Weighted Stability Ball Side Bend
In SetGrip: Stability Ball Side Bend (Weighted)
- Secondary muscles
- Obliques, Spine
- Body part
- Core
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Perched on a stability ball with a weight at your chest, your hips have to stay quiet on a rolling surface while the trunk bends sideways, which shrinks the usable load compared with a standing Dumbbell Side Bend. Choose it when you want the balance challenge folded in, not when chasing heavier oblique loading.
How to do the Weighted Stability Ball Side Bend
- Sit on a stability ball with your feet shoulder-width apart and flat on the ground.
- Hold a weight in one hand and place your other hand on your hip.
- Engage your core and slowly bend sideways towards the weighted side, keeping your back straight.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom, then slowly return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides.
Tip: Slide your hand down the outside of your thigh as a guide and stop when it reaches the knee, not further.
Muscles worked
Primary
Abs · Core
The obliques on the side opposite the weight do the work, contracting to pull the torso back upright; you should feel a tight band running from the ribs to the hip on that side.
Secondary
- Obliques — The obliques are the prime movers here, both bending the trunk sideways and resisting the pull of the load as you lower.
- Spine
Common mistakes
- Leaning forward instead of sideways — keep your hips and shoulders square to the front so the bend happens purely in the frontal plane, otherwise the hip flexors take over.
- Loading both hands on dumbbell side bends — a weight in each hand counterbalances and leaves the obliques little to do; hold one side only and let the free arm hang.
- Rushing the stretch — the loaded side has to lengthen under control, so pause for a count at the bottom before pulling back up with the obliques.
- Going too heavy — this is a small range of motion and the spine is loaded laterally, so pick a weight you can move for 12 to 20 clean reps.
Where it fits in a workout
Put side bends at the end of a session with the rest of your core work, once heavy squats or deadlifts are done. They pair naturally with cable or dumbbell crunches using the same station.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without weighted
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.