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Don’t ignore your oblique muscles! They’re just as critical for a strong core as your abs and lower back muscles. Add the exercises below into your daily workouts to take your oblique muscle strength to the next level.
When you talk about “core muscles”, most people immediately think about either abs or lower back muscles. Both are critical–abs for that beautiful six-pack, and back muscles for maintaining healthy posture and protecting your spine.
Oblique Exercises To Tone Your Abs
The obliques are sometimes considered part of your abdominal muscles, as they are located on the front sides of your torso. There are two oblique muscles: the triangle-shaped internal obliques, and the large, thin external obliques.
These muscles play a critical role in your movement—without them, you wouldn’t be able to twist, turn, or bend. They need just as much strengthening as your abs or lower back, and focusing on training them is crucial for developing a strong, injury-resistant core.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best oblique exercises you can do to target these critical core muscles. Not only will this help to strengthen the “twisting” muscles on your sides, but building strong obliques can help to tighten up the sides of your stomach (thereby eliminating the dreaded “muffin top”).
Exercises To Target Your Abdominal Obliques
Incorporate these into your weekly workout sessions—either as a part of your abs workout, or in a day on their own—and you’ll build a rock-solid core that will keep you moving easily for the rest of your life.
This exercise targets your abdominal muscles, but thanks to the twisting unilateral (one side only) movement, you pay extra special attention to your obliques. It’s an amazingly simple exercise that anyone can do, but it’s hard enough that you’ll feel the burn within a matter of minutes.
You’re going to both love and hate this exercise! It takes the challenge of the Mountain Climber and doubles down by adding a twisting motion that sets your oblique muscles burning like few other workouts can. It’s both an amazing strength-building exercise and excellent high-intensity cardio training. A few sets of these in your workout will leave you dripping sweat!
Oblique Exercises Without Equipment
This exercise looks simple (and it really is), but the unilateral movement doubles down on its effectiveness by shredding your core along with your abs. It’s basically the same as doing a side crunch, but with far less strain on your neck and in a comfortable position lying on your back. Get ready to bring it!
Woodchopper is a great weighted exercise you can do with a cable machine, a dumbbell, kettlebell, or even just a weight disc or heavy object. It’s a movement that mimics real life (the twisting up-and-down motion of chopping wood, hence its name) and thus will strengthen you for the actual activities you’ll be engaged in on a daily basis.
This will be both one hell of a core workout and great training for your arms, shoulders, and legs. It’s a full-body workout that will develop a rock-solid, mobile core.
Resistance Band Ab Workout For Core
If you’re worried about your lower back or feeling extra stiffness in your hips (after a day spent sitting down), you can give your obliques an excellent workout using this static (no movement) exercise. The fact that it is static means there is less risk of lower back strain or sprain, but because your muscles have to engage to hold the position, you get an amazing workout in the same amount of time.
This is an amazingly simple, totally safe exercise that can be adapted to increase or decrease its difficulty. For example, raising one leg off the ground doubles down on the oblique workout, while placing your upper foot on the ground adds support and makes the exercise a little bit easier for beginner resistance trainees.
However you do it, it’s incredibly effective at targeting your core, primarily your obliques but also your abs, lower back, glutes, and hips.
Oblique Abdominal Exercises
If you’re a more experienced resistance trainee looking to push your core strength to the next level, this is the exercise for you! It’s incredibly challenging on multiple levels: your shoulders and arms get an amazing workout as you hang from the Pull-Up bar, your abs and obliques are engaged in moving your legs smoothly through the entire motion, and your other core muscles work together with your legs to keep your body stable and reduce swinging. The result: an exponentially stronger, more mobile body!
You’ll feel the burn in your hands and forearms (hanging for this long takes serious grip strength), as well as in your hips, abs, and obliques. It’s an intermediate/advanced exercise that will deliver amazing core-strengthening results.
This is a much more dynamic movement that will help to build explosive power in your entire body—not just your obliques, but in your abs, quads, glutes, arms, and shoulders. It’s a favorite of CrossFitters who want to take their strength, endurance, and stamina to the next level.
Best Twisting Six Pack Abs Exercises For Incredible Oblique Muscles
Note: You can also perform this one with a partner, passing it back and forth rather than bouncing it off the wall.
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.
Side Bend is a simple exercise that literally anyone can do. If you’re a newbie on your first workout, just using your bodyweight will suffice. If you’re an experienced resistance trainee, adding a bit (or a lot) of weight will increase the difficulty sufficiently to make it a challenge. The beauty is, it’s maximally effective however you do it!
Of The Best Obliques Exercises To Compliment Your Abs For A Smoking Hot Body
These eight exercises will make you a stronger, more mobile person with serious core resistance that will reduce your risk of injury or lower back strain. It’s absolutely worth incorporating these oblique-focused exercises into your training sessions to ensure that your body is fortified and able to keep up with the stressors and activities of your daily life. You’ll have a rock-solid core and, as a wonderful bonus, you’ll burn extra abdominal fat and improve your shape!
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NFPT- Certified Personal Trainer Fitness has come hard for Andy; he's had to work for it. But, his trials have led him to become a martial artist, an NFPT-certified fitness trainer, and a man passionate about exercise and healthy living. That’s why he’s our resident fitness expert. His favorite food is lettuce-leaf steak tacos – though he’ll admit to a love of hot wings if you leverage the right pressure. We know him as the guy who understands British humor and wishes everyone was as passionate about life as he is. His previous forays into the worlds of international business and education have left him wildly optimistic. And, if that wasn’t enough, he's also a best-selling, award-winning author of fantasy novels! Can you say renaissance?
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