How many sets and reps of the lying windshield wiper should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Do 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per side, starting with bent knees to shorten the lever. Rest about 45 seconds between sets. Progress toward straighter legs and a lower range toward the floor only once the low back stays flat and the shoulders stay pinned down through every rep.

How do you make the lying windshield wiper easier or harder?

Make it easier by bending the knees to ninety degrees, which shortens the lever considerably, or by lowering the legs only a small distance to each side. Make it harder by straightening the legs fully, lowering closer to the floor before reversing, or slowing the tempo on both the lowering and the return through center.

What is the lying windshield wiper good for, and who should avoid it?

It builds rotary core strength and hip control with no equipment, a solid entry into loaded trunk rotation for lifters who have mastered basic planks and leg raises. It's a poor choice for anyone with acute low back pain, since the twisting load on the spine can aggravate a sensitive back even at a light range.

Intermediate

Lying Windshield Wiper

The lying windshield wiper is the accessible cousin of the hanging version and a great entry into loaded rotation. Flat on your back with legs raised, you rotate the hips and lower the legs toward one side, then the other, while the obliques resist and control the arc. It trains rotary strength and hip control without the grip demand of hanging work.

Equipment: Body Weight
Body part: Abs
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Abdominal External Oblique
Browse by movement: Rotation

How to do it

1
Lie on your back and stretch your arms out wide for a stable base.
2
Raise your legs so your hips and knees form roughly right angles, or keep legs straight for more difficulty.
3
Rotate your hips and lower both legs toward one side under control.
4
Stop before your legs touch the floor while keeping your shoulders pinned down.
5
Exhale and use the obliques to bring the legs back through center.
6
Rotate to the opposite side and continue alternating.

Tips

Keep both shoulder blades flat on the floor so the twist happens at the trunk.
Control the lowering; do not let the weight of the legs arch your low back or peel the opposite shoulder off the floor.
Bend the knees to make it easier or straighten the legs to load the obliques harder.

Variations

Common mistakes

The legs touch all the way down to the floor on each side instead of stopping short, which lets momentum and the floor do the work the obliques are supposed to do.
The range shrinks to a small wiggle near the top instead of a real rotation toward the floor, especially once the lower back starts to feel the stretch.
The arms pull in off the floor to help brace instead of staying spread wide for a stable base, which makes the whole trunk rock instead of just rotating.
Speeding up the tempo to knock out more reps trades the slow, oblique-driven control this exercise is built around for momentum swinging the legs side to side.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the lying windshield wiper should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Do 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per side, starting with bent knees to shorten the lever. Rest about 45 seconds between sets. Progress toward straighter legs and a lower range toward the floor only once the low back stays flat and the shoulders stay pinned down through every rep.
How do you make the lying windshield wiper easier or harder?: Make it easier by bending the knees to ninety degrees, which shortens the lever considerably, or by lowering the legs only a small distance to each side. Make it harder by straightening the legs fully, lowering closer to the floor before reversing, or slowing the tempo on both the lowering and the return through center.
What is the lying windshield wiper good for, and who should avoid it?: It builds rotary core strength and hip control with no equipment, a solid entry into loaded trunk rotation for lifters who have mastered basic planks and leg raises. It's a poor choice for anyone with acute low back pain, since the twisting load on the spine can aggravate a sensitive back even at a light range.

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