You might experience muscle fatigue, increased injury risk, or imbalances if you push them too hard without adequate recovery. Make certain to maintain proper form throughout each exercise to maximize effectiveness and reduce the risk of injury. Adjust the number of sets and repetitions based on your fitness level and goals. This exercise promotes better coordination and activates multiple muscle groups, making it a highly effective addition to any core workout routine. This dynamic movement mimics the action of chopping wood, which not only strengthens the oblique muscles but also enhances athleticism and functional strength.
Copenhagen Plank
Your lower back should remain flat on the mat, and your hips should remain still, as if there’s a cup of hot coffee resting on them that you don’t want to spill. As you build a stronger core, you can increase the reps or add a few more sets to your circuit. Remember, it’s not about how fast you can do the flutter kicks, but the control and precision of the movement. Focus on maintaining good posture, engage your core muscles, and ensure your form is correct.
Trunk rotations are a dynamic core workout that uses twisting motions of the body to efficiently target the oblique muscles. This movement is incredibly practical because it resembles commonplace motions like turning, reaching, and throwing. Rotations of the trunk increase rotational strength, improve spinal mobility, and foster improved upper- and lower-body coordination. Kettlebell Side Plank Hip Lifts are an excellent exercise for targeting the obliques while also engaging the core and stabilizing muscles. This dynamic movement not only helps to build strength in the side abdominal muscles but also enhances overall stability and coordination. The Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Lift is an effective exercise for targeting the obliques, the muscles located on the sides of your abdomen.
- The side plank with feet on the bench progresses from a normal side plank that targets the core, inner thigh and groin- the adductors.
- “If the 90-degree angle is easy, you can extend (straighten) one or both knees to further advance difficulty,” she adds.
- I advocate for training your abdominal muscles regularly, even multiple times a week.
- Our mission is to educate and inform you about the latest in professional bodybuilding, fitness, and sports-related content.
- You can also target them with movements that have you dynamically bending to the side, like with side bends, the windmill, or the alternating side crunch.
- Many sports movements rely on rotational power, such as golf swings, baseball throws, tennis serves, and martial arts spins.
The 25 Best Obliques Exercises You Can Add To Your Core Routine
That makes it super easy to keep track of your weights and reps and make sure you’re on the fast road to progress. Training heavy is all well and good, but to build your triceps, chasing PRs shouldn’t come at the expense of form. As I mentioned, the long head needs your arms overhead to stretch fully, and no exercise does it better than overhead extensions. Let me explain why it works, and then I’ll give you my ultimate cable-only workout that covers everything your triceps need.
If you want to perform the ultimate oblique workout, you need to understand why each exercise works. Here is a list of the best oblique exercises for men, complete with instructions and information for getting the movement down. Whether you wanted fat-burning exercises or strength-building exercises, you got both with my killer obliques workout. Don’t forget that these oblique workout moves are only effective when you perform them correctly. If you’re doing it the way I’m showing you here, your repetition counts may go down a lot, but the quality is going to go up a lot and that’s what we’re striving for here. The oblique exercises that I’m going to show you here today will help to redefine the way you train obliques.
Offset Dumbbell Squat
This first exercise in these oblique workouts without weights will allow you to tap into the bottom-up rotational movement pattern that the obliques are responsible for. To increase the difficulty, Harding suggests adding more resistance, increasing movement speed, or challenging your balance by staggering your stance or kneeling on one leg. Working your obliques offers a range of benefits that go beyond core strength.
Leg Lower
From here, begin the exercise by moving your right hand towards your right heel, then return back to the starting position. Repeat the same movement with your left hand reaching towards your left heel. Slowly lift your right leg, straightening it while simultaneously lifting your torso off the floor. This movement should come from your abs and not your neck or lower back. Whether you’re training at home or in the gym, this fast-paced workout delivers maximum results in minimal time. Strategic exercise selection, smart sequencing, and controlled intensity.
Best Obliques exercises
And they do so while we’re standing, walking, running, bending or rotating, he explains. The spinal stability is super important because it helps promote good posture and protects your lower back from excessive strain or injury, Savage explains. By strengthening your abdominals and promoting proper posture, you promote a strong core, which helps minimize lower back pain. Starting from lying on your back, continue to engage your transverse abdominis muscles and perform a trunk curl to target your abs even more.
Many of these exercises can be performed with or without weights. The Suitcase Deadlift, or Single-Arm Side Deadlift, is an uncommon exercise, but it’s a perfect addition to any oblique workout routine. It’s a unilateral exercise, so there’s even muscle activation across both sides of the body.
Standing Side Crunch
The internal oblique sits right underneath the external oblique. This deep core muscle is critical for supporting your abdominal wall and keeping your body stable. The internal obliques help with torso rotation, alongside breathing during high-intensity exercise. Your external oblique sits closest to the surface and is the most significant muscle in the entire core. It helps with hip flexion and is used when you pull your knees toward the chest, like in movements with a knee raise.
Beginner-Friendly Oblique Exercises for Rock-Solid Abs
Since your obliques are located on either side of your core, you’ll notice that most of these stretches involve bending to the side. You’ll find that this movement makes your core very resistant to twisting while carrying heavy weight, making you less prone to the typical lower back injuries. Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master’s degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University. Obliques, like the rest of the muscles of the core, are important for everyday movements. The renegade row is a multitasking exercise that tones your back and works your core while also testing your balance and stability.
Rectus femoris Muscle
This move also helps prevent and relieve low back pain by strengthening the lower back and abs. The side plank with feet on the bench progresses from a normal side plank that targets the core, inner thigh and groin- the adductors. This moves harder because you must use your core and stabilizer muscles more to stay in position and do the movement. The Starfish Crunch is a variation of the basic crunch that targets your obliques.
It may also be done on a regular flat exercise bench, in which case you will need a partner to hold your feet. The hanging windshield wiper gets its name from the posture adopted, which resembles the window wipers of a car as an individual performs each rep. It is a great idea to stop halfway through some reps and attempt to resist the twisting force. It is a versatile piece of equipment to help you achieve a stronger and more toned core. You can easily control the difficulty by varying the weight on the cable stack. This exercise is an advanced variation of the basic crab walk.
Best Oblique Strengthening Exercises
Training your obliques and core muscles has been noted to prevent injury. To fix tight obliques, you can use a massage ball for myofascial release. Then, introduce oblique stretches after you massage to best intermittent fasting app stretch the muscle and continue building it towards strength. Think about all the times during the day when you bend or twist your torso.
This might be a bit challenging at first, but with practice, it will get easier. Your lower back should be firmly pressed against the mat to protect your spine. Extend your legs straight out, hovering them slightly above the mat. Return your right arm and left leg to the starting position, then repeat with your left arm and right leg.
