Abdominal exercises are a common component of exercise programs. Your internal obliques are the diagonal muscles that align your abdomen and allow your body to twist and turn. By adding weight, you can increase the difficulty of the exercise and yield better, faster results. You can add weight with dumbbells, exercise balls or plate weights.
Dumbbell Side Bend
Stand with your feet shoulder-width distance apart, keep your hips aligned and your abs tight. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and place it by your right side. Next bend at your waist to the left keeping your right arm at your side. Bend until you begin to feel a stretch and then lean over to the opposite side going the same distance and repeat. After you finish your repetitions, switch the dumbbell to your left hand and repeat the exercise.
Cable Twist
The cable twist involves using a cable pulley machine. Position the pulley so that it is level with your shoulders. Step and turn your body away from the pulley with your feet far apart until your arm closest to it is horizontal and straight while holding the handle. Bend both knees and place your far hand over the other hand. It is important to keep your arms straight and shoulders relaxed. Rotate your torso to the opposite side until the cable hips hits your shoulder. Return to the starting position and repeat. Switch sides and continue.
Incline Twisting Crunch
For this exercise, you will need to use an incline abdominal bench and a weighted plate. Lie on your back on the bench and place your feet under the padding. Hold the plate on your upper chest with your arms crossed. Raise your upper torso off of the bench to the right by twisting and flexing your waist. Slowly bring yourself back to the bench until the back of your shoulders touch the bench. Repeat, except switch to the opposite side and alternate with each repetition.
Lying Twist
For the lying twist, you will need a stability ball and a mat. Lie on the mat and place the ball between your lower legs and extend both arms out to the side. Raise both of your legs up, keep a slight bend in your knees, and press your low back into the floor. Slowly lower your legs to the right until the side of your right thigh touches the floor. Raise your legs back to the starting position and lower them to the left. Continue alternating both sides.
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