Stand at the back of the Chair and place what will be your standing leg on top.
• Use your hands to help you find your balance in the starting position for now.
• In the starting position lift your body as upright as you can.
• “Stand” on both legs as much as you can. It will help your lift as well.
• Keep your pumping small at first and make the closing of the pedal the most important.
• Channel your Pumping on the High Chair exercise. Think about how good it would be to sit down right now…
• Bring both feet onto the top of the Chair – almost like you’re squatting on the top of the Chair – to switch to the other side.
• Do 5x or 8x each side.

Okay, that’s already a f***ton of work I know.

Work this way for a while if this is new and wonky.

It will get better.

The Standing Start

If you prefer you could start in a standing position.

This may prove helpful in the same way you work on the Squats at the Cadillac.

• Now you’ll be able to decide how low to go into the Down the Mountain.
• Only go as low as you can return to standing. Think about all your squat exercises in the method, your descending-to-the-Mat skills and even the humble Frog.
• Use a pole, friend or wall to help your balance if necessary.
• Again, only go as low as you can control.

Putting it Together

Now you can add a fancy-ish entry and exit to your Down the Mountain exercise.

It’s not really fancy, it is literally Going Up Front, but – surprise – there are no springs!

Are you having fun yet?

• Stand behind the Wunda.
• Step up onto the Chair on 1 leg. I like to reach my arms up to help lift up my body.
• Balance on 1 leg for 3 counts.
• Defy gravity on the way back to the floor to land as quietly as possible.
• Repeat 3x each side.
• On the 3rd time, place your foot on the pedal and Down the Mountain you’ll go!
• Exit the exercise combo in the same way you started.

Watch the video here.

Enjoy this style of teaching?

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