Sideways Lifts Vertical Turn (straight legs)

Sideways Lifts Vertical Turn (straight legs): So führst du sie aus

1. 1Lie on your side on a mat with your body in a straight line, hips stacked perpendicular to the floor and legs extended together.
2. 2Rest your bottom arm along the mat and place your head on it, or bend the elbow to prop your head up on your palm for comfort.
3. 3Place your top hand lightly on the mat in front of your chest to provide light balance support — do not lean heavily into it.
4. 4Brace your core and press your legs firmly together, keeping both knees fully locked throughout the entire set.
5. 5On an exhale, slowly sweep both legs upward in an arc toward the ceiling, rotating through the vertical plane directly in front of you.
6. 6Continue the arc, lowering the legs forward and downward in a smooth windmill motion until they are as close to the floor in front of you as your range allows.
7. 7Pause briefly at the end of the arc, maintaining tension in your obliques, then reverse the sweep back through the top position to return to the start.
8. 8Control the tempo throughout — resist any impulse to let momentum carry the legs and rely on oblique tension to drive each phase of the rotation.
9. 9Complete all reps on this side, then roll over and repeat the full sequence on the opposite side.

Technik-Tipps

• Keep your pelvis perpendicular to the floor throughout the arc — the moment it rolls forward or back, the obliques lose their fixed anchor and the hip flexors take over.
• Move deliberately and slowly: the obliques produce the most tension when they control the resistance of the long straight-leg lever rather than relying on momentum.
• Point or flex your feet consistently from start to finish to keep the entire lower limb engaged and prevent the legs from drifting apart mid-arc.
• Exhale as you drive the legs through the upward phase and inhale on the return — rhythmic breathing keeps intra-abdominal pressure stable and protects the lumbar spine.
• Press your bottom shoulder gently into the mat to create a stable base; a rocking torso transfers work away from the obliques.

Häufige Fehler

• Bending the knees during the arc, which shortens the lever arm, dramatically reduces the oblique demand, and defeats the defining challenge of this straight-leg variation.
• Allowing the pelvis to roll with the legs instead of remaining stacked, which shifts the load from the obliques to the hip flexors and removes the core-stability benefit.
• Swinging the legs with momentum rather than controlling the arc under muscle tension, which cheats the obliques of time under tension and increases the risk of lower-back strain from uncontrolled rotation.
• Holding the breath during the sweep, which spikes intra-abdominal pressure and can cause spinal instability when the long lever of the straight legs is at full extension.
• Leaning heavily into the top hand for support, which lets the torso tilt and robs the obliques and rectus abdominis of the stabilisation challenge they need to develop.

Häufig gestellte Fragen