subject: Oblique Exercises - Try These Asap [print this page] When it comes to oblique exercises there are a ton of them that you can do, however there are some that are a lot better than others. This article is going to shed a lot of light on the subject because a lot of authors and trainers usually write about the same age old and boring oblique exercises that people have been doing for almost 100 years. The problem with this is not because they dont work the obliques because they do, its because there are better exercises out there to hit those muscles without having to do the conventional isolation exercises that everyone talks about and what you are probably thinking about.
First thing you must understand is that the obliques are a muscle just like any other muscle in your body. If you work them out hard enough, they will hypertrophy, aka grow larger. This can possibly create a weird look in your midsection, giving you a blocky looking waist line as opposed to a slim and toned waistline which most people are after. However, the good news is that the potential for growth from your oblique muscles is actually quite low. The amount of pounding they take from heavy lifting is quite high and theyre involved in almost any free weighted movement that you do. Therefore, I really wouldnt worry about them becoming too large. The only reason why you would want them to be big and blocky in the first place is if you are heavily into power lifting or strong man competitions. These guys have huge blocky and muscular waists because they act like a brace for their entire core when they are dead lifting those insane poundages.
However, a nice and well developed set of oblique muscles can really accentuate your waistline so Im going to give you some exercises that will allow you to create this effect.
The first exercise is going to renegade rows, or what I like to call push up rows. I just call them that with my clients because well, youre in a pushup position and row a weight up. Its pretty obvious, but you can call them what you want.
Simply set up in a pushup position with arms extended right underneath your body. From there, if youre doing them without weight, just lifting one hand up for a second squeezing your mid section making sure not to move your hips side to side, then bring your hand back down and repeat with the other side. If you are doing them with dumbbells, then the movement will be the same except you row the dumbbell up and bring it back down.
Just make sure not to sway your hips side to side. If this is the case then use a lighter weight or take a wider stance with your feet. The narrower your feet are, the harder the movement will be, the wider your feet, the easier the movement because you have a wider base. For example, think of a canoe next to a catamaran. Which one is more stable in the water?
The next exercise is going to be farmers walks. Dr. Stuart McGill who is the leading researcher when it comes to lower back health has stated that farmer walks are like planks except standing up and walking. Farmers walks are simple to perform. All you need is two heavy weights and some distance. Grab each dumbbell and literally go for a walk. Make sure during this time you are standing upright the entire time with your head pointing forward. By keeping your body as still and erect as possible with 2 heavy weights by your sides, your obliques have to contract extremely hard to make this possible. If they were weak and small, you would be wobbling all over the place. Make believe your obliques are like your anchors.
And the last great exercise that really hits your obliques without you even realizing it while giving you an awesome lower body workout at the same time are front squats. Front squats as seen in the picture below is one of the best lower body movements that hits almost every major muscle group not only in the lower body but also in the upper body. A lot of muscles come into play during this movement, but especially your core and your obliques. If you core and oblique muscles are not strong and tight during this exercise, your body will want to inevitably fall forward. Its your stomach muscles that are contacting the entire time as well as your lower back to help keep your body upright. It might be hard for you to fathom this but try it out and I guarantee the next day you will be sore all across your abs.
But in the end, you can have the most well developed oblique muscles in the world, but if you dont have a low enough body fat, then no one is going to be able to see all of the hard work that you put into them. So your diet has to be your number one focus in whatever your goals are.
All in all, the oblique exercises that I listed above are not the run of the mill exercises that a lot of other people usually talk about. Those exercises never give you the best bang for your buck or help to make you stronger. I guarantee if you do the 3 exercises listed all in one workout multiple times per week, your midsection and specifically your obliques will become more dense, more thick and well pronounced over time.
