Side Bend

Equipment:

Mat

Prop:

None

Difficulty (1-5):

4

Repetitions:

3 (each)

Main Body Position:

Side Plank

Spine Position:

Lateral Flexion

Part of Series?

No

Start Position 🏁

  • Bring one hip on mat with the other stacked on top
  • Stack thighs
  • Foot of top leg in front of foot of bottom leg, sole flat on mat
  • Outer edge of bottom foot on mat
  • Hand of lower arm on mat, under same shoulder, fingers pointing away from body
  • Rest upper arm on same side of body, palm up
  • Look at upward-turned palm
  • Exhale to push into hand and feet and lift everything up into a side plank

Cues 💡

  • Maintain push of hand and feet into mat
  • Both legs straight
  • Lower hips as much as possible
  • Ribcage stays as high as possible as hips lower
  • Push even more firmly into hand and feet to lift hips as much as possible
  • Follow upper hand with eyes throughout exercise
  • Keep shoulder of arm with hand on mat unshrugged. The key to doing this is degree of push of that hand into the mat.

Breathing 🫁

  • Inhale (nose) to lower hips
  • Exhale (mouth) to lift everything up

Modifications 🔧

  • Place feet against wall
  • Don’t follow upper hand with eyes (if it makes you dizzy)
  • Stack legs and feet (make it harder)