Weighted side bends....yay or nay?

[mrsr05]

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.

mama you stole my line... when my clients ask about abs..i have always told them...abs are made in the kitchen.... no way around it.. chisel away but eat like shit equals strong core with nice cushy coating over them

 

[ellenyates]

I like that - you can have strong abs but if you don't eat well, then you will cover them with fat!

 

[kyle grey]

Try high-rep broomstick twists .

 

[jhotsauce7]

NAY

You'll thicken your obliques.

You dont want to go hard on your obliques as this will give your midsection a wider, boxier look. Unfortunately this will widen your waist, and take away from the v or hourglass shape.
I work obliques with 3 sets of these 1 time a week, to help with overall core strength for squats and deadlifts, but if i start to lose my v shape, and waist gets wider, I cut them out.... and remember ABS are like any other muscle, you don't need to, and shouldn't train them every day. You train them, fibers tear, they need time and nutrients t recover. Overtraining of abs can even lead to abdominal tears, which suck and are painful, and I have experienced this first hand. Personally abs are an EoD thing, train high volume, wide range of motion, and constantly switch it up.

 

[jhotsauce7]

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.

read your response after writing my own. guess we're just two smart mother ****ers.

 

[Dr_jitsu]

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.

Correct, the last thing you want is thicker obliques. Wrestlers, MMA fighters, Judoka, and combat athletes will improve their performance, especially the ability to throw/take down an opponent. So, if you compete in these sports, the thikening may be worth it. I have about 13 years of training in combat sports (started out wrestling in high school) got heavily into BJJ and Muay Thai/western boxing.

 

[Dr_jitsu]

mama you stole my line... when my clients ask about abs..i have always told them...abs are made in the kitchen.... no way around it.. chisel away but eat like shit equals strong core with nice cushy coating over them

Correct. I have highly developed abs, but at 11% bodyfat they are only semi-visible. I need to do more "push aways."

 

[Dr_jitsu]

Just to be clear, "push aways" mean that after eating protein, enough carbs, but not too much I need to "push away" from the table,lol.

Abs definitely are made in the kitchen, at the dining room table. Heavy squats and dead-lifts in and of themselves will thicken the obliques. I believe that, as a general rule, bodybuilders need to do at least 6 years less for women) of power-bodybuilding to set a foundation to build on. After 6 years of consistent poundage increases on basic lifts like squats and deadlifts a bodybuilder should foucus upon imcreasing the reps on basic excercizes. To illustate, after 6 years of serious hardcore power bodybuilding, the first 3 were natural, btw, I have plateaud at 8 reps w/ 315 lbs. I pick a show, and as I start to prep my reps should be going up if I am training correctly. The assumption here is that I am not on a starvation diet, but instead am eating an average of 3.5k calories (carbs are cycled). I can get ripped doing so, as long as I do lots of gear (2.5 grams a week) and cardio (2 hours a day).

By 6 weeks out, I am now getting 15 reps w/ 315.

This protocol will produce a winning physique, christmas tree back, striated glutes etc. It will also have a thickening effect on the olbliques. The hard part is finding a protocol that will achieve all this^ w/ out thickening the waist. Weighted side bends will make things worse, not better.

 

[Murica]

Like others posted, side bends are worthless.

That being said, oblique strength significantly benefits trunk stability. I would recommend doing side planks or one-arm farmers walks. If you want a v-taper, get bigger lats and don't sacrifice important functional musculature.

 

[Rottenrogue]

One armed farmers walks are asking for trouble.

 

[Murica]

Trouble for whom?

Oh, nobody.

 

[Rottenrogue]

Don't be a smart ass
One armed farmers would be ridiculous and asking for an injury.