Your abdominal and oblique muscles respond to training stimulus the same way that your other muscles do. You can improve your abdominal and oblique muscles' strength and improve their tone with consistent, effective workouts. Work out an appropriate number of days per week and choose effective exercises to maximize your results.
Workout Schedule
Your workouts should be done at a high enough volume to adequately overload the two muscle groups during each session, and you must allow them an appropriate amount of rest in between sessions so that the muscles can heal and recover. Do your abdominal and oblique workouts at least twice, but ideally three times per week. If you train twice, allow two days of rest in between. If you train three days per week, get one day of rest in between.
Effective Exercises
Not all exercises recruit your abdominals and obliques effectively. The American Council on Exercise sponsored a study in 2001, which set out to determine which of the most common abdominal and oblique exercises were most effective at recruiting more of the muscle fibers. The best exercises to target the abdominals include the bicycle crunch, the Captain's chair, crunches on an exercise ball and vertical leg crunch. The best exercises to target your obliques also include the Captain's chair and the bicycle crunch, but in addition, the reverse crunch and the hover, or the plank, are effective.
Techniques and Tips
To complete the bicycle crunch, lie on your back on a mat with your hands behind your head and elbows flared out. Hold your legs slightly up off the floor. Crunch up and twist to the left, bringing your right elbow across your chest. Simultaneously, bring your left knee up to your chest so that it comes close to meeting your right elbow. Return to starting position and then repeat on the other side, bringing your left elbow to meet your right knee. When using the Captain's chair, although it's common to begin with your legs straight, instead begin with your knees bent and thighs parallel with the floor. Bring your knees up toward your chest and then return them back so that they return to floor parallel. For crunches on an exercise ball, position your body so that your lower back rounds around the ball, your knees are bent at 90 degrees and your feet are firmly planted on the floor. Place your hands behind your head with elbows flared out. Crunch straight up toward the ceiling. The vertical leg crunch is done on the floor on a mat. Lie on your back with your legs straight and pointed up toward the ceiling. With your hands behind your head, crunch directly up toward the ceiling. The reverse crunch is also done on your back while on a mat, but your hands are placed on the floor beside you. Pick your feet up off the floor and bend your knees to 90 degrees. Pick your hips up off the floor and control them back down. The hover is done on a mat, beginning with you lying on your stomach. Place your elbows directly under your shoulders and rise up onto your shoulders and your toes, creating a straight line throughout your torso and thighs. Hold this position.
Number of Exercises, Sets and Repetitions
Complete the total of six effective abdominal and oblique exercises during each workout session. Do two sets of each exercise, resting one minute in between each set. The number of repetitions that you should complete depends on your own personal strength levels. You should feel fatigued and have difficulty completing the last five repetitions or so. Complete each set to near fatigue.
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