Stall bars (also known as Swedish bars or wall bars) are a superb equipment that is used in mobility work by gymnasts and physiotherapists. Stall bars can be a very effective tool for building flexibility and mobility in the whole body.
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Stall bars are used by gymnasts, fitness enthusiasts, and many who need to use wall bars for mobility, rehabilitation or pre-rehabilitation (preventing injuries, and correcting posture and improving body alignment).
In this article we will go through the many different ways how to work on your mobility and improve your posture and body alignment.
You can use the stall bars at your local gym or gymnasium. Many have also built their own stall bars.
Where to buy stall bars? In case you want the stall bars for your home workout, you can buy affordable high quality stall bars from here.
How to Use Stall Bars for Mobility
German Hang on Stall Bars
German hang is a great mobility exercise to improve the flexibility and mobility in your shoulders, biceps and anterior deltoids. Chest and forearm muscles are also stretched to a degree.
The easier variation is to do the german hang with the assistance of your legs.
The harder variation is to lift your legs up and hold your entire bodyweight in the stretched position.
Kneeling Shoulder Stretch
Kneeling shoulder stretch on stall bars is one of the best exercises you can do to improve the flexibility in your shoulders and open up your shoulders.
This stretch will be heavily beneficial for all handstand work where the goal is to have the most open shoulders as possible (your arms are in the same line with your trunk).
Kneeling Bent Arm Stretch
Although this stretch looks similar to kneeling shoulder stretch, the stretch will be very different.
Your shoulders will get stretched, but this stretch will also stretch the triceps and the upper trapezius muscles.
Pike Stretch on Stall Bars
Pike stretch on stall bars is probably one of the best pike stretches you can do.
Stall bars will allow you to adjust the difficulty better than any other tool: you are just climbing up the ladders with your feet. Another great thing about this stretch is that it's easy to push with your legs and go beyond your current limitations in your flexibility.
The pike stretch on stall bars will stretch your shoulders, lower back, glutes, and especially the hamstrings.
You can also do a dynamic sequence with the pike stretch where you are pushing your legs straight for a second or two, relax and then do another rep of 1-2 seconds.
Lats and Trapezius Stretch
Lats and trapezius stretch on stall bars is great for stretching your lats and trapezius muscles. Use your other arm and legs to push you away from the stall bars in order to enhance the effect of the stretch.
You can stretch many different muscles in your entire upper back with this one: just vary the grip, angles and your hand position.
Band Distraction Stretching
Stall bars allow you to tie almost anything to the ladders. This makes the stall bars a very good tool for different mobility drills where you are using rubber bands.
Here we are using rubber bands for hip mobility drills. The resistance band pulls the head of the femur into a more favorable position in the hip socket to get a better stretch.
Hamstring Floss Exercise
In this exercise we apply posterior distraction while stretching the hamstring and flexing the hip.
Pull the band deep into your groin. Step forward so the band is tight and bend from the hips and knees to get you palms to the ground. Extend your knee to stretch the hamstring.
You can just stay there or do a flossing movement by leaning back and forth.
Pigeon Pose With Lateral Distraction
The same idea works here. Distraction is applied to the hip joint in order to get a better stretch for the glutes and deep rotators like piriformis. This time the band pulls the joint sideways.
In Conclusion
Stall bars can indeed be a great tool for many different mobility exercises.
If you are interested in learning how to use the stall bars for strength work, you can read this article:
