Weighted side bends....yay or nay?

[MadMick]

NAY

You'll thicken your obliques.

This is true

 

[acon83]

crunches and hanging leg raises. thats all a girl needs.

^^this^^

LOVE them both! I prefer decline bench crunches with a 10-15lb dumbell in my hands!

 

[jdjack]

Anyone whos done heavy squatting knows they work the abs very well. Vacuums work well too. They hit the Transversus Abdom. It'll keep everything flat.

 

[MAYO]

Anyone whos done heavy squatting knows they work the abs very well. Vacuums work well too. They hit the Transversus Abdom. It'll keep everything flat.

That's where I got my turtle shell.....at the heavy squat depot, lol.

 

[Wolf]

I find them useful but then again useful for athletics isn't necessary useful for bodybuilding. If you are doing adequate freeweight compound movements your abs should get to a pretty good point. In my experience it does thicken the waist.

 

[ritch]

I see people doing them all the time, ever notice the people who train their abs the most have the worst abs? Abs, to look their best do need training, obliques, I would pass on, they will come in as you get lean.

 

[bigdave1967]

Don't bother with any type of standing weighted side bends. Useless exercise. Side planks work better.

 

[sassy69]

First of all, these are the people who usually have no clue. They tend to be chubby moms because its an easy exercise and looks like it does something for your waist.

Abs are made in the kitchen.

Weighted stuff has the potential to make them "thick" since you are building the muscle and not "spot reducing". I've also never actually "felt" anything from them. My oblique work consists of oblique v-ups, hanging side crunches, some broom / trunk twists, but given displaying abs & obliques is part of bodybuilding mandatories, I practice the shit out of vacuums and an interesting variation of ab contractions w/ a single grip on the lat pull down and some weight like 40-60 lb. Its very, very mind-muscle oriented.

And I agree - full-body stabilization exercises are less dramatic but more productive - planks, side planks.

 

[SHINE]

Yes I was gona say definitely if anything thicken up your waist, good if your a MMA guy or wrestler but other than that NO.

 

[BrotherIron]

Yes I was gona say definitely if anything thicken up your waist, good if your a MMA guy or wrestler but other than that NO.

Not true... it's also GREAT if you're a strength athlete. Try having your trunk support 800lbs+ pounds while squatting. You'll find it's not easy if you have a small waist. So for those who compete in strength sports like Oly lifting, SM, and PLing this movement is actually very beneficial to help support the load you'll be lifting.

For BBing, it's actually going to work against you.

So it all depends on what sport you compete or take part in.

 

[Gstacker]

Well the guys I see doing side bends don't look like they can support 800 lbs lol
But thanks bi I was wondering if it had use for power lifting...

 

[SHINE]

Not true... it's also GREAT if you're a strength athlete. Try having your trunk support 800lbs+ pounds while squatting. You'll find it's not easy if you have a small waist. So for those who compete in strength sports like Oly lifting, SM, and PLing this movement is actually very beneficial to help support the load you'll be lifting.

For BBing, it's actually going to work against you.

So it all depends on what sport you compete or take part in.

Why sure, lota MMA is using oly lifting as a part of there training now,,