Core · Barbell
Barbell Side Bent
How to do the barbell side bent, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall holding a barbell across your upper back with your feet hip-width apart. Keeping your hips facing forward, bend sideways at the waist to lower your torso toward one side. Contract your obliques to pull yourself back upright, then repeat to the other side.
- 1Feel the obliques on the side you bend toward stretch, then contract to
- 2pull you up
- 3Keep the movement strictly side to side in one plane
- 4Stay tall and let your waist do the bending, not your hips
Common mistakes
- Don't lean forward or backward; keep your torso square
- Avoid using momentum to bob from side to side
- Don't let the bar roll off your traps or your hips shift out
Muscles worked
The barbell side bent mainly works the obliques, with the lower back, lower abs, and upper abs assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Lower BackSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- LatsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell side bent for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.