The muscles that form your waist are your obliques. You have external obliques on top of internal obliques. Both wrap around your waist and run diagonally. Training them is important and should be done every time your workout includes abdominal exercises. Always check with your doctor prior to starting training for a new body part or beginning a new workout program.
Use and Training
You use your oblique muscles daily to twist and bend to the side. Every time you twist left, your right external obliques and your left internal obliques help you. If you participate in baseball, tennis or dance, you will use your obliques frequently. However, even just in everyday life, you use these muscles. Strengthening your obliques will give stability to your trunk and shape a slimmer-looking waistline in the process. While you can do ab workouts every day, train your abs at least three to five times per week for maximum results. Do not focus just on your obliques. Devise a well-rounded abdominal workout that includes all of your abdominal muscles.
Bicycle Crunch
An effective exercise for your obliques is the bicycle crunch. It will work those muscles that help you twist and bend while also incorporating your rectus abdominis, which runs along the front of your abs, and your transverse abdominis, which lies underneath your other muscles. Lie flat on your back with your hands behind your head and your feet lifted off the floor. Twist your right elbow toward your left knee as you straighten your right leg. Your right foot should be about 6 to 8 inches off the floor. Do not pull on your head with your hands. Perform two sets of 12 repetitions.
Medicine Ball Rotations
Adding a little resistance to your oblique exercises -- for example, with a medicine ball -- can take your workout up a notch. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and hold a medicine ball between your hands at chest level. Pull your abdominal muscles in and, keeping the lower half of your body stationary, twist from side to side. Keep your eyes looking out over the medicine ball and turn the entire top half of your body as one unit. Twist back and forth 12 to 25 times.
Ball Crunch
Including a ball crunch will give you at least one exercise that focuses on your rectus abdominis muscles; doing it with a stability ball will incorporate your transverse abdominis. Place a stability ball on the ground and lie back on it with the ball resting in the small of your back. Put your feet firmly on the floor about shoulder-width apart. With your hands behind your head, slowly crunch up your head and shoulders. Pause at the top of the crunch. Lower back down to the starting position. Repeat for three sets of 12 repetitions.
References
- Sports Injury Clinic: Internal Obliques
- Sports Injury Clinic: External Obliques
- University of New Mexico; SuperAbs Resource Manual; Len Kravitz, PhD
- American Council on Exercise: Supine Bicycle Crunches
- American Council on Exercise: Standing Medicine Ball Trunk Rotations
- American Council on Exercise: Stability Ball Sit-ups/Crunches
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