6 Exercises For Working The Obliques

The obliques not only contribute to a good appearance, giving the abdomen the well-known V-shape, but they are also important abdominal muscles for stabilizing the trunk in rotation and lateral flexion. The personal trainers say do exercises to work the obliques is essential if you want to get a defined abdomen.

By strengthening a muscle with training, we achieve hypertrophy, that is, the fibers that make it up increase in size. If you follow the exercises for working the obliques listed below with other cardiovascular and strength exercises, you’ll see how you’ll get the shape you want and your abs will be toned.

Why work the obliques?

Before getting into the subject, it is necessary to know that the obliques are located in the lower part of the abdomen, one on each side, and are those muscles that, once developed, are visualized in a V-shape, both in men and women.

Now why should we work the obliques? Keeping this area toned will allow you to have greater muscle strength around your waist and more stability throughout your body.

In any case, you should not overly hypertrophy the obliques, but try to maintain them. Undoubtedly, greater abdominal strength translates into better body condition, because this part is the core of strength.

If you have accumulated abdominal fat, it is necessary to work intensely not only in this area, but also in the rest of the body. Burning fat locally is a myth in the fitness world.

If you’re a woman, you shouldn’t believe the myth that exercise will make you look unfeminine . It all depends on your goals. Let’s see what are the best exercises to work this region of the abdomen!

Exercises for working the obliques

The exercises are often focused to work on one area more than another. That’s why there are ideal workouts to work the obliques that will develop these muscles.

Remember that the obliques are located on the sides of the lower abdomen. You can develop your own series of exercises with the ones we’ll show you now, and thus devote one day a week just to training this part of the abdomen.

1. Crunch foot to foot

For this exercise, we should start by lying down, as if we were going to do the typical sit-ups on a mat. Lift your neck a little and move from side to side until you can touch your foot with your hand.

The arms must be straight and we must concentrate on making a good sideways movement in order to activate what is known as the core . Focus activity on the abdomen.

Do 3 sets of 30 times on each side, resting in between.

2. Leg lift

This is an exercise that will maximally activate the abdominal region, especially the obliques. Lie down on the mat on your back and place your hands under your buttocks.

Now, lift your legs together in a controlled way, concentrating all the activity on the abdomen part. This means that the force you will make will be focused on this region. You can complete 3 sets of 10 reps.

3. Side crunch

The starting position is the same as a traditional crunch , just with the body lying on its side. You can place your hand at the height of your head and exercise the movement from your abdomen.

It is essential that after completing 10 or 15 reps, you turn to the other side to work the contralateral side. Try to keep your balance and, if you like, ask someone else for help.

4. Lateral leg lift

In this exercise, you must be very careful to lift your leg in a controlled manner; otherwise, you could damage the abductors.

Lie on your side and support your body on your arm. Then lift the leg laterally with movement control, emphasizing that it starts at the oblique, as this will ensure good hypertrophy. Do 15 reps and 3 sets on each side.

5. Hip dips

Loved by many and hated by others! This exercise is one of the best for working the obliques. To start with, put yourself in the traditional plank position.

Then turn your lower body sideways, maintaining control of the movement and not touching the floor. You can repeat continuously until you complete 30 seconds and start again until you complete 3 sets.

6. Oblique abominations

There is not much complication with this exercise as it is very similar to a traditional crunch . You’ll just have to lie down on the mat, put your legs bent in front of you and the arm opposite the movement you’re going to perform resting on your head.

Repeat the same, but to the opposite side, in both directions with 15 reps of 3 sets. Your abdominal and oblique muscles will burn!

the importance of diet

When we perform an exercise correctly, that is, without imbalances, without excessive impulses and without cheating, we are forcing the muscle to work directly, without the help of others. In this way, training will be more effective in the medium and long term.

That’s why you don’t have to get carried away by whoever lifts the most weight or does the most reps. To work the obliques, the essential thing is to focus on having good technique. That way, you’ll see how the results start to show up sooner than you think. To tone the abdomen, it is mandatory to reduce the percentage of body fat with a good diet.

It’s true that we usually get our belly fat in the kitchen. So, follow this exercise routine to work the obliques we taught you with a balanced diet, avoiding saturated fats, sodas and anything that can provide extra calories.

Remember that you should consult a nutritionist as well as a personal trainer for best results. Professionals have the necessary tools to guide your process.