Wall angels are a posture exercise. You stand with your back to a wall and sweep both arms out to the sides and up overhead, the way you would make a snow angel. The work goes into the muscles between and below your shoulder blades (middle and lower trapezius), and you will often see them in programs for rounded shoulders and a stiff upper back.

How to do the wall angels

Stand with your back against a wall, heels a few centimeters from it, arms relaxed by your sides and eyes looking straight ahead.
Gently tighten your lower stomach muscles and keep your chin level, neither poking forward nor tucked hard in.
Lift both arms out to the sides and keep going up toward your head, palms facing forward.
Bring the arms back down the same way to your sides.
Keep your neck and back in the same neutral position throughout. The arms can stay straight, as in the video, or bend at the elbows.

What you should feel

Work between and around your shoulder blades. Many people also feel a stretch across the front of the chest as the arms rise.

Common mistakes

Arching the lower back away from the wall as the arms go up.
Poking the chin forward or tipping the head back.
Shrugging the shoulders toward your ears near the top.

How often

Programs commonly use 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 slow repetitions, once or twice a day. How high the arms reach matters less than keeping your back and neck still. Your physio can change the sets and reps.

Stop and check with your physio if

Either shoulder catches or hurts sharply as the arms go up.
Pins and needles or pain run down an arm into the hand.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.

From the clinic

Most people find their arms stop short of full height at first, especially after long hours at a desk. Work in the range you can reach with your back still flat against the wall. Forcing the arms higher usually just makes the lower back arch. A tight chest can be part of what holds the arms back, and some programs put a pec stretch first for that reason.

The bent elbow version, with the arms held in a goalpost shape, is the one often shown online. Some people find it harder on the shoulders, so the straight arm version in the video is a reasonable place to start.

Reviewed by the PocketPhysio by VirtueLife expert physiotherapy team. Last reviewed 2026-09-25.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Wall angels