# Lying Raised Shoulders Windshield Wiper

- Canonical: https://fitwill.app/exercise/7776/lying-raised-shoulders-windshield-wiper/
- Media ID: 7776
- Primary muscle: Obliques
- Body part: Core
- Equipment: Body Weight
- Video: https://fitwill.app/videos/7776/lying-raised-shoulders-windshield-wiper.mp4

## Description

The Lying Raised Shoulders Windshield Wiper is an advanced bodyweight core exercise where you lie on your upper back and shoulders with your hips lifted and legs pointing straight toward the ceiling, then sweep your legs side to side through an arc, exactly like the wiper blades on a car. Your arms stay spread wide on the floor for support, and your shoulders remain your base of contact throughout. The highlighted work happens in the obliques and lower abdominal region, which have to control the rotation of your entire lower body as it swings across the midline.

This is not a beginner core drill. Because your hips are elevated and your legs are extended, the lever length is long and the load on the trunk is significant. It suits lifters who already own solid leg raises and controlled lying windshield wipers and want a harder rotational challenge. Athletes in sports that involve change of direction, throwing, or striking benefit from the anti-rotation and rotational control it builds, and it also works well as a finishing movement in a dedicated core session.

The raised-shoulder position is what makes this version unique. With your weight resting on your shoulders and upper back instead of flat on your whole spine, your trunk has to stabilize in a slightly flexed, stacked position while the legs travel through a wide lateral arc. That setup removes most of the lumbar extension you would get in a floor-based wiper and shifts more of the demand onto the abdominal wall and hip rotators, which is why keeping the shoulders planted and the arms pressing down matters so much.

To execute it well, think of the legs as one rigid unit sweeping through a fixed arc, not as two loose limbs being thrown around. Move slowly enough that you could stop at any point in the range, touch a brief pause near each end, and pull the legs back through center with the side of your waist rather than momentum. If your legs start slamming down or your upper body rocks from side to side, the range is too wide or the pace is too fast.

A practical safety note: this movement puts the spine through loaded rotation with a long lever, so earn it gradually. Start with a smaller arc and bent knees if needed, keep the lower back supported by staying tight through the trunk, and stop short of any point where you feel twisting strain rather than muscular work. Two or three sets of eight to twelve sweeps per side is plenty for most people, even at an advanced level.

## Instructions

1. Lie on your back on a mat with your arms spread straight out to the sides at roughly shoulder height, palms facing down.
2. Raise your legs until they point straight up toward the ceiling, then lift your hips slightly so your weight rests on your shoulders and upper back; let your wide arms and the backs of your shoulders carry the load.
3. Press your palms and upper arms firmly into the floor and squeeze your legs together, pointing your toes up.
4. Brace your abdominal wall tightly before the first rep, as if bracing for a light punch, and keep that tension for the whole set.
5. Keeping the legs straight and glued together, sweep them to one side through a smooth arc as far as you can go while your shoulders stay planted on the floor.
6. Pause for a beat at the end of the arc and feel the oblique on the opposite side working to hold you there.
7. Sweep the legs back through the vertical center position and continue to the opposite side without letting them stall or drop at the top.
8. Alternate side to side at a steady two-to-three-second pace per sweep, like wiper blades in slow rain, not in a storm.
9. Exhale as each sweep travels away from center and inhale as the legs return through the middle.
10. When the set is done, bring the legs back to vertical, lower your hips down to the floor with control, and then bend your knees and lower the legs together to finish.

## Tips & Tricks

- The most common failure is momentum: if your legs are dropping fast toward the floor, gravity is doing the work and your obliques are just catching. Cut the arc width in half until every inch of the sweep is under your control.
- Watch your shoulders. If the upper body rolls toward the working side, the base has broken down; drive the opposite palm harder into the floor and shrink the range until the shoulders stay square.
- Bent knees make the exercise easier by shortening the lever, which is a legitimate regression, but do not let the knees drift out of a straight line with the hips, or the sweep becomes a hip circle instead of a wiper arc.
- If your lower back twists or arches uncomfortably at the end range, you have gone too far. End the arc a few degrees earlier; the obliques are worked hardest just before the extreme range anyway.
- Keep the head neutral and relaxed on the floor. Pushing the back of the head down or turning to watch the legs only strains the neck and adds nothing to the trunk rotation.
- Squeeze the legs together hard for the whole set. Letting them separate turns one long lever into two smaller ones and quietly makes the exercise easier.
- Your hips should stay lifted and roughly stacked over your trunk. If they sink back toward the floor mid-set, the position has shifted into a standard lying wiper, which is fine, but reset if you want the raised-shoulder version.
- Spread the arms wider if you feel wobbly, and narrow them slightly to make balance harder once the sweep feels stable.
- Do this movement early in a session only if core control is the priority; otherwise place it at the end, because a fatigued trunk makes the end-range rotation sloppy and hard to control.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Which muscles does the Lying Raised Shoulders Windshield Wiper work?

The primary work comes from the obliques on the sides of your waist, which control the legs as they sweep across the midline. The lower abs, deep core stabilizers, and hip flexors assist heavily, and the shoulders and upper back act as your base.

### Why are the shoulders raised instead of lying flat in this version?

Resting the weight on the shoulders and upper back with the hips lifted changes the leverage so the trunk stays slightly flexed and stacked while the legs rotate. This places more demand on the abdominal wall and hip control than a flat-lying wiper, and it reduces the twisting arch through the lower back.

### Is the Lying Raised Shoulders Windshield Wiper suitable for beginners?

It is generally too demanding as a starting point because of the long leg lever and loaded rotation. Beginners should first master lying leg raises and a standard hips-down windshield wiper with bent knees, then progress to straight legs and finally this raised-shoulder version.

### How wide should the sweep be?

Sweep only as far as you can go while your shoulders stay planted and your legs move slowly and smoothly. For most people that is noticeably short of the feet touching the floor, and that narrower range is where the obliques actually work hardest.

### My legs keep swinging too fast. How do I fix it?

Slow the tempo to about two or three seconds per sweep and add a one-second pause at each end of the arc. If you still cannot control it, bend your knees to shorten the lever or reduce the range until the speed is fully in your hands.

### What can I use instead of the Lying Raised Shoulders Windshield Wiper?

A hips-down lying windshield wiper with straight legs, a bent-knee version, or a hanging windshield wiper from a pull-up bar all train similar rotation. Cable or band rotational work like wood chops is a good low-load substitute if floor rotation feels uncomfortable.

### Should I put my hands under my hips or leave my arms out to the sides?

The standard position is arms spread wide at shoulder height with palms pressing into the floor, which gives you a broad, stable base. Sliding the hands slightly under the hips is an acceptable tweak if your shoulders feel unstable, but do not pull on your legs or rock off your arms.

### Is this exercise safe for the lower back?

When performed with a braced trunk, a controlled tempo, and a range that stops before straining, it is a reasonable rotational exercise for healthy trainees. If you have a history of lower back problems, start with a much smaller arc or a hips-down variation, and stop if you feel twisting discomfort rather than muscular effort.

### How many reps and sets should I do?

Two to three sets of eight to twelve controlled sweeps per side works well, treating each full side-to-side pass as one rep. Because quality of control matters more than volume here, end the set as soon as your shoulders start lifting or your speed picks up.

### Where should I put this exercise in my workout?

It fits best as a mid-to-late core movement after your main strength work, once the trunk is warm but before it is completely fatigued. Pair it with a straight-line anti-rotation drill like a plank or pallof press to cover both rotational and anti-rotational control in one session.