Wall Slide
oec:wall-slide
A postural mobility drill performed with the back against a wall to enhance scapular upward rotation, thoracic extension, and shoulder mobility.
Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.
Also called: Wall Angel, Back-to-Wall Shoulder Slide, Scapular Wall Slide, Wall Slides, Serratus Wall Slide Stretch
How to do it
Setup
- Stand with your back facing a smooth wall, feet positioned roughly six inches away from the baseboard.
- Press your sacrum, upper back, and head flush against the wall.
- Brace your core gently to keep your lower back flat and minimize excessive lumbar arching.
- Bring your arms up into a 'W' or goalpost position, placing your elbows and the backs of your hands against the wall at shoulder height.
Movement
- Slowly slide your forearms and hands upward along the wall overhead into a high 'V' shape.
- Reach as high as possible while maintaining contact with the wall through your elbows, wrists, and lower back.
- Pause briefly at your active end range without allowing your ribcage to flare.
- Pull your elbows back down in a controlled path, engaging your mid and lower traps to return to the starting position.
Breathing
Inhale as you slide your arms overhead; exhale as you pull your elbows back down into your sides.
Cues
- Keep your ribs pulled down
- Maintain wall contact with wrists and elbows
- Reach tall without shrugging
Common faults
- Flaring the ribcage and hyperextending the lower back to compensate for limited shoulder mobility.
- Brace the abdominals and keep the lower back as flat against the wall as possible throughout the movement.
- Wrists or elbows lifting away from the wall during the upward slide.
- Only slide as high as you can maintain full contact with the wall, gradually working on range of motion over time.
- Excessively shrugging the shoulders toward the ears via the upper trapezius.
- Focus on driving upward rotation from the lower shoulder blades rather than hunching your neck.
Safety
- Do not force your hands or wrists against the wall if you experience sharp anterior shoulder pain or impingement symptoms.
Muscles
Joints
- Shoulder blade: Upward rotation, Downward rotation, Elevation, Depression, Retraction
- Shoulder: Abduction, Adduction, External rotation
- Elbow: Flexion, Extension
- Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization
Details
- Movement
- Mobility drill
- Modality
- Mobility, Rehabilitation
- Mechanics
- compound
- Force
- push
- Laterality
- bilateral
- Kinetic chain
- open
- Level
- beginner
- Equipment
- Wall
- Record
- Repetitions
- Load
- bodyweight
Related
- substitute for Wall Angel
- variation of Wall Angel
- regression of Prone Snow Angel
Sources
- wger: Wall Slides, by Whythebigpaws (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
- wger: Serratus Wall Slide Stretch, by Croak6728 (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.