The “Movement Heals” series ends with this month’s blog with my final apparatus. I saved this G.O.A.T. for last.
The Contrology Wunda Chair I have is a recreation of Joe’s original Wunda chairs you would find at his Gym circa 1970. This is a near reproduction of the same resistance and geometry of the original Wunda Chair.
- By now, you know how much I love the Contrology foam.
- I won’t bore you with the details, as I’ve discussed it plenty here.
- You also know how much I love the Contrology vintage springs.
- I completely nerd about it here.
The Wunda Chair is an awesome tool to build strength in the body whether it’s upper body, lower body, side body, which are all connected to your center. Due to the size of the apparatus, there’s no hiding with this apparatus. All of your body’s patterning will show up when working out on the Wunda Chair. There is no hiding. For instance, the tiniest of cheats that may still occur on something like the Cadillac, or even the reformer, will show up on the Wunda Chair.
The Wunda Chair is great for practicing asymmetrical exercises for unilateral work in the body. Basically, it’s the treatment for the body’s imbalances and patterns. We all have them. Right vs. Left. Upper body vs. Lower body. Front plane of the body vs. Back plane of the body. We’re human. Speaking of imbalances and patterns, the Wunda Chair is a great tool in improving our balance as a whole.
The size of the Wunda Chair, and the strength it builds in the body is how I came up with Simone, for the one and only Simone Biles. If you didn’t know, Simone Biles practices Pilates, and says she’s bad at it! She said she was so sore the next day. Stars… they’re just like us! Isn’t it nice to know we’re not alone?
The Wunda Chair is a wonderful complement to your mat or reformer practice. Need support for Elephant on the reformer? Try the Pullups on the Wunda Chair. Need support for Teaser on the mat? Try the Teaser on the Wunda Chair. Just placing your hands on the pedal teaches you the teaser shape, and it’s not on top of your sitz bones, nor is your body in a V-shape,
Practically speaking, do you need support for walking up and down stairs? You need the various Standing Press Down exercises. To level it up, try Going Up Front or Going Up Side on the Wunda Chair. Looking for a challenge? Try the Mountain Climber or even Star.
Several tips:
- Explore how you can keep good form while moving the pedal. Essentially, it’s not important that the pedal touches the floor if your form changes.
- Sometimes, holding the start position is enough, and a lot of work. I can work up a sweat just holding the start position! Again, it’s not important that the pedal moves with some exercises if your form changes.
- Explore different spring settings for the right support for your body for each exercise.
Hope you enjoyed meeting and learning about all my “girls” at my private home studio through this “Movement Heals” blog series.
A refresher on my “girls”:
They’re all available to help you on your fitness journey no matter if this will be your first time experiencing movement, or to help you with your daily life activities, or to improve your performance as an athlete. Book a private with me today!