Abdominal Exercises - Relieve Back Pain and Lose Your Love Handles With the Side Plank Exercise

Many people try endless side-bending and side-crunch exercises to lose their love handles and slim their waists. In this article I will introduce you to the Side Plank exercises. Not only will the Side Plank exercise will give you superior results compared to the other exercises I mentioned, they will also making your low back more resistant to injury by improving your spinal stability.

What Does It Work?

The Side Plank primarily works three of your core muscles. Two abdominal muscles and one low back muscle:

• External obliques: Abdominal muscle that runs from the side of your ribs to your pelvis in a forward diagonal pattern.


• Internal Obliques: Abdominal muscle that runs from from the side of your ribs to your pelvis in a backward diagonal pattern


• Quadratus Lumborum:Back muscle that runs from your hip bone (iliac crest) to your spine (the transverse processes of your upper four lumbar vetebrae).

To perform the Side Plank exercise:

1. Starting Position:Lay down on your side with your upper body propped up by your forearm at a ninety degree angle to your body. Your upper arm, from your elbow to your shoulder, should form a ninety degree angle with the ground. Your body should be in a straight line with good spinal alignment and your feet on top of each other.


2. Tighten your abdominal muscles and legs while using your arm to push yourself up into a good side plank position with good spinal alignment.


3. End Position:Hold the side plank position with your head, spine and legs in a straight line with good postural alignment.

Common mistakes in performing this exercise include:

• Your hips drop toward the ground. This means that you are too tired and unable to hold good form or lack the body awareness to feel a good position. Use a mirror to check your technique and stop the exercise when you cannot maintain good form


• Improper neck position. Make sure you maintain strict alignment of your neck during the exercise.

How Do They Work?

The Side Plank works its magic by forcing you to holding a position without moving. Instead of challenging your lateral core muscles by working them through a range of motion, the side plank works them by preventing movement through isometric contraction. This develops muscular endurance and stability i.e. the ability to hold a good postural position under load for time. Spinal rehabilitation expert Dr. Stuart McGill considers this exercise as one of his top three exercises to treat painful backs. Another benefit is that because there are more muscles involved, you will be raising your metabolic rate and burning more calories than other isolated abdominal exercises.

How To Incorporate Them Into Your Workout

My recommendation to start using these exercises at the beginning of your workout. Start with 2 sets of 45 second holds on each side and make sure you start with your weaker side first.

What If You Can't Hold It For 45 seconds?

If you can't perform a 45 second hold, come into the position and hold for as long as you can then rest for the same amount of time i.e. if you can hold the side plank position for 15 seconds then you rest 15 seconds before coming back into the position. Repeat this until you have totaled 45 seconds then perform on the other side. With each workout, try to hold the position longer until you can maintain a 45 second with good form.