The “Windshield Wipers” Exercise Is A True Core Burner

It can be tough to reach the obliques, aka the muscles that run down the sides of your core. Well, that’s true until you do your best impression of a car and give the windshield wiper exercise a try.

The windshield wiper exercise involves moving your legs back and forth, much like the windshield wipers on a car, says yoga therapist and personal trainer Beret Loncar. “Often you will see them performed on the ground with the legs starting on one side of the body, and then the legs are brought to the center and dropped to the other side. This is repeated left to right in a back and forth motion, hence the name.”

This bodyweight move lights up the oblique muscles as you lift your legs, Loncar says. But it also engages your abs, lower back, and the hard-to-target lower abs. It’s a great stretch, as well, especially if you have a stiff lower back. “Windshield wipers can help strengthen the lower back and keep it mobile,” Loncar adds.

Dropping down to do windshield wipers also makes for an ideal dynamic warm-up, says Paige Willis, a certified yoga teacher and founder of Undone. Not only does the back and forth motion improve hip mobility, but it helps open up your lower back, psoas, and quadriceps muscles, she explains. “That makes it the perfect movement to try as you warm up for a yoga flow or cool down after a workout,” Willis tells Bustle. Here’s how to give this swishy move a try.

How To Do The Windshield Wipers Exercise

Here Tiffany Berenberg, a yoga instructor at Life Time Yoga, explains how to do the exercise with good form.

- Make your way onto your back.

- Bend your knees so that they point up and the bottoms of your feet are on the ground.

- Place your hands alongside you, palms down.

- Rest your arms as close to or as far away from your body as needed.

- Lift your legs up so your knees are over your hips with your shins parallel to the ground.

- Engage your core.

- With control, lower your legs to one side. Don’t let your legs touch the ground.

- Bring them back to center, then drop your legs to the other side.

- Do 12 reps, 6 on each side.

- Rest for 30 seconds and then repeat 1 to 2 more sets.

- Work your way up to more repetitions.

How To Modify The Windshield Wiper

The cool thing about windshield wipers is they “can be anything you want,” Loncar says. To use them for hip mobility or as a warm-up, she recommends leaning back with your arms propped behind you. Slowly drop your knees to one side and then the other. “This is an excellent morning yoga wake-up move that really gets the joints loosened,” she adds.

To use windshield wipers as a bodyweight exercise, lie fully back and follow the steps listed above. “This move will gradually improve both your low back mobility and your abdominal strength,” Loncar says. “If you want more of a challenge, you can do them with the legs in a pike position, so they are fully extended upwards.” This will put even more pressure on your abs.

To up the challenge even more, grab some weights. “You can add weights to either your ankles or you can hold a bar, kettlebell, or dumbbells extended in front of you above your head while you move in the tabletop or pike,” Loncar explains. “This turns the whole thing into not just an abdominal workout, but into a dynamic stabilization workout.”

For a nice low back stretch, Willis suggests lying on your back and letting your knees gently fall to one side and then the other. Rest there until you feel your lower back loosen up.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

However tempting it may be, try not to force your knees closer to the ground. “This exercise should feel like a massage for your low back and hips,” Willis says, “so let the movement be slow, gentle, and synced to your breath.”

If you’re doing windshield wipers as more of an exercise than a stretch, Berenberg recommends letting your obliques do all the work. Instead of using your legs and hips to pull your legs side to side, engage your core. And just like that, you’ll make the most of this useful move.

Studies referenced:

Akhtar, MW. 2017. Effectiveness of core stabilization exercises and routine exercise therapy in management of pain in chronic non-specific low back pain: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Pak J Med Sci. doi: 10.12669/pjms.334.12664.

Sources:

Beret Loncar, yoga therapist, personal trainer

Paige Willis, certified yoga teacher, founder of Undone

Tiffany Berenberg, yoga instructor at Life Time Yoga