The Best Exercises to Target External Abdominal Oblique

When it comes to exercising, many people wonder about what they can do to target a certain muscle group in their bodies that may need a little extra work. Abdominal muscles are one of those areas that many people want to target since they may no longer have that flat stomach that they had when they were younger. And one of these abdominal muscles is the oblique muscles that need certain exercises in order to get stronger and leaner.

Where is the Oblique Muscle?

The oblique muscle is the largest part of the trunk area of your body. On each side of the body you have an external oblique muscle. It extends from the lower half of the ribs around and down to the pelvis. It is a very important muscle as it helps to control your entire core. That is why it is important to work this muscle as much as possible.

Oblique Muscle Exercises

There are several exercises that you can do that are going to have target those external abdominal oblique muscles. These are a few that you can add into your routine to get these muscles worked out well!

1. Side planks: Start on your side with your feet stacked and your bottom forearm below your shoulder. Engage the core and then raise your hips until the body is in a straight line. You will want to hold this for 30 seconds or longer. Then flip and do the other side.
2. Sit ups to Twist: With this exercise lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat to the floor. Then place your hands behind your head, engage your core and then do a full sit up. When you get at the top of the sit up, then twist with your right elbow to the left knee. Lower back down and then repeat, but alternate the side of the twist.
3. Russian twists: Sit up with your legs out in front of you and knees bend, with the heels on the floor, your back at a 45 degree angle. Hold a medicine ball or even a dumbbell with both hands by your stomach. Keeping your back straight, twist to the side, moving the medicine ball with you as you twist right and left.
4. Forward lunges with rotation: Stand with your feet hip width apart, holding a medicine ball in front of you. Lunge forward with your left leg, and bend you knees, rotate the torso to the left, keeping your arms straight. Rotate back to the center and push off your front heel to get back to the beginning. Then repeat, but alternate legs.