Science-Backed Oblique Exercises to Build the Most Solid Trunk | BOXROX

When it comes to building your abs, oblique exercises are often neglected. exercises targeting the rectus abdominis – the “six-pack” muscles. And while we recognize that it’s highly unlikely you’ll have time to work every muscle in your body, a well-rounded athlete will include oblique exercises when training their core.

What are where are the oblique muscles?

Fountain: Public domain

The oblique muscles are located on the lateral sides of the abdomen. They run from below the chest to the top of the hips in two long vertical lines.

They are made up of two abdominal muscles, the external and internal obliques, and allow you to twist and rotate your trunk, spine, and core. Your obliques also support your back and overall posture.

Why do oblique exercises?

The obliques are an essential part of the core abdominal muscles along with the transversus abdominis and rectus abdominis.

It’s not essential that you train your obliques, but if you want to strengthen your core, you shouldn’t neglect this important muscle group.

Oblique exercises are essential for maintaining a strong, well-rounded core.

These muscles are used every day to support and stabilize the midline and back, as well as to control posture and pelvic position. Any rotational movement will also recruit your obliques and working on them will only increase the overall strength in your core.

In turn, a strong core will directly benefit your athletic performance by providing a foundation for greater force production in the upper and lower extremities.

Oblique exercises at home without equipment.

While the most popular oblique exercises require cable machines and other equipment, it’s perfectly possible to train your obliques at home with the following exercises, which have been shown to stimulate high muscle activation through surface electromyography (EMG), the gold standard for evaluating muscles. activity:

• Sit in V
• bike creak
• Abdominal braces

Sit in V

The V-Sit is by far the exercise that recruits the most activity in the external oblique muscles compared to other bodyweight abdominal exercises, a 2013 study published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found.

This exercise, which works several areas of the core at once, makes your body maintain a static position in a V shape.

How to do it:

1. Begin to sit up, with your legs folded in front of you.
2. Bracing your core, extend your legs and slowly raise them until they reach a 45-degree angle with your torso.
3. Extend your back and reach your arms forward to help with balance.
4. Keep your core muscles engaged at all times and make sure you maintain a strong spine and shoulders back.
5. Hold your body in these V-positions for about 10-15 seconds, with the goal of increasing the time you can spend in this position as time goes on.

bike creak

This bodyweight exercise activates many of your core muscles but, more importantly, has been found in some EMG analyzes to elicit greater oblique activation than other oblique exercises.

In fact, the “bicycle maneuver” (the bicycle crunch) was named the “best abs exercise” by a 2001 ACE-sponsored study for its ability to stimulate the upper and lower abdominals, as well as the obliques, as a single exercise. The study compared 13 of the most common abdominal exercises to determine the most effective.

How to do it:

1. Lie down on the floor with your lower back pressed against the floor.
2. Engage your core and swing your legs across the floor, then bend your right knee and bring it toward your chest.
3. With your hands behind your head, perform a diagonal contraction bringing your left elbow toward your right knee.
4. You should do sit-ups to the side as you rotate your torso. Don’t pay too much attention to your elbows touching your knees. Instead, focus on using your obliques and twisting as far as possible on each side.
5. Return your torso to hover just above the floor and do the same with your leg, then bend your left knee and perform another contraction, this time rolling onto your left side.
6. Repeat for around 15 repetitions.

Abdominal braces

The abdominal corset is one of the most effective exercises for the internal obliques. In fact, the 2013 study of the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine mentioned above found significantly greater muscle activation during this exercise compared to nine other static and dynamic abdominal exercises.

Abdominal bracing requires an athlete, in a standing position with a neutral spine, to engage the abdominals maximally without hollowing out the lower abdomen. The exercise is similar to standing. hollow cellar. The study subjects held the position for 10 seconds.

Fountain: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

Other oblique exercises

• High to Low Cord Log Splitters
• hanging knees
• Decline Bench Curl
• power wheel pike

High to Low Cord Log Splitters

One of the most popular and effective oblique exercises are the High to Low Cord Log Splitters, are an excellent choice as they allow you to “apply weighted resistance directly in line with how diagonally the oblique fibers run.” He says Jeremy Ethier, Kinesiologist and FMS, certified NASM.

Make sure to minimize arm movement by locking your elbows and do the work with your oblique muscles. Perform between 10 and 15 repetitions.

hanging knees

Hanging Knee-Ups showed high external Y internal oblique EMG muscle activity compared to other traditional and non-traditional abdominal exercises, a 2006 study published in the Journal of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation found.

While this exercise is great for fitter people, the study’s authors recommend that athletes with lower back problems avoid it due to “relatively high L4-L5 disc compression.”

How to do it:

Fountain: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

1. Hold on to a bar in a space where your feet do not touch the ground.
2. With your body hanging off the bar, bend your knees and lift them toward your chest.
3. Keep your core engaged throughout and stop when your knees are anywhere between your hips and your chest.
4. Maintaining control of your body, slowly lower your legs back down and repeat.

Decline Bench Curl

This oblique exercise was found by a 2013 University of Wisconsin study to elicit higher EMG activity compared to traditional crunch. This is because athletes need to contract the external obliques to maintain stabilization during the Decline Bench Curl-Up, also known as incline reverse crunch.

These results are supported by a 2014 study published in the American Council of Exercise, which ranked the incline curl-up as second best for the obliques (first being the Ab-Wheel unroll). The curl-up is a combination of a knee raise and a crunch.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your back on a decline bench with your head near the top and grab the pads behind your head. Start with your knees bent.
2. Bring your knees toward your chest contracting your core muscles and stabilizing your body with your obliques, your hands should only provide support.
3. Continue until your lower back is suspended over the bench and your knees are close to your elbows, then hold for a second before slowly lowering back down.
4. Repeat for 10-15 reps.

power wheel pike

The Power Wheel Pike was found to be the most effective at activating the oblique muscles, according to the 2006 study mentioned above. TO 2010 study of the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy then investigated similar abdominal exercises but performed with a Swiss ball, and concluded that the pike (along with the roll-out) was the most effective exercise for activating the external and internal obliques.

As this is a slightly more complicated exercise that requires a reasonable amount of core strength to complete correctly. So if you’re new to fitness, do the other oblique exercises in this article and slowly work your way up to the pike.