Oblique Workouts: 7 Of The Top Moves For Your Abs

Whether you’re working toward strengthening your core or you want six-pack abs, oblique exercises are paramount. Strong oblique muscles improve your strength and your posture and help protect your body in many ways. First, they help support the spinal column, reducing the risk of spinal injury or back pain after a workout.

Second, oblique exercises contribute to a stronger core, which can support and improve performance in physical activities that involve twisting and quick movements. Finally, oblique muscle workouts improve balance as well as reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes (which is commonly linked to excess belly fat).

Obviously, oblique training helps you to look good, too. Oblique workouts contribute to the highly sought after abdominal V-shape, a byproduct of toned obliques and a healthy diet.

About Your Obliques

The obliques are located on either side of the abdominals (six-pack muscles), and they run from the rib cage to the hips. The obliques are made up of two different muscles: internal obliques and external obliques. The internal obliques lie directly beneath the external obliques, with the muscle fibers traveling perpendicular to one another.

Exercises for Obliques

Side abs workouts are fantastic for crafting v-shape abdominals and building your overall core strength. The following exercises are great for an oblique workout at home. They are all based around bodyweight and combine internal and external oblique exercises, providing a full obliques abs workout.

Bird Dog

1. Begin on all fours with your knees in line with your hips and your hands lined up with your shoulders.
   
2. Brace your core as you inhale and reach your left arm and right leg straight out so that they’re parallel to the ground.
   
3. Keep your lower back stable and hips square to the ground as you hold this position.
   
4. Exhale and return to the start before repeating with your right arm and left leg.
   

Side Planks

1. Lie on the ground on your left side.
   
2. Raise yourself onto your forearm or hand, supporting your upper body.
   
3. Come up onto the edge of your left foot, stacking your right leg on top of your left.
   
4. Make sure your body forms a straight line from head to toe.
   
5. Keep your feet touching and use your oblique muscles to pull your right hip towards the ceiling, resting your right arm on your side.
   
6. Hold for at least 30 seconds, then switch sides.

Cross-Body Mountain Climber

1. Begin in a high-plank position with your glutes slightly higher than usual. Make sure that your neck is neutral and your wrists are positioned beneath your shoulders.
   
2. Drive your left knee towards your right elbow, keeping the rest of the body still.
   
3. Return to the start position and repeat this exercise with your right leg.

Bicycle Crunch

1. Lie on your back and bring your legs into the tabletop position.
   
2. Bend your elbows, interlocking your fingers behind your head.
   
3. Using your core for strength, lift your neck, head, and shoulder off the ground and bring your right elbow to your left knee, straightening out your right leg.
   
4. Release a little and twist over to the other side, straightening your left leg, bending your right leg, and moving your left elbow toward your right knee.

Standing Core Stabilizer

1. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, and bring your arms out directly in front of you with your hands touching.
   
2. Tense your core muscles, twist your upper body over to the left, lead with your hands and let your right toe pivot in response. Follow this movement with your gaze.
   
3. Return to the center, repeat this motion for the desired number of reps, and repeat this exercise on the opposite side.

Walking Lunge with Rotation

1. Start by standing straight with your arms out in front of you and your feet together; your elbows should be bent at 90 degrees.
   
2. Lunge forward with your left leg until your thigh is parallel. Twist your torso over your left thigh to work your oblique.
   
3. Twist your torso back to the center and return to standing.
   
4. Repeat this exercise with the right leg forward.

Windshield Wipers

1. Lie with your back flat on the ground and place your legs in the tabletop position. Lay your arms out perpendicular to your body.
   
2. Brace your core and slowly let your knees fall to the right, ensuring that you control this movement all the way down. If you feel your upper back rise off the ground, stop. If you want to take it a notch harder, extend your legs straight.
   
3. Return to start position and repeat on the opposite side.

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Regular oblique workouts will do wonders for your core strength, abdominal definition, and overall fitness. If you want to avoid cramping so you can perform oblique workouts more often, our MAGNAK Endurance Mix will help you to replenish electrolytes and recover faster without fatigue. Whereas many sports drinks are filled with sugar and leave you feeling bloated, MAGNAK is low in sugar, eliminating bubble-gut!

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