Side Bend Press with Gymstick
| English Name | Side Bend Press | Gymstick |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Exercise Types | فشاری, پویا |
| Primary Muscle (EN) | Middle Deltoid |
| Muscle Groups | Shoulder Muscles |
|---|---|
| Workout Type | Balanced Strength training |
| Required equipment | Resistance band |
💠 Exercise guide
The Side Bend Press with Gymstick simultaneously targets the shoulders and core muscles. Thanks to the progressive resistance of the Gymstick, the tension is maintained throughout the entire range of motion, while the lateral bend also engages the oblique muscles.
💠 How to perform the exercise
Preparation
✅ Place the Gymstick under your feet
✅ Hold the bar with both hands — your right hand close to the shoulder, and your left hand relaxed or resting on your hip
✅ Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, torso upright, and core engaged
Execution method
✅ Press your right hand upward while simultaneously bending your torso to the left
✅ Pause briefly at the top position
✅ Slowly return to the starting position with control
✅ Repeat the movement on both sides
Coaching tips and recommendations
✔ Adjust the Gymstick resistance by changing the position of your feet or hands
✔ Perform the movement with focus on balance and control
✔ Avoid twisting your torso or excessive arching in your lower back
✔ Maintain core stability and prevent your shoulder from dropping as you bend
Benefits of the exercise
🔹 Combined upper and core engagement:
This exercise strengthens both the middle deltoids and the oblique muscles, which are usually trained separately.
🔹 Safer and more controlled training:
Using the Gymstick minimizes excessive stress on the joints, making it a suitable option for athletes with a history of injury or those who need greater control.
🔹 Enhanced stability and functional balance:
The need to maintain balance while bending and pressing upward activates the deep muscles of the abs, lower back, and hips.
🔹 An effective option for home or gym workouts:
With the Gymstick, this exercise can be performed easily without the need for heavy weights, while still delivering effective muscle engagement.
💠 Muscles engaged in the movement
The Side Bend Press with Gymstick is a multi-joint exercise that engages both the shoulders and the abs simultaneously. While the primary focus is on the shoulders, the core muscles are actively recruited to stabilize the body along the lateral axis.
Main muscles
Synergistic muscles
Stabilizers
Deltoid Muscle
Deltoideus Muscle
🔹 The deltoid muscle is one of the most important and voluminous muscles of the shoulder region. Its primary function is to move the arm in various directions and stabilize the shoulder joint. Due to its triangular shape, it is named “deltoid,” derived from the Greek word “Δέλτα” (delta), meaning triangle.
🔹 The deltoid muscle is divided into three distinct heads, each playing a specific role in shoulder movement. The anterior head assists in forward motions and arm flexion, the middle head is responsible for abduction and lifting the arm, and the posterior head supports extension and movements behind the body. This muscle is essential for the stability and strength of the shoulder joint, and its weakness can lead to limited range of motion, reduced shoulder power, and an increased risk of injury.
✅ Persian Name: Deltoeid
✅ Latin Name: Deltoideus
✅ Common Name: Shoulder Muscle
✅ Location:
🟡 A superficial muscle located at the top of the upper arm, covering the shoulder joint.
🟡 It forms a cap-like structure over the shoulder joint.
🟡 It directly overlays the head of the humerus and originates from the clavicle, scapula, and the upper part of the arm.
✅ 🔹 Origin
✔ Anterior part: from the outer surface of the clavicle
✔ Middle part: from the acromion, a portion of the scapula
✔ Posterior part: from the spine of the scapula
✅ 🔹 Insertion
✔ All parts of the deltoid muscle insert onto the deltoid tuberosity of the humerus.
