I Did This Standing Exercise Every Day For A Week – Here’s What Happened
As a fitness editor, I’m no stranger to challenging exercise. Stick to reading Tom’s guide long enough, you’ll realize I say yes to every weird and wonderful fitness challenge we think of at our planning meetings. from work 100 clean single-arm compresses daily for a weekto try 600 Rep Power Abs Workout Lily JamesI’ve tried everything, and on my list this week was standing dumbbell lateral bends.
This exercise is often included in standing exercises and is sometimes called the oblique bend. To do a dumbbell lateral curl, start by standing with your feet hip-width apart, with one leg The best adjustable dumbbells In one hand resting on the thigh.
Then, engaging your core and bent at your waist, lower the dumbbells down along your leg toward the floor. Then engage your oblique muscles on the opposite side of the dumbbell to raise your torso back to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, before switching sides.
Read on to find out what happened when I added this exercise to my crunches for a week, and why I don’t recommend it. As a reminder, what works for me may not be right for you and your body, and if you’re new to exercise, or are returning to exercise after an injury, it’s a good idea to ask a personal trainer to check your form by weight gain, or reps.
I did this exercise every day for a week – which is why I don’t recommend it
Like a fit guinea pig—if guinea pigs wear lycra—I embarked on this challenge, and I’m eager to learn more about this exercise. It’s not among my workouts or strength sessions, so I can’t say I was aware of this move. The tutorials told me not to be afraid of reaching a heavier weight, so I went. Here’s what happened:
After the first day I felt stiffness in my back
As I mentioned in previous workout stories, I suffer from sciatica after a horseback riding accident as a teenager. I often have to be mindful when working my abs, ensuring my lower back remains pressed to the floor to avoid putting too much pressure on my spine. For the sake of this article, I had planned to do 50 reps on each side, 100 reps in total each day. But after the first day, I felt very stiff in my lower back. The next day I did 25 repetitions on each side, to no avail; I definitely felt pinching and stiffness in my back.
A quick Google search told me I’m not alone — dumbbell lateral bends are often not recommended by personal trainers, as if you’re lifting too heavy, the dumbbells can pull you into an excessive range of motion. In addition, if you exercise too much, you can put pressure on your spine, causing nerves to pinch.
I didn’t feel like I was really working on my obliques
Another reason I decided to give up on this challenge after two days? I couldn’t really feel it in my oblique muscles. I do a lot of Pilates, and I’ve done my fair share of abdominal challenges—whenever I did 100 dead bugs a day for a weekIt hurts to laugh, but even when I really think about my abs in motion, I didn’t really feel like they were working. My hip, yes, my oblique, no.
After a quick chat with a personal trainer, he told me that if I wanted to work my abs, there were much better ones out there, that would be kinder on my back, and wouldn’t put me at risk of injury.
I realized there are better oblique exercises out there
So, what should I replace the side bends with? side planks, pallof presses, and bird dogs. Read what happened when two fitness writers did in Tom’s Guide 50 loofah presses every dayAnd 50 bird dogs every day for a week.
Seconds into my first side plank, with my feet stacked on top of each other and my core engaged (here’s a few more How to do a side plank Perfectly), I was shaking. I could feel my entire core working to keep my body stable, and I had to work really hard to maintain the movement for 40 seconds on each side. To max it out, I added side planks on the Bosu ball as a final kicker for my next strength session—in short, oh.
Lesson learned here? Sometimes a workout just isn’t right for your body, whether it’s an old injury, weakness or tightness. If something just doesn’t feel right, it’s always a good idea to check with your doctor or personal trainer before insisting — not all pain is DOMs, and if in doubt, stop and replace with a simpler exercise that you know you can do perfectly.
Looking for more workout inspiration? This is what happened when we did 50 glute bridges daily for a week also, 100 dead insects per day for a week And he did 30 belly passes per day for 30 days. We also chose a file The best workout apps Download now, and The best gym bags To carry back and forth.