A beautiful fit torso is always attractive and suggests that its owner cares about the health of his body. After all, it has long been known that there will never be problems with the spine if the abdominal muscles are kept in good shape, while maintaining their strength and elasticity. Unfortunately, most beginners do not use the most effective exercises for the press in their arsenal, and the oblique muscles of the abdomen are completely ignored, not realizing that it is they who “make the waist”.
How to work with oblique muscles?
It’s not necessary to go to the gym or fitness center in order to work out the oblique abdominal muscles in a quality manner: for exercise at home, the usual karemat, body weight plus a little patience are enough. The most important point: do at least three sets, each of which must contain at least 12-18 movements. Over time, you can increase the figure to 24, but at the same time not work with an anguish, remembering that the abdominal zone protects internal organs from damage, and inadequate load on it is fraught with internal problems.
Each contraction movement is exhaled, and inhalation is a return to the starting point. Before class, it is important to warm up the whole body: only 10-15 minutes of good muscle warming will allow you to work out your torso deeper and more powerful.
Lying options for beginners
Basic exercises on the oblique muscles of the abdomen are best mastered in the supine position in order to reduce the load on the spine. To tone the muscles, you can use the following options:
- Lying on your back with bent legs, place your feet shoulder width apart and press firmly to the floor. Lift the shoulder blades off the floor, contracting the longitudinal muscle of the press, and exhale to touch the right hand with the right ankle. To take a breath, return to the center, without lying down, and with the next exit touch the second ankle. Make at least 18 repetitions in one set.
- Lying on the right side with straight legs, building the body in one line, stretch the right hand in the direction of the head and put the fingers of the hand on the floor, without leaning on the whole palm. The elbow is better to bend slightly. This position of the hand will maintain the balance of the body, but at the same time the movement will be accomplished due to the oblique muscles of the press. Raise the top of the body above the floor, while raising the legs, keeping them strictly sideways, the whole body should maintain a single plane. If everything is done correctly, it is impossible to raise the legs high, but if they rise more than 40 cm from the floor, it means that the pelvis has gone back, the lower back has arched, and completely different muscles have joined the work. Remain in position for 30 seconds and then do the other side.
Advanced lying option
This exercise on oblique muscles of the abdomen for women is ideal, since it does not have an unnecessary strain on the shoulder girdle, which many ladies do not accept, motivating them to not want wide shoulders. To perform this exercise, lie down on the floor and spread your arms to the side, clinging to it tightly with your shoulders. Straight legs are raised upward at an angle of 90 degrees, while making sure that the hips and knees of both legs are as close to each other as possible. To control this position, you can squeeze a small book between the hips, creating an additional load on the adductors, which will also not be superfluous. With an exhale, tilt the lower body to the side by 45-60 degrees relative to the floor, while controlling the tight pressing of hands and shoulders to the floor. The pelvis in this position unfolds on its side, and the main load falls on the external oblique muscle of the abdomen. The exercise is repeated at least 12 times on each side in the dynamics, and the last time should be static, that is, we stop our legs at an angle and breathe, maintaining a position of at least 20 seconds. We make an equal amount on both sides.
Sitting
This basic exercise for oblique abdominal muscles is familiar to many, but not everyone does it correctly, which means there is no result as such.
To properly twist while sitting, you should:
- If the palms are on the back of the head, then the elbows spread apart should form a single line. It is extremely important to control when turning the torso to the side.
- If the arms are extended forward, then for a greater range of motion, you should take a small object (for example, a hardback book) and make sure that it is always in front of the sternum. If it doesn’t turn out that way, then there is no full-fledged turn of the torso, but there is a movement of the arms to the side, that is, self-deception.
- The pelvis should not fidget on the floor, shifting to one side or the other. It turns out the rotation of the whole body, and not the movement of the oblique muscles of the press.
How to pump the press in the bar?
The best exercises for oblique abdominal muscles, according to many experts, are a variety of movements in the bar. For example, standing in the side bar, lower the pelvis to the floor and return it to its original position, controlling the position of the spine: no need to bend in the lower back or stoop in the thoracic region.
The body should maintain a single plane during movement, which is controlled precisely by the muscles of the press and back. This version of the exercise can be done on a straight arm, as well as resting on the forearm.
Another option for oblique muscles
There is another wonderful exercise for the internal oblique muscle of the abdomen based on the strap: for this, standing in the base position + feet together, we rotate the lower body from the pelvis to the feet, while maintaining a stable position of the shoulder girdle (slight bending of the elbow joint is allowed to compensate motion).
Gradually, the amplitude of movement should be developed in order to work out the desired zone as deep as possible. If the brushes get tired quickly, then you can try to repeat, focusing on the forearms.
Advanced Variations for Men
Exercises for the oblique muscles of the abdomen in the same bar can be developed indefinitely, because this pose is so beloved by men because almost all of the body can be worked out in it at the same time. For example, to pump the external muscle, standing in the side bar, bend the leg located higher in the knee, directing it towards the elbow of the arm, which, in turn, moves towards the knee. It will not be superfluous to recall the importance of maintaining the body in one plane, preventing the rotation of the torso around the axis of the spine or deflection in the lower back - only sideways movement takes place.
A few more effective exercises
For oblique muscles of the abdomen based on the strap, the following variations are used:
- Standing in the bar, bend the knee of the right leg and touch it on the exhale of the right hand above the elbow. On a breath - to return to a starting position.
- A similar principle, but the knee goes crosswise to the opposite arm. Important! Do not bend your arms and do not shift the line of the shoulders: they should remain in the same plane. The body is as if divided into two parts: everything is stable above the navel, and the lower part of the body moves.
- Combine the two previous options into one: on exhalation, the knee goes to the opposite arm, on a pause after exhalation - to the same arm, and on inhalation it returns to its original position. It is important to do at least 12 times, gradually increasing to 24.
In these three options, it is the technique and the neural connection that are important: the brain is the muscles, otherwise it is easy to shift the load on the other muscles or simply distort the movement itself, distorting the body. At first, the work in front of the mirror helps a lot to see your mistakes and correct them right away.
For deep muscle training
If you want maximum depth and total impact on the oblique muscles of the abdomen, then exercises should be combined: for example, make a set in dynamics, then a static version for at least one to two minutes, and again the dynamics. Any of the proposed exercises can and should be done in statics, if