✅ 🔹 Function
📌 The deltoid muscle is divided into three parts, each with a specific function:
1️⃣ Anterior Head
- ✔ Moving the arm forward (shoulder flexion)
- ✔ Internal rotation of the arm
- ✔ Assists in horizontal adduction of the arm (moving the arm forward across the body)
2️⃣ Middle Head
- ✔ Lifting the arm outward (shoulder abduction)
- ✔ Assists in stabilizing the shoulder during arm elevation
3️⃣ Posterior Head
- ✔ Moving the arm backward (shoulder extension)
- ✔ External rotation of the arm
- ✔ Assists in horizontal abduction of the arm (moving the arm backward across the body)
📌 Function Summary: The deltoid muscle plays a key role in all shoulder movements and is one of the primary muscles responsible for moving the arm in various directions.
✅ 💪🏻 Muscle Fiber Types
✔ The deltoid muscle consists of a combination of fiber types. ✔ A combination of slow-twitch fibers (Type I) and fast-twitch fibers (Type II). ✔ It is composed of both fiber types.
✔ The anterior and posterior heads contain more fast-twitch fibers, which are suited for powerful and rapid movements.
✔ The middle head has a higher proportion of slow-twitch fibers, which help maintain muscular endurance during sustained activity.
✅ 🏋🏻♂️ Role in Sports and Physical Activities
✔ Plays a key role in all overhead movements, such as shoulder press and bench press.
✔ Crucial for sports like weightlifting, swimming, gymnastics, and wrestling.
✔ Considered one of the primary muscles involved in carrying heavy objects, throwing, and raising the arm.
✅ 🧗🏻♂️ Strength and Endurance
✔ The deltoid plays a vital role in maintaining shoulder joint stability, and its weakness can reduce control over shoulder movements.
✔ This muscle is well-suited for both strength and endurance activities and is heavily engaged in many professional sports.
✅ 🧠 Innervation
✔ Axillary Nerve (also known as the underarm nerve) – responsible for controlling deltoid muscle movements and providing sensation to the shoulder area.
✅ 🩸 Blood Supply
✔ Posterior Circumflex Humeral Artery
✔ Thoracoacromial Artery
✅ 🤼♂️ Role in Sports and Physical Activities
✔ Directly involved in all shoulder and arm movements.
✔ A key muscle for athletes in bodybuilding, weightlifting, swimming, boxing, and combat sports.
✔ Strengthening this muscle improves shoulder shape, prevents injuries, and boosts upper body strength.
✅ 🏌🏻♂️ Interaction with Other Muscles and Joints
✔ Works closely with the rotator cuff muscles, back muscles, and pectoralis major.
✔ Weakness in this muscle can lead to excessive strain on the shoulder and scapular joints, increasing the risk of injury.
✅ 💉 Vulnerability and Potential Issues
✔ One of the most injury-prone muscles in bodybuilding and strength sports due to its crucial role in heavy movements.
✔ Common injuries include tears, strains, tendon inflammation, and cramps—often caused by improper use of heavy weights.
✅ 🏋🏻♂️ Strength Training Exercises for the Deltoid Muscle
1️⃣ Dumbbell or Barbell Shoulder Press – Strengthens all parts of the deltoid
2️⃣ Lateral Raise – Targets the middle head of the deltoid
3️⃣ Bent-Over Reverse Fly – Strengthens the posterior head of the deltoid
4️⃣ Front Raise with Dumbbell or Barbell – Focuses on the anterior head
5️⃣ Arnold Press – Activates all heads of the deltoid simultaneously
✅ 🧘🏻♀️ Stretching and Recovery
✔ Forward and backward shoulder stretches
✔ Wall walks with the hand to improve flexibility
✅ Fun Fact
✔ The deltoid muscle is actually one of the key muscles that shapes and enhances the appearance of the upper body.
✅ Practical Tip
✔ Overtraining the deltoid without strengthening the back and rotator cuff muscles can disrupt shoulder muscle balance.
🔴 Name and Location: A superficial muscle that covers the shoulder joint and originates from the clavicle, scapula, and humerus.
🟠 Anatomy: Composed of three parts—anterior, middle, and posterior—each responsible for different shoulder movements.
🟡 Function:
✔ Anterior: Arm flexion and internal rotation
✔ Middle: Arm abduction and elevation
✔ Posterior: Arm extension and external rotation
🟢 Physiology: A combination of slow- and fast-twitch fibers, allowing for both endurance and explosive power movements.
