6 Exercises To Work Your Obliques
The obliques not only look good for their aesthetics, giving the well-known V-shape we crave, but they are also important abdominal muscles for stabilizing the trunk in rotation and lateral flexion. Personal trainers say that doing exercises to work your obliques is essential if you want to achieve a flat abdomen.
By strengthening a muscle with routines we achieve hypertrophy, that is, the fibers that compose it increase in size. If you accompany the following exercises to work your obliques with other cardiovascular and weights, you will see how you will take the figure you want and have a toned abdomen.
Why work the obliques?
Before entering the topic, you need to know that the obliques are located in the lower abdomen, one on each side, and they 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 muscular strength in the part of the waist and more stability throughout the body.
Anyway, you should not over hypertrophy the obliques, but try to maintain them. Without a doubt, greater abdominal strength translates into better body conditions, because this part is the core of strength.
In case you have accumulated fat at the abdominal level, it is necessary that you work intensely not only this area, but also the rest. Burning fat in a localized way is a myth in the world of exercises.
If you are a woman, you should not believe in the myth that exercising will make you have a feminine figure . It all depends on your goals. Let’s see what are the best exercises to work this area of the abdomen!
Exercises to work your obliques
The exercises can always be focused to work more one area than another. That is why there are ideal routines to work your obliques that will develop this muscle.
Remember that the obliques are located on the sides, in the lower part of the abdomen. You can develop your own series of exercises with which we are now going to show you and thus dedicate one day of the week only to training this area of the abdomen.
1. Crunch foot to foot
For this exercise we must begin by lying down, as if we were going to do the typical sit-ups on a mat. Now you raise your neck a little and you are going to make a side to side movement until you can touch your foot with your hand.
The arms should be straight and you should focus on making a good movement to the sides, in order to activate everything that is known as the core . Always focus activity on the abdomen.
You can do 30 times on each side, until completing 3 series, resting between them.
2. Leg raise
This is an exercise that will activate the abdominal area to the maximum, especially the obliques. Lie on the mat on your back and place your hands under your buttocks.
Now you must raise your legs together, in a controlled way, focusing all the activity on the part of the abdomen. That is to say, that you force it from this area. You can complete 3 sets of 10 reps.
3. Side crunch
The starting position is the same as in a traditional crunch , only your body will be lying on its side. You can place your hand at the height of the head and exercise the movement from the abdomen.
It is essential that after completing 10 or 15 repetitions you turn to the other side to work the contralateral side. Try to keep your balance and, if you want, you can ask someone else for help.
4. Lateral leg raise
In this exercise you must be very careful to do the leg raise in a controlled way, otherwise you could damage the abductors.
Now, lie on your side and support your body on your arm. Then proceed to raise the leg laterally, with control of the movement, emphasizing that it comes out of the oblique, since this will guarantee a 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 your obliques. To start, you have to put yourself in the traditional plank position.
Then you will have to turn your lower body to each side, maintaining control of the movement and without touching the floor. You can repeat it continuously until completing 30 seconds and start again until completing 3 series.
6. Oblique abs
There is not much complication with this exercise, as it is very similar to a traditional crunch. You just have to lie down on the mat, place your legs bent in front of you and your arm opposite the movement you are going to make, resting on your head.
Repeat the same, but for the opposite side, in both directions with 15 repetitions of 3 series. Your abs and obliques will be on fire!
Working your obliques is not only physical demand, but also diet
When an exercise is performed correctly, that is, without swinging, without excessive impulses and without cheating, we are encouraging the muscle to be forced to work directly, without the help of others. In this way, it will be more effective in the medium and long term.
That is why you do not have to get carried away by those who lift more weight or do more repetitions. To work the obliques, the essential thing is to focus on having a good technique and thus you will see how the results begin to appear sooner than you thought. To tone the abdomen it is mandatory to lower the percentage of body fat with a good diet.
It’s true that abs, to a large extent, are made in the kitchen. So accompany this exercise routine to work the obliques that we teach you with a balanced diet, leaving aside saturated fats, sodas and everything that can provide extra calories.
Anyway, you should always consult with a nutritionist and also with a personal trainer for best results. Professionals have the necessary tools to guide your process.
