Weighted Ball Side Bend — start position
Start
Weighted Ball Side Bend — end position
End

Core / Intermediate / Isolation (single joint)

Weighted Ball Side Bend

A stability ball isolation exercise for the obliques and abs.

At a glance

Primary
Obliques, Abs
Equipment
Stability ball, Weight plate
Movement pattern
Side bend
Level
Intermediate
Type
Core, Isolation (single joint), Balance / unstable

How to do it

  1. To begin, lie down on an exercise ball with your left side of the torso (waist, hips and shoulder) pressed against the ball.
  2. Your feet should be on the floor while your legs are crossed and hanging from the ball. Hold a weighted plate with your right hand directly to the right side of your head. Tip: Make sure the smooth side of the plate is resting against your head.
  3. Place your left arm across your torso so that your palm is on your obliques. There should be a right angle between your left forearm and upper arm. This is the starting position.
  4. Raise the side of your torso up by laterally flexing at the waist while exhaling.
  5. Hold the contraction for a second and slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position while inhaling.
  6. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
  7. Switch sides and repeat the exercise.

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Muscles worked

Neck (Front)Upper traps (Front)Front delts (Front)Side delts (Front)Chest (Front)Serratus anterior (Front)Biceps (Front)Forearms & grip (Front)Abs — primary (Front)Obliques — primary (Front)Hip flexors (Front)Quads (Front)Adductors (Front)Shins (tibialis) (Front)Calves (Front)Outer shins (peroneals) (Front)Feet (arch & toes) (Front)Neck (Back)Upper traps (Back)Upper back (rhomboids, mid/lower traps) (Back)Rear delts (Back)Side delts (Back)Rotator cuff (Back)Lats (Back)Lower back (erectors) (Back)Triceps (Back)Forearms & grip (Back)Hip abductors (glute med) (Back)Glutes (Back)Hamstrings (Back)Adductors (Back)Calves (Back)
FrontBack
  • Primary: Obliques, Abs

Best for

How specific this exercise is to each movement.

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Photos and instructions: free-exercise-db (github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db), public domain.