🔵 Innervation: Axillary nerve, which controls the muscle’s movement and sensation in the shoulder area.
🟣 Importance: Active in all upper-body movements, bodybuilding, weightlifting, swimming, boxing, and combat sports.
🟤 Exercises: Shoulder press, lateral raise, front raise, bent-over raise, Arnold press.
⚫ Fun Fact: A key muscle for shoulder strength and aesthetics, yet one of the most injury-prone muscles during heavy training.
External Oblique Muscle
External Oblique Muscle
The external oblique muscle is one of the most important lateral abdominal muscles, located on both sides of the torso. This muscle performs essential functions such as trunk rotation and lateral flexion, abdominal compression, and assists in breathing.
✅ The external oblique muscle is the largest and most superficial lateral abdominal muscle, and due to the direction of its fibers, it slopes downward and forward (similar to the motion of putting your hand in your pocket).
✅ This muscle is highly activated in exercises such as twisting crunches, bicycle crunches, side planks, and Russian twists, playing a key role in core stability and rotational movements.
✅ Persian Name: Azole Mayel Khareji
✅ Latin Name: External Oblique
✅ Common Name: Side Abs | External Obliques
✅ Location:
🟡 This muscle extends on both sides of the abdomen, from the lower ribs to the pelvic bone.
🟡 It is the largest and most superficial lateral abdominal muscle.
🟡 It has fibers that run diagonally from top to bottom and from back to front.
✅ 🦾 Origin
✔ Ribs 5-12 – The origin of this muscle begins from the outer surface of these ribs.
✅ 🦿 Insertion
✔ Linea Alba – A fibrous connective tissue structure located at the center of the abdomen.
✔ Iliac Crest – The upper portion of the pelvic bone.
✔ Inguinal Ligament – A band that runs between the pelvis and the groin area.
✅ 📌 Classification and Function
✔ Trunk Rotation – For rotating the abdomen and sides, such as in bicycle crunches.
✔ Lateral Flexion – In bending to the side, like in side planks.
✔ Compression of Abdominal Contents – Helps increase intra-abdominal pressure, such as during a strong exhalation.
✔ Maintaining trunk stability and assisting in strength movements like deadlifts and squats.
✅ 💪🏻 Muscle Fiber Type
✔ It has a combination of ✔ A combination of slow-twitch fibers (Type I) and fast-twitch fibers (Type II). ✔ For maintaining balance and power movements.
✅ 🏋🏻♂️ Role in Motor and Athletic Performance
✔ It is active in all twisting and lateral exercises, such as Russian twists and twisting crunches.
✔ Responsible for core stability during weightlifting and stretching movements.
✅ 🧗🏻♂️ Muscle Strength and Endurance
✔ This muscle has high endurance due to its activity in all daily and athletic movements.
✔ Its weakness can lead to trunk imbalance and reduced spinal stability.
🧠 Innervation
✔ Intercostal Nerves T7-T11
✔ Subcostal Nerve – T12
🩸 Blood Supply
✔ Posterior Intercostal Arteries
✔ Superior & Inferior Epigastric Arteries
✅ 🤼♂️ Role in Sports and Physical Activities
✔ Bodybuilding and Fitness: Plays a crucial role in rotational and lateral abdominal movements such as Russian twists and side planks.
✔ Martial Arts: This muscle plays an important role in rotation and body stability during punching, kickboxing, wrestling, and MMA.
✔ Yoga and Pilates: Helps improve flexibility and body balance.
✅ 🏌🏻♂️ Connection with Other Muscles and Joints
✔ Interacts with the internal oblique muscles, rectus abdominis, and lumbar muscles to create lateral and rotational movements of the torso.
✔ Works together with the gluteal muscles and erector spinae in trunk stability and spinal balance.
✅ 💉 Vulnerability and Potential Issues
✔ Weakness of this muscle leads to trunk weakness, sagging sides, and spinal imbalance.
