The external and internal obliques are part of your core, which consists of your other abdominal muscles, back, spine, pelvis and parts of your upper thighs. Unlike most muscles that move your body, such as those in your arms, legs and shoulders, the obliques cannot grow large due to their shape and function. However, performing isolated abdominal muscles can increase the size of all abdominal muscles, which can increase your waist size to some degree.
Oblique Function
Your obliques work together with other core muscles to stabilize your spine and pelvis moving while your limbs move in different directions, such as walking or climbing. They also assist in moving your torso in flexion, extension and rotation in different angles, such as horizontal rotation and diagonal rotation. Together with your rectus abdominis muscle, which is the six-pack muscle in the outer abs, the obliques serve as a shock absorber to prevent injury to your spine and hip when you land on your feet after you jump.
Isolation vs Integration
Isolation training refers to exercising one muscle group in one direction, while integration training is training multiple body parts together in different directions. Traditional abdominal training, including your obliques, isolates the abdominal region with little consideration to other body parts and is usually performed on the ground on your back. Although this method increases muscle activation to the obliques, it does very little or nothing to improve athletic abilities or full-body strength, says Coach Vern Gambetta, author of "Athletic Development." The isolation method can also cause the obliques and other ab muscles to grow because you are repetitively moving it to stimulate muscle hypertrophy. Integration training is incorporating your abdominals with your entire body to move, to generate and distribute force, and to stabilize your joints. Almost any exercise uses the abdominal muscles, including overhead lifts, sprints, pushups, pullups and squats. Integration training does not cause your waist to thicken because your obliques and other ab muscles are not contracting repetitively to stimulate muscle growth.
Misconception
Training your obliques and abdominal region does not melt away the fat away from the waistline, contrary to what most people believe. The fat-burning process occurs throughout your body and does not isolate in one specific region to burn fat. The best way to reduce body fat is to eat more frequent meals throughout the day and expend more calories than you consume, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Instead of performing isolation training, perform integration training to burn more calories and develop more muscle mass.
Sample Exercises
Isolation exercises include situps, crunches and rotational crunches, which are often performed on your back or on an incline bench. Integration exercises can be virtually any exercises that incorporates your entire body, usually in a standing or kneeling position. However, there are exercises that emphasize your abdominal region, such as standing medicine ball rotations. This exercise works on stability and mobility in your spine and hip joints as you rotation to your left and right. To do this exercise, stand with your legs about shoulder-width apart and hold a medicine ball with both hands extended in front of your chest. Turn your torso to your right and pivot your left hip and foot together. Swing the ball to your right as you turn. Then swing all the way to your left and pivot your right hip and foot together. Perform two sets of 20 turns.
References
- "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training"; Michael Clark; 2007
- "IDEA Fitness Journal"; Evaluating the Sit-Up; Christine Romani-Ruby; February 2003
- "Athletic Development"; Vern Gambetta; 2006
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