Tilt And Extend

Muscles worked

Setup

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your spine in a neutral position.
2. Place your fingertips lightly behind your ears with your elbows flared out wide to the sides.
3. Engage your core and shift your weight slightly onto your standing leg.

How to do it

1. Exhale as you tilt your torso to the side, bringing your elbow down toward your hip while simultaneously lifting the same-side leg straight out to the side.
2. Inhale as you slowly return your torso and leg to the starting position using a controlled 2-second tempo.
3. Perform all repetitions on one side before switching, or alternate sides by shifting your weight between each rep.
4. Maintain a tall posture throughout the movement, avoiding any forward or backward leaning.

Form checklist

• Keep your chest open and shoulders back to stay in a strictly lateral plane.
• Ensure your toes on the lifting leg point forward, not upward, to keep the focus on the obliques and side glutes.
• Maintain a soft bend in the standing knee to assist with balance.
• Focus on 'pinching' the space between your lower ribs and your hip bone at the peak of the movement.

Pro tips

• Imagine you are standing between two panes of glass to ensure your body only moves directly to the side without twisting.
• Pause for one second at the point of maximum contraction to intensify the mind-muscle connection with the obliques.

Make it harder

• Hold a light dumbbell in the hand of the working side to increase the resistance against lateral flexion.
• Slow down the tempo to 4 seconds on the way down to increase time under tension for the core stabilizers.

Frequently asked

What muscles does the tilt and extend work?

The tilt and extend primarily targets the obliques, and also works the abs and erector spinae as secondary muscles.

What equipment do you need for the tilt and extend?

The tilt and extend requires no equipment — just your body weight.

Is the tilt and extend good for beginners?

The tilt and extend is rated intermediate. Build a base with simpler variations first, then progress to it with light load and strict form.

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