✔ Muscle strain may occur due to intense abdominal exercises or excessive twisting movements.
✅ 🏋🏻♂️ Main exercises to strengthen the external oblique muscle:
1️⃣ Russian Twists – The most effective movement for strengthening trunk rotation
2️⃣ Bicycle Crunches – Builds power and endurance in the sides
3️⃣ Side Plank – Increases trunk stability and balance
4️⃣ Oblique Crunches – Enhances size and definition of the sides
5️⃣ Dumbbell Side Bends – Increases strength in lateral movements
✅ 🧘🏻♀️ Stretching and Recovery Movements
✔ Cobra Stretch – Enhances flexibility and aids in abdominal muscle recovery
✔ Side Stretch – Reduces tension and improves the range of motion in the sides
✅ Interesting Fact
✔ The external oblique muscle is one of the most important rotational and stabilizing muscles of the body, and it is automatically activated in all daily movements!
✅ Practical Tip
✔ If you want to strengthen and shape your sides, a combination of resistance exercises and endurance movements (such as side planks) is the best option!
🔴 Name and Location: Superficial lateral abdominal muscle, from the lower ribs to the pelvis
🟠 Anatomy: Has diagonal fibers running from top to bottom and forward
🟡 Function: Rotation, lateral flexion, abdominal compression
🟢 Physiology: A combination of slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers
🔵 Innervation: Intercostal nerves T7-T11 and T12
🟣 Importance: Plays a key role in abdominal exercises, martial arts, bodybuilding, and yoga
🟤 Exercises: Russian Twists, Side Planks, Bicycle Crunches, Dumbbell Side Bends
⚫ Interesting Fact: A muscle that is active in all daily and athletic movements.
Internal Oblique Muscle
Internal Oblique Muscle
🔹 The internal oblique muscle is one of the deep lateral abdominal muscles located beneath the external oblique muscle.
🔹 This muscle plays a crucial role in trunk rotation, lateral flexion, abdominal compression, and maintaining trunk stability.
🔹 The direction of its fibers is opposite to that of the external oblique, extending upward and forward.
✅ The internal oblique muscle is highly active in exercises such as twisting crunches, bicycle crunches, side planks, and Russian twists, playing a key role in core stability and rotational movements.
✅ Persian Name: Azole Mayel Dakheli
✅ Latin Name: Internal Oblique
✅ Common Name: Deep Side Abs | Internal Obliques
✅ Location:
🟡 This muscle lies beneath the external oblique, extending from the lower ribs to the pelvis and the Linea Alba.
🟡 It is deeper than the external oblique, but in some areas, it lies on top of the transverse abdominis muscle.
🟡 Its fibers run diagonally from bottom to top, opposite to the external oblique.
✅ 🦾 Origin
✔ Iliac Crest – The upper portion of the pelvic bone.
✔ Thoracolumbar Fascia – A strong connective tissue in the lumbar region.
✔ Inguinal Ligament – A band running between the pelvis and the groin.
✅ 🦿 Insertion
✔ Ribs 10-12
✔ Linea Alba – Located at the center of the abdomen and connected to the rectus abdominis muscle.
✅ 📌 Classification and Function
✔ Trunk Rotation – Works with the opposite external oblique muscle to create abdominal rotation (such as in Russian twists).
✔ Lateral Flexion – Assists in bending the sides, like in side planks.
✔ Compression of Abdominal Contents – Plays a role in strong exhalation and increasing intra-abdominal pressure.
✔ Maintaining trunk stability and supporting the spine during heavy movements such as deadlifts and squats.
✅ 💪🏻 Muscle Fiber Type
✔ A combination of ✔ A combination of slow-twitch fibers (Type I) and fast-twitch fibers (Type II). For maintaining endurance and power movements.
✅ 🏋🏻♂️ Role in Motor and Athletic Performance
✔ Active in all rotational and lateral movements such as bicycle crunches and Russian twists.
