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Your abs are not the only muscles on your core.

You have also your obliques, the muscles at the side of your abs that plays also an important role in core stabilization.

Weighted side bend is an excellent exercise to include to your ab routine to have a strong, solid, and complete core workout.

Yes, you’ll be incorporating weights this time. It’s a great way to add variation and stimulation to your training. 

Weights allow a more measurable and specific overload since you can easily add exact weight to your exercise. It also gives you a chance to isolate your muscles. This way, you can train specifically your obliques in case it needs some extra loving. 

Weighted side bends are a side fundamental exercise. Internal and external obliques and abdominals are strengthened during this exercise. This is a unilateral exercise and needs to be done on both sides.

You’ll get to maximize the full benefits of having a strong (not only abs) core so do your obliques training!

👍HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT’S SAFE TO ATTEMPT?

This is a fairly safe exercise since you can easily adjust the difficulty of the exercise. Just try it first with only your bodyweight. Once comfortable, slowly add an appropriate weight.

✅Summarized Benefits

1. Strong obliques
2. Improves posture
3. Strong core translatable to other calisthenics exercises
4. Address possible lagging oblique muscles

How to Perform💪

1. Begin in a standing position with feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold weight in one hand, another hand fist off beside your ears.
3. Lean to the side the weight is on, and use your obliques on the opposite side to stand back up straight.
4. Do specified repetitions on one side, then on the other.

👉Keep in mind

Bend only at the waist

Bending at the waist ensures maximum oblique activation when performing the exercise. Avoid swaying your hips or bending forward. This also helps to limit your ability to use momentum.

Go slowly

This is an isolation exercise meaning your obliques will mainly do the work so go slowly. It’s very tempting to add weights and lift heavy but that is not the way you want to do. It’s a sure way to get injured.

Choose a weight that you can do a moderate amount of repetitions and slowly increase the weight as you get stronger.