- The standing oblique crunch is a popular abdominal exercise that can cause injury if done incorrectly.
- A personal trainer said she stopped exercising in favor of alternatives to avoid back pain.
- Exercises like heel taps and slow bike crunches are safe and effective ways to work your transverse abs.
According to personal trainers, popular core exercises may seem to get results, but they can be painful, not abs.
The standing oblique crunch (sometimes called a side crunch or side bend) is a popular move to work the sides of your core, but it’s difficult to do correctly and often leads to injury, according to trainers and studios. Cat Kom, founder of SWEAT onDemand, said.
“I’m not a fan. I see them done so often that the next day people say, ‘My back hurts.’ .”
Standing oblique crunches are difficult to do without straining your back.
Branal/Getty Images
In this exercise, you hold a dumbbell, kettlebell, or other weight in one hand at hip height, bend your hips and lean to the side, lower the weight parallel to your body, and then raise it again. It is one of the largest muscle groups of the trunk located on either side of the .
The problem is that most people struggle to target their abs properly, instead stressing other muscles such as the back.
“It’s really hard to get the body in the right position. The body isn’t really meant to bend to the side, so it can’t handle that load very well,” she said.
The result is often painful, and not in a good way, said Kom, who said she gave up standing oblique crunches in favor of a safer alternative.
“I was doing them as a young trainer, but there are so many things I can do to work in the same field,” Com said.
Safer alternatives include heel taps and bike crunches
According to Kom, there are better options for illuminating your core that target all of your core muscles to help build strong, well-rounded abs without straining your back.
One option is the heel tap. Lie on the ground with your knees bent and your feet slightly off your hips. From there, extend one arm straight down along the ground and tap your heels, then repeat on the other side, alternating sides of your core while supporting your spine.
Com also recommends bicycle crunches. For this exercise, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet off the floor, contracting your abs and bringing your elbows closer to your opposite knee, keeping your hips firmly pressed into the floor throughout the exercise.
Done correctly, the bicycle crunch works almost every muscle in your core, from your obliques to your transversus abdominis.
According to Comm, as with almost all core exercises, the key to biking is to go slow and emphasize control and tension in the target muscles.
“Simply slowing down will double the effect and increase your chances of avoiding injury,” she said.
If you want to build stability and muscle with weights, strengthen your core and back with movements like farmer carries, suitcase carries, and deadlifts.
