Roman Side Raise

Lay one hip on the middle of the chair support, with your other hip facing directly upwards.

Both feet should be on the same side of the lower leg restraints, with the foot of your upper leg in front of the lower leg. Adjust all restraints to ensure both a comfortable and stable position.

If lying on your left side, support the weight of your head with your right arm, aiming to keep your elbow pointing upwards. Your left arm should be tucked close to your body, with your hand placed on your working oblique's to aid in preventing rotational movement.

Throughout the movement, you should aim to work the oblique's that are being held, in both the upward raise phase, and also during the lowering phase.

Drop your lower shoulder only a few inches under control towards the floor, concentrating on preventing your body from rotating around to the side. Inhale and slowly lift your body, taking your upper elbow towards your upper hip. You should only need to move a few inches past your central line to feel the upper oblique's working.

Don't aim to touch your hip with your elbow, keep the movement small, smooth and stationary in the final phase for a second by keeping the working upper oblique's contracted prior to inhaling and repeating the movements.

Beginners and persons suffering from lower back injury should avoid this exercise.

Intermediates and advanced should progress this exercise whilst staying within their own comfort zone.

Work one side at a time, repeating again on the other side, however avoid trying to force the same number of reps for each side, stop immediately if you feel any discomfort, or if your technique becomes poor.

This exercise can be made harder by holding a suitable sized plated weight across your chest, or rigging up a resistance band, however both of these methods should only be performed by persons with well-developed abdominal strength.