BENEFITS: Core, Obliques
START POSITION: Hold a single dumbbell in one hand down at the hip to one side. Feet shoulder width apart. Put the other hand on the back of your head with the elbow flared out to the side. Stand up straight and tense your core and obliques.
NOTES: Difficulty Rating 60%
Keep your head and chin up slightly above the horizontal. Allow the dumbbell to drop slowly under it’s own weight at the end of your straight arm. As you do this, lean over by contracting and retracting your oblique muscles (sides). Keep your legs straight and knees locked. It may also help to get a bigger stretch if you look back over your shoulder a little on the side of the dumbbell.
How far you bend on each side depends entirely on the mobility and Range of Motion of your Oblique muscles (the muscles either side of the Abs). Focus your mind on the tenseness of the Obliques and you should feel a stretch on one side and a slight crunch on the other side. Allow the tension in the Obliques to tell you when to stop bending.
Select a medium to heavy dumbbell for Dumbbell Side bends because he Obliques are quite strong muscles. Somewhere between 5 and 15 reps is fine.