✔ Plays a key role in stabilizing the body’s core during weightlifting and athletic movements.
✅ 🧗🏻♂️ Muscle Strength and Endurance
✔ It has high endurance and plays a vital role in maintaining spinal and trunk stability.
✔ Weakness in this muscle can lead to trunk imbalance and reduced spinal stability.
🧠 Innervation
✔ Intercostal Nerves T8-T12
✔ Iliohypogastric & Ilioinguinal Nerves
🩸 Blood Supply
✔ Posterior Intercostal Arteries
✔ Inferior Epigastric Artery
✅ 🤼♂️ Role in Sports and Physical Activities
✔ Bodybuilding and Fitness: Plays an important role in rotational and lateral movements such as Russian twists and side planks.
✔ Martial Arts: This muscle plays a key role in rotation and body stability during boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and MMA.
✔ Yoga and Pilates: Helps in stretching movements and improving body balance.
✅ 🏌🏻♂️ Connection with Other Muscles and Joints
✔ Interacts with the external oblique muscles, rectus abdominis, and transverse abdominis to create rotational and lateral trunk movements.
✔ Works together with the gluteal muscles and erector spinae in trunk stability and spinal balance.
✅ 💉 Vulnerability and Potential Issues
✔ Weakness in this muscle can lead to reduced body balance and increased risk of lower back pain.
✔ Muscle strain may occur due to sudden rotational movements or intense exercises.
✅ 🏋🏻♂️ Main exercises to strengthen the internal oblique muscle:
1️⃣ Russian Twists – Enhance rotational power of the torso
2️⃣ Bicycle Crunches – Combine rotation and endurance
3️⃣ Side Plank – Improve core stability and side strength
4️⃣ Oblique Crunches – Increase size and strength in the sides
5️⃣ Dumbbell Side Bends – Build strength in lateral movements
✅ 🧘🏻♀️ Stretching and Recovery Movements
✔ Cobra Stretch – Enhances torso flexibility
✔ Side Stretch – Reduces tension and improves range of motion
✅ Interesting Fact
✔ The internal oblique muscle works in conjunction with the opposite external oblique; that is, the right internal oblique coordinates with the left external oblique in trunk rotation!
✅ Practical Tip
✔ To have strong and firm sides, combine rotational and lateral exercises with weights for better muscle growth!
🔴 Name and Location: Deep lateral abdominal muscle, located beneath the external oblique
🟠 Anatomy: Fibers run opposite to the external oblique, extending upward and inward
🟡 Function: Rotation, lateral flexion, abdominal compression
🟢 Physiology: A combination of slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers
🔵 Innervation: Intercostal nerves T8-T12 and lumbar nerves
🟣 Importance: Plays a key role in martial arts, bodybuilding, and yoga
🟤 Exercises: Russian Twists, Side Planks, Bicycle Crunches, Dumbbell Side Bends
⚫ Interesting Fact: Works with the opposite external oblique for trunk rotation.
Muscle training
Pelank is a comprehensive encyclopedia of the body’s muscles, providing an accurate and scientific review of all muscles. Below, you can find muscle groups. By clicking on each muscle group, you will have access to complete information about it, including:
1️⃣ Basic information about the muscle
2️⃣ Muscle anatomy
3️⃣ Muscle physiology
4️⃣ Innervation and blood supply
5️⃣ Importance of the muscle in the body and sports
6️⃣ Strengthening exercises
7️⃣ Scientific and interesting facts
📌 At the end, a summary review of each muscle will be provided.
Body muscles training guide link
🔹 The muscle group engaged in this movement is highlighted in color.
References
Anatomy and medical books :
- Gray’s Anatomy (one of the standard references in anatomy).
- Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy (a famous visual atlas in anatomy).
- Clinically Oriented Anatomy by Keith Moore
Sports and training references :
- Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier
- Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning by NSCA
- Well-known articles and training programs by international coaches
Medical databases :
- PubMed (for scientific and research articles)
- MedlinePlus (health and medical information)
- WebMD (for practical and general health information)
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