The abbreviation "abs" is often used to describe the muscles in the stomach, but things are a little more involved than this. From an anatomical standpoint, there are actually three muscles in the stomach -- the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis and obliques. The rectus abdominis is in the midsection, the transverse abdominis is deep inside the stomach and the obliques run down the sides of the ribs diagonally. Forming the obliques involves reducing body fat and making your muscles toned and defined. This takes more than just exercise.
Step 1
Follow the right diet plan to achieve your goal. Eat foods that are healthy and beneficial for muscle-building like lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts and fish. Cut back on your daily intake of calories if you have excess fat on your sides. A daily reduction of 500 calories will promote about 1 lb. of weight loss a week in your oblique area and throughout the rest of your body.
Step 2
Reduce the fat on your sides even further by sprinting. Sprint training burns fat quickly and it also amps your metabolism once you are finished. Start your workouts with a light five-minute jog, then run all-out for 15 seconds. Rest or walk briskly for 30 seconds, then sprint again. Repeat this sequence for 20 minutes and finish with five minutes of light jogging.
Step 3
Include weight training in your program. Lifting weights helps you form your obliques because of added muscle. Any time you build muscle, you naturally increase your resting metabolic rate and burn more overall calories. Perform exercises that target all of your major muscles like bench presses, upright rows, back rows, dips, twist curls and deadlifts. Aim for 10 to 12 reps, do four or five sets and work out three days a week on noncardio days.
Step 4
Perform exercises that involve trunk twisting, trunk rotation and lateral flexion to work your obliques. Include hanging oblique knee raises, side crunches, Russian twists and bicycle maneuvers in your workouts. Aim for 15 to 20 reps and do three or four sets.
Step 5
Rest your obliques to make progress. A common misconception with ab training is that you need to work out every day to get results. The obliques are just like any other muscles -- they need to be worked and they need to be rested. If you train them every day, you will compromise your progress and risk injury. Aim for three workouts a week and do them on nonconsecutive days.
Tips and Warnings
- Use proper form with your oblique exercises to ensure you achieve favorable results and prevent injury. For hanging oblique knee raises, grab a pullup bar with a shoulder-width grip and let your legs hang straight down. Pull your legs up, bend your knees and move them toward your right shoulder. Hold for a second, slowly lower your legs and repeat on your left side. Continue to alternate back and forth in a controlled motion. Keep your upper body as still as possible throughout.
