When it comes to abdominal muscle development, oblique exercises are often neglected rather than exercises that target the rectus abdominis (the “six pack” muscles). We know it’s unlikely that you’ll have time to train every muscle in your body, but any well-rounded athlete will incorporate oblique exercises when working their core.
Where are the oblique muscles located?
The obliques are located on the outside of the abdomen. It runs in two long vertical lines from the bottom of the chest to the top of the hips.
It is formed by two abdominal muscles, the external and internal oblique muscles, that allow rotation of the trunk, spine, and trunk. Obliques also support your back and overall posture.
Why Do Oblique Exercises?
The obliques are an important part of the main abdominal muscles, along with the transversus abdominis and rectus abdominis.
Training your obliques isn’t essential, but you shouldn’t rule out this major muscle group if you want to strengthen your core.
Oblique exercises are essential for maintaining a strong, well-rounded core.
These muscles are used daily to support and stabilize your midline and back and to control your posture and pelvic position. Rotational exercises also recruit your obliques, and working on them only builds overall strength in your core.
A strong core directly benefits sports performance by providing a foundation for generating greater force in the upper and lower extremities.
Oblique exercises at home without equipment
While most popular oblique exercises require cable machines and other equipment, they have been shown to stimulate muscle activation through surface electromyography (EMG), the gold standard for muscle assessment. It is entirely possible to train the oblique at home using the exercises from. activity:
- V sit
- bicycle crunch
- abdominal brace
V sit
The V-Sit is the exercise that produces the most activity in the external oblique muscles compared to other bodyweight abdominal exercises. 2013 survey It was published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine.
The body holds a V-shaped resting position in this exercise that works multiple areas of the core at once.
how do you do:
- Start sitting with your legs bent forward.
- Squeeze your core, straighten your legs, and slowly lift until they form a 45-degree angle with your torso.
- Extend your back and extend your arms forward for balance.
- Engage your core muscles throughout and try to push back a strong spine and shoulders.
- Hold your body in this V-shaped posture for about 10-15 seconds, aiming to increase the amount of time you can spend in this posture over time.
bicycle crunch
This bodyweight exercise activates many of the core muscles, but most importantly, it has been found in several EMG analyzes to induce greater oblique activation than other oblique exercises.
In fact, the “bicycle manoeuvre” (bicycle crunch) has been named “the best ab exercise” by one scientist. 2001 ACE Sponsored Research As a single exercise, it has the ability to target the upper and lower abs as well as the oblique muscles. This study compared 13 of the most common sit-up exercises to determine the most effective sit-up exercises.
how do you do:
- Lie flat on the floor with your hips pressed into the ground.
- Squeeze your core and place your feet on the floor, bending your right knee and bringing it closer to your chest.
- Place your hands behind your head and bring your left elbow closer to your right knee to perform an oblique crunch.
- You should crunch to one side while rotating your torso. Don’t pay too much attention to your elbow touching your knee. Instead, focus on using obliques and rotate as much as possible on each side.
- Bring your torso back and float just above the floor, doing the same with your legs. Then bend your left knee and perform another crunch. Now twist to the left.
- Repeat about 15 times.
abdominal brace
Abdominal brace is one of them most effective exercise For internal oblique muscles. actual, 2013 survey From the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine mentioned above, we found that muscle activation during this exercise was significantly higher compared to nine other static and dynamic abdominal exercises.
Abdominal braces require the athlete to be in a neutral spine stance with maximum abdominal activation without a depressed lower abdomen. This exercise is similar to the Standing Hollow Hold. Subject held the position for ten seconds of hers.
Other oblique exercises
- From high cable wood chopper to low cable wood chopper
- hanging knee up
- Decline bench curl up
- power wheel pike
high and low cable wood chopper
One of the most popular and effective oblique exercises is From high cable wood chopper to low cable wood chopperthey are a good option, as they can “directly apply a weighted resistance along the diagonal along which the diagonal fibers run”. To tell Jeremy Ethier, Kinesiologist, FMS, NASM certified.
Minimize arm movement by locking your elbows and try to work with your oblique muscles. Do 10-15 repetitions.
hanging knee up
hanging knee up is high external and Internal oblique muscle EMG activity compared to other traditional and non-traditional abdominal exercises, 2006 study Published in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Journal.
While this exercise is great for well-built individuals, the study authors recommend avoiding it for athletes with lower back problems because of the “relatively high compression of the L4–L5 discs.”
how do you do:
- Grasp the bar with a space where your feet do not touch the floor.
- With your body hanging from the bar, bend your knees and lift them toward your chest.
- Tighten your core throughout and stop when your knees are between your hips and chest.
- Maintaining control of your body, slowly lower your leg and repeat.
Decline bench curl up
This oblique practice was discovered by A 2013 study from the University of Wisconsin Induces higher EMG activity compared to traditional crunches. This is because the athlete needs to contract the external oblique muscles to maintain stability during the Decline Bench Curl Up (Decline Bench Curl Up). Incline reverse crunch.
These results are 2014 survey Presented by the American Council on Exercise, the incline curl-up ranks as the second best oblique exercise (first is the ab wheel rollout). Curl-ups are a combination of knee raises and crunches.
how do you do:
- Lie on a bench with your head facing up and grasp the pad behind your head. Start with your knees bent.
- Squeeze your core muscles to stabilize your body at an angle and bring your knees closer to your chest. Hands should only provide support.
- Continue until your hips float above the bench and your knees are close to your elbows, then hold the position for 1 second before slowly returning to the original position.
- Repeat 10-15 times.
power wheel pike
The Power Wheel Pike proved to be the most effective for activating the oblique muscles. 2006 study above. a 2010 survey From the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, I studied a similar abdominal muscle exercise, but performed using a Swiss ball, and the pike (alongside the rollout) activates the external and internal oblique muscles. concluded that it was the most effective exercise for
This is a bit of a complex exercise and requires a good amount of core strength to complete properly. please.
