People, it all starts at the core. Harvard Health Publishing says that building and keeping core strength is important for many reasons, from better general balance to better success in almost any activity you can think of. But how many of us only think of a six-pack and toned hips and thighs when we think of our core? We think it’s a lot of people.
It’s easy to forget about your obliques when you do a lot of crunches. “They help to support the body and force exhaled air out of the lungs,, a pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise expert and physical therapist, via Live Science.
Your oblique muscles run along each side of your core. In addition, they are very important for turning and bending your trunk forward and to the sides. They also keep the rest of your body stable, which improves your posture and keeps you from getting hurt or aching. What about our obliques, though? How do we work them out when most workouts focus on the abs? Friends, we have all the workouts you need right here.
1. Spiderman Plank
You might like the Spider-Man plank if you’ve ever wished you were in a superhero movie for a day. Let’s be honest: most of us have. While it won’t give you Spidey sense or the ability to shoot webs, Beachbody on Demand and Spotebi say it will give you a strong core workout that works your obliques, abs, and upper body as well.
We’ve also been told that having stronger obliques is important for when you’re swinging through cities trying to catch thieves.
To do a Spider-Man plank, get into a low plank position with your hands clasped in front of you and your upper body sitting on your arms. Your body should be straight from your feet to the tip of your head. Engage your core, and as you let out a breath, lift one foot off the floor and bring the knee on the same side up to the elbow.
The knee should move up the outside of your body. While you do this, make sure your hip doesn’t sag. Squeeze at the top, and then put your foot back where it was while taking a deep breath in. For a full rep, do the move again with the other leg. Do 10 to 15 reps before taking a break.
2. Bicycle Crunch
A bicycle crunch is likely something you’ve done before when you worked out your core. You may have done this exercise because it works your abs, but The Gym Group says it’s also great for your obliques.
Lay on your back on an exercise mat with your legs bent and your feet flat on the ground. Lift your chest, shoulders, and head a little to work your abs. Then, place your hands on the back of your head and keep your arms wide. If you clasp your hands together, you might be more likely to pull your head up while you’re working out, which you want to avoid. Next, lift one leg and bring it in toward your body.
At the same time, launch the other leg straight out in front of you. At the same time, squeeze your abs together and bring the elbow on the other side up and toward the bent leg. Start out slowly; you want to pay attention to your form. Make your bent leg straight as you bring the other leg in and meet it with your other elbow. The name comes from the fact that your legs should feel a little like they’re pedaling a bike.
3. Offset Dumbbell Squat
We often lie on our backs and crunch and squeeze as hard as we can to work on our abs. It’s helpful to keep in mind, though, that workouts that are meant to work out a different part of the body can be changed to work the abs and obliques more.
If you do an offset dumbbell squat, you put one dumbbell on each side of your body to make the load stronger through your side body, as qualified strength and conditioning expert BJ Gaddour told Men’s Health. “As the weight pulls you to the side, your opposite obliques have to fight to keep your torso upright,” says Gaddour. This move also makes your grip stronger and works your legs, biceps, and shoulders.
Hold a dumbbell in one hand and stand with your feet farther apart than shoulder-width apart. Put the barbell on your shoulder and tuck your arm into your side. For support, put out your other arm and squat down, putting your hips out behind you. Hold at the bottom and then use your feet to push yourself up. Keep your core engaged throughout the practice.
4. Side Plank
When it comes to oblique movements, few are more focused or more effective than a side plank. “Side planks are all about strengthening the side body and stabilizing your spine,” states Club Pilates master trainer and qualified strength and conditioning expert Cara Bonney to Women’s Health. This extra strength and stabilization keeps your body more equipped to do both everyday chores and more hardcore workout moves and keeps injuries at bay.
To begin, lie on one side on an exercise mat and place your wrist flat on the floor in front of you, at a 90-degree angle to your body. Your upper arm can rest on your upward-facing side, and your feet can either be put upon one another or in a line, both sitting on the floor.
Lift your body off the ground and work your core as you do it. When you’re in this position, your body shouldn’t sag or curve. It should stay straight. You can hold the side plank for up to 30 seconds. As your core gets stronger, you can hold it for longer. To make it harder, reach your free arm up toward the sky.
5. Medicine Ball Rotational Throw
We like to think of ourselves as calm, but how good does it feel to throw something every once in a while? According to Bodybuilding, a medicine ball rotational throw is a standing workout that works your obliques and abs by turning them. It will help you do that.
You’ll need a medicine ball and a strong wall for this workout, which will also work your upper body and hips. Stand a few feet away from a wall and hold a medicine ball in each hand in front of you. Your feet should be looking forward. Keep your feet on the ground and turn your body away from the wall. Then, quickly twist your body from the middle outwards toward the wall.
Throw the medicine ball at the wall, let it go, and then catch it when it comes back to you. Then do it again. You can change the medicine ball rotational throw to fit your goals. For example, if you want to build more muscle, use a bigger ball and do fewer reps. However, if you want to get your heart rate up, do more reps with a lighter weight.
6. Sit-Ups to Twist
For example, you don’t have to start doing a bunch of hard, new workouts just because you want to work on your obliques. We know some moves that work the obliques well, but some of the best ones change them up a bit. “Targets the obliques, but you will also work all of the abdominal muscles,” says NASM-certified personal trainer Danielle Burrell to Self about the sit-up to twist. A twist is added to the top of the sit-up.
Place your feet firmly on the floor with your back straight and your exercise mat between your legs. Try not to bring your feet too close to your butt. Gently place your fingers on either side of your head, and then tighten your abs as you sit up straight. Make sure your upper body is fully supported at the top.
When your body is at its tallest point, turn your spine to one side so that your elbow almost touches the knee of the person on the other side. Place your lower back back where it started and bring your body back to the middle. Do the sit-up again, but this time twist to the other side. Keep going back and forth until you reach the number of reps you want.
7. Standing Trunk Rotation
Well+Good says that rotating moves are great for working out our obliques because they work our core muscles from a different angle and let us reach the smaller muscles through our center. They’re also really easy to do, which is great. Standing trunk rotations are one of the best ways to twist during a workout. They work both the external and internal obliques and burn fat in the upper body and arms because you hold your breath during the exercise (WebMD).
ACE Fitness says to stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and your neck long. Hold a medicine ball lightly in front of your chest. Make sure your shoulders are back and relaxed, and keep your core tight. Then, turn your upper body to the left while you breathe out.
You should try to keep your body as straight as possible while you do this. Don’t bend it in any way. After turning as far as you can, stay in place for one second. Then, turn back to the middle and do it again the other way. You can hold the ball farther out in front of you to make this move even harder. This will work your core even more.
