I call this one the "Side Ab Push-Up"...and it's one of my favorite side-abdominal wall targeting exercises.

It targets the entire side wall of the torso (obliques and transverse abdominis) but without overloading it with resistance (like dumbbell side bends do) and building up the obliques. It really tightens everything up along the sides.

The best part is, no equipment necessary!


How To Do It:

Sit on your right side on the floor (with your right hip on the floor) with your right hand propping up your body, fingers pointing directly in line with your body. Keep your right arm straight and locked.

Your legs should be extended straight. Your body will be bent sideways at the waist, like you're about to push yourself up to get up. Your feet should be together, legs straight.

If you like, you can brace feet against a solid object like a wall or machine (that's how I prefer, so my feet don't slide as I push).

Place your left hand on your lower right rib cage - this will help you to feel exactly how the abs are contracting as you do the exercise and help you make sure you're doing it right.



Now, using ab contraction, raise your hips directly up in the air until you've come up as high as you can (it will look like a sideways pike position), using your lieft hand to feel for that ab contraction.

Squeeze the side abs HARD at the top then lower your body slowly.



At the bottom, try to keep your hip off the ground to get a good stretch on the side abs - you can rest it on the floor between reps if you need to, though.

Do your reps on one side (as many as you can) then switch sides.





Make sure you are on your side as much as possible throughout the movement - some forward bending is natural due to abdominal function in that area.

Try to feel like you're also pushing up with your arm to get the strongest effect on the abs. Lean your head down towards the floor as you come up.

Also, because this plane of movement is likely going to be very new to your body (frontal plane), you will probably be VERY sore the first time you do it, especially if you really focus on the stretch at the bottom and holding the peak contraction at the top.

This exercise really tightens the entire side ab wall strongly. It's practical, functional and requires zero equipment.

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If you're interested in more excellent abdominal training like this, I would HIGHLY recommend checking out the "Fighter Abs" program from my friend and colleague, Andrew Raposo.

I met Andrew in person about a month ago at a fitness conference and after talking with him, discovered that we are totally on the same page when it comes to core training...

...no fancy equipment...just good, solid hard work with effective exercises.

Andrew's focus has been on training fighters (he's a North American Muay Thai kickboxing champion himself, so he knows what it takes to build a brutally strong, thight midsection)

What he's done with his program is take the core concept of training for fighters and apply it so that EVERYBODY can benefit from this style of training.

It's highly-effective stuff.

And the overall program design is going to help you burn fat as well...(like a fighter making weight while maintaining peak performance!).

Check out Fighter Abs here...


Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"