Lateral Oblique Workouts

The oblique muscles on the sides of the abdomen perform several actions, but for a lateral workout you do exercises that take your spine through lateral flexion. Lateral flexion means to bend the spine sideways, which is one of the ways to target the obliques. You can do an entire workout of these exercises, but to strengthen your obliques in all directions, include some torso-twisting workouts into your routine.

Bodyweight Lateral Flexion Exercises

If you prefer to workout at home and do not have any equipment, choose oblique exercises that use only your body weight. The way to strengthen your obliques with a lateral movement and no weights is to lie sideways on the floor, exercise ball or a Roman bench, and then bend your spine upward against gravity. An example is a Pilates lateral flexion exercise. To begin, lie in a straight line on your right side with your right ear resting on your right biceps. Then, raise your legs, head and left shoulder toward the ceiling. Repeat on the other side to get an even oblique work out.

As an alternative, you can bend your knees and only lift your upper body to perform an oblique crunch.

Weighted Lateral Flexion Exercises

If bodyweight exercises are too easy, include weighted lateral flexion exercises into your workouts. Examples of these exercises include dumbbell side bends, barbell side bends, resistance cable side bends, bends with a cable machine and weighted 45-degree side bends on a Roman bench. The side bend movement is basically the same for all of these exercises. Stand up straight and either hold the dumbbells or the handles of the cables with your arms straight against your sides or hold a barbell across your upper back. Then, bend your spine to the side and stand back up.

The exception is the 45 degree side bend. To do side bends on a Roman bench, hold a weighted plate against your chest, lie sideways on a 45-degree Roman bench and crunch upwards toward the ceiling.

A Workout for Maximal Strength

You have options for an oblique workout. Many people such as athletes or people trying to lose weight may do many repetitions to burn calories and increase muscular endurance. Bodybuilders or people needing to lift heavy weights should train for maximal strength so that the obliques are strong enough to support the significant stress put on the body from lifting heavy loads. To perform a maximal strength workout, choose two to four weighted exercises and perform one to five repetitions of each exercise. The weight amount should tire you out on your last rep. Complete four to six sets.

A Workout for Slimming the Waist

For slimming the waist, choose two to three oblique exercises and perform two sets of 10 to 12 reps per side. Whether you use weight or not depends on how tired your obliques are. If the weight keeps you from completing your set, ditch it. But if you can do 12 Pilates lateral flexions on each side and you are not tired or sore the next day, then add some weight to your workout.