Hanging Side Lean

Perform the Hanging Side Lean to engage your obliques and improve core stability.

  1. Hang from a pull-up bar with an overhand grip.
  2. Engage your core and lean your body to one side.
  3. Hold the position for a moment, feeling the stretch in your side.
  4. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

How to perform the Hanging Side Lean

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Hanging Side Lean using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your abdominals.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your abdominals rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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