Should Weights Be Used With Side Bend Exercises?

Often used as an abdominal strengthening exercise, the side bend is surrounded by controversy. Yes, your body is made to bend to the side, but this movement may not be the best core-strengthening exercise. When you add weights to the movement, you increase the safety concerns on your spine, but when used with caution, light weights may help you improve your core.

  1. Side Bend

    • You perform the side bend in a standing position. You stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms straight at your sides. Your posture is tall with your back straight and your chin parallel with the floor. Your stomach is pulled tight by bringing your navel toward your spine. You bend to the right by sliding your right hand down the side of your right leg and shortening the distance between your rib cage and your hip bone. Return to an upright position, then repeat the bend to the left and to the same distance.

    Muscles Used

    • The obliques, along the sides of your abdomen, contract to shorten the space between your ribs and your hips. In this standing position, the obliques are not the strongest lateral flexion mover. Another muscle, the quadratus lumborum, is the stronger lateral flexion mover. The quadratus lumborum is a deep spinal muscle that connects your lowest rib to the crest of your hip bone. The side bend increases the strength of this spinal muscle and also increases your lateral flexion range of motion.

    Adding Inches

    • A fear of adding a heavy resistance to the side bend is the result of a thick waist. Any time you add resistance to a muscle, you do risk increasing the thickness of the muscle. That is the premise behind strength training. The abdominal muscles are thinner than other muscle groups such as your shoulders and legs, so your risk is low of gaining a thick waist from adding weights to the side bend.

    Light Weight

    • Caution is still recommended when adding weights to the side bend exercise. Dr. Len Kravitz, associate exercise science professor at the University of New Mexico, recommends training the abdominals with light weights between 2 and 4 pounds. Even then, use the weights only when the need for the added resistance is great. The side bend works against gravity and uses the weight of your body for resistance, so add weights with caution. You can increase the challenge of the exercise by adding another set or a higher number of repetitions.