Side Bend
The Side Bend exercise targets the oblique muscles and improves lateral flexibility.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Raise one arm overhead while keeping the other arm at your side.
- Slowly lean to the side of the raised arm, feeling a stretch in your side.
- Hold the position briefly, then return to the starting position.
- Repeat on the other side.
How to perform the Side Bend
- Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Side Bend using your body weight.
- Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your abdominals.
- 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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