Core
Windshield wipers
- Kit
- No kit
- Works
- obliques · abs
- Also
- hip flexors · lower back · glutes
Windshield wipers are a floor core movement: you hold your legs up and sweep them side to side while your shoulders stay pinned down. The work is in controlling rotation, so it builds the obliques and the deep trunk muscles that resist twisting, along with the hip flexors. It suits anyone who can already hold a solid plank and wants to train the core through movement rather than a static hold.
Form
How to do windshield wipers
- 1Lie on your back with your arms out wide at shoulder height, palms down, and press your shoulders and the backs of your hands into the floor.
- 2Lift your legs so your hips are bent to about ninety degrees, knees together, shins roughly parallel to the floor or legs straight if you can keep your lower back down.
- 3Lower your legs slowly to one side as far as you can while keeping the opposite shoulder in contact with the floor, breathing out as they travel.
- 4Stop before your legs touch down, then draw them back to the centre using your obliques rather than swinging, breathing in on the way up.
- 5Repeat to the other side and keep alternating at a steady pace for the whole effort, keeping both sides even.
Watch for
Common mistakes
The opposite shoulder peels off the floor as the legs drop.
Fix: Shorten the range and press both hands and shoulders down hard so the rotation comes from the trunk, not the whole body rolling.
The legs swing down and bounce back using momentum.
Fix: Slow the lowering phase and pause briefly at the bottom of each sweep so the muscles do the work.
The lower back arches away from the floor when the legs straighten.
Fix: Bend the knees more and keep the hips stacked over the ribs until you can hold a flat back with straight legs.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions
Put it in a workout
None of the fixed workouts uses it. Pick a workout for your kit, or start today's session on /gym.