{"id":3435,"date":"2025-03-15T17:53:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T17:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/7-effective-exercises-to-strengthen-your-obliques.html"},"modified":"2025-03-15T17:53:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T17:53:25","slug":"7-effective-exercises-to-strengthen-your-obliques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/7-effective-exercises-to-strengthen-your-obliques.html","title":{"rendered":"7 Effective Exercises to Strengthen Your Obliques"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oblique muscles are to abs as Jesse Pinkman is to Walter White. As lettuce is to the BLT. As Chewbacca is to just about anything in\u00a0Star Wars.<\/p>\n

Overlooked and under-appreciated, the obliques nevertheless play an important supporting (literally) role to that six-pack you\u2019ve been working so hard to get.<\/p>\n

But guess what? Just as Springsteen ain\u2019t the same without the E Street Band, you can\u2019t get those killer abs you\u2019ve been working on without also acquiring a sturdy set of obliques.<\/p>\n

The oblique muscles frame your core, and consist of external obliques \u2014 which are visible \u2014 and the internal oblique muscles they conceal.<\/p>\n

The fibers of the external obliques run diagonally from the sides of your rib cage to the tops of your hip bones.<\/p>\n

The bottom edge attaches to a sheet of connective tissue that forms the inguinal crease \u2014 the \u201cV\u201d running inward and downward from the tops of your hips \u2014 also known, for obvious reasons, as the love line.<\/p>\n

So, yes, toned oblique muscles look good. Especially if you\u2019re lean enough that they show.<\/p>\n

But the obliques also perform an essential function. Along with your six-pack muscle (the\u00a0rectus abdominis),\u00a0they protect the spine from bending or rotating excessively during athletic movements like squatting, throwing, or swinging a bat.<\/p>\n

Throughout the day, they also keep the pelvis positioned properly and the posture in check.<\/p>\n

This is critical for anyone who sits more than an hour or two a day.<\/p>\n

To best ensure your obliques serve you, you may want to do work that targets them.<\/p>\n

7 of the Best Core Exercises for Your Obliques<\/h2>\n

Looking to build yourself a selfie-worthy set of oblique muscles?<\/p>\n

Perform four of the following moves three times a week in place of your usual abdominal workout.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry \u2014 your six-pack will get plenty of work from these oblique exercises, as well.<\/p>\n

Oblique Crunch<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Assume a side plank position on your right side: ankles flexed, feet stacked, right forearm and hand on the floor, and body straight from head to heels.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Place your left hand behind your ear, and raise your left leg a few inches above your right.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Maintaining your balance in the side plank position, draw your left knee and your left elbow toward one another.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Repeat for 10-12 reps, then switch sides.<\/p>\n

From:\u00a0The Master\u2019s Hammer and Chisel, 10 Minute Ab Hammer<\/p>\n

Up and Down Hip Tap<\/h3>\n

\"7<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Assume a forearm plank position on the floor with the balls\u00a0of your feet on the floor, feet shoulder-width apart, body straight.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0With your right and left hands flat on the floor, push yourself to a high plank (push-up) position one hand at a time.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Reverse the movement, lowering yourself back to the forearm plank position.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Rotate your hips to the right so that your right hip comes close to the floor, reverse, and repeat on the opposite side.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Repeat the entire sequence continuously for 45 seconds.<\/p>\n

Appears in:\u00a0<\/strong>Body Beast: Abs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Side Hip Up<\/h3>\n

\"7<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2013 Assume a side plank position on your right side: ankles flexed, feet stacked, right forearm and hand on the floor, and body straight from head to heels.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Keeping your feet, hips, shoulders and head aligned, lower your right hip toward the floor as far as possible.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Reverse the move, lifting your left hip toward the ceiling as high as you can.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Repeat for 10\u201315 reps, then switch sides.<\/p>\n

From:\u00a0FOCUS T25\u00a0Ab Intervals<\/p>\n

Knee Up-Around<\/h3>\n

\"7<\/p>\n

\u2013 Lie on your right side with your feet together, resting your upper body on your right elbow.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Place your left hand behind your head and lift your feet off the floor.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Pull your left elbow in toward your knees, and your knees toward your elbows.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Reverse the movement, extending your legs outward, and repeat the move two more times.<\/p>\n

\u2013 On your third rep, point your legs toward the ceiling and roll onto your left side.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Repeat the entire sequence on your left side.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Roll back onto your right side and continue repeating \u2014 three reps on each side \u2014 until your have completed 24 reps total.<\/p>\n

Appears in:\u00a0CIZE: 8-count abs<\/p>\n

Mountain Climb\/Twist\/Spider<\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"7<\/p>\n

\u2013 Assume a high plank (push-up) position: hands and balls of your feet on the floor, feet shoulder-width apart, body straight.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Keeping your back straight, lift your right foot from the floor and pull your right knee as close as possible toward your chest.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Reverse the move and repeat with your left knee.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Repeat the movement on the right side, this time pulling your right knee toward your left elbow.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Reverse the move and repeat with your left knee.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Repeat the movement on the right side, this time lifting the right knee as high as possible outside your right elbow.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Reverse the move and repeat with your left knee.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Repeat the entire sequence continuously for 45 seconds.<\/p>\n

Appears in:\u00a0Body Beast: Abs<\/p>\n

Cross Crunch<\/h3>\n

\"7<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2013 Lie on your back, straighten and squeeze your legs together, and lift them off the mat as high as you can.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Place your hands near your ears and perform a crunch, reaching your left hand outside your right ankle.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Reverse the movement, lying back on the floor, and repeat, alternating sides until you have completed a total of 10 reps per side.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Appears in:\u00a021 Day Fix: 10-Minute Fix for Abs<\/p>\n\n

Side Plank Reach<\/h3>\n

\"7<\/p>\n

\u2013 Assume a side plank position on your right side: ankles flexed, feet stacked, right forearm and hand on the floor, and body straight from head to heels.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Extend your left arm upward toward the sky. This is your starting position.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Keeping your hips square to the side without allowing them to dip, reach your left arm down and under your torso as far as possible, as if trying to touch the outside of your right hip.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Return to the starting position.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Repeat for 10\u201312 slow reps, then switch sides.<\/p>\n

From:\u00a0CORE DE FORCE: 5 Minute Core on the Floor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oblique muscles are to abs as Jesse Pinkman is to Walter White. As lettuce is to the BLT. As Chewbacca is to just about anything in\u00a0Star Wars. Overlooked and under-appreciated, the obliques nevertheless play an important supporting (literally) role to that six-pack you\u2019ve been working so hard to get. But guess what? Just as Springsteen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}