What Is a Wunda Chair? A Guide to Pilates Chairs

The Wunda Chair is the smallest spring apparatus in a classical studio and often the most demanding. It is essentially a box with a padded seat and a sprung pedal, with handles fitted on many versions. Almost everything happens against that pedal, whether the body sits, stands, kneels or lies beside it.

Where did the Wunda Chair come from?

It started life as a compact chair for a small apartment that flipped over into an exercise apparatus, first powered by bed springs. Modern chairs dropped the bed springs but kept the idea. Peak's Artistry Wunda Chair still converts between a working mode and a sitting mode and is built to look like furniture.

What types of Pilates chair are there?

There are four common types: the low chair, the high/low combination chair, the chair with handles and the stackable metal chair. All keep a sprung pedal. They differ in seat height, handle support and whether several can be stored in a small footprint. The list below shows one example of each.

• Low chair: the classic height. Peak's Artistry Low Chair is 22 in high on a 19.5 by 30 in base and offers 24 resistance levels.
• High/low combination: converts to a high chair with a removable back, with wood-line designs standing about 64.5 in overall. Elina's Classic Combo Chair with Back joins the low Wunda format to a tall backrest.
• Chair with handles: removable handles support standing and pressing work. Elina's combo chairs set their handles at three heights.
• Stackable metal chair: the Peak MVe Fitness Chair uses an aluminium frame and stacks five high.

How the BASI Wunda Chair works

BASI's version occupies a 35.5 in by 21.7 in footprint, smaller than any other resistance apparatus in its range. Its signature is the tension change. Resistance can be altered without unhooking a spring, so a setting can move mid-sequence instead of between exercises. The mechanism earned it an A Design Award.

The handles lock at four heights spaced 2.56 in apart, covering 46.2 to 55.6 in. The pedal is a rounded split design, the frame pairs beech with aircraft-grade aluminium and the chair weighs 88 lb. It comes with two yellow and two black springs.

Size, storage and handling

Chairs are the easiest apparatus to fit into a room. A classic solid maple Wunda chair can measure as little as 31 by 21 in with a height of 23 in. BASI adds two silicone wheels so its chair can be tilted and rolled. Peak's Artistry Wunda Chair has a dedicated place to keep its springs, while a group room can nest MVe chairs five high.

Is a Wunda Chair right for your studio?

A chair suits studios short on floor space and teachers who want balance and strength work in a compact form. It is small, but the repertoire is not easy, so beginners usually start under supervision. It complements a reformer rather than replacing one. Many studios add one as their second apparatus.

Pedal style is the remaining choice. A single pedal is steadier, while a split pedal lets each leg or arm work separately. Compare the two before you order.

Explore chairs alongside other apparatus in Studio and Commercial or see the full range from BASI in BASI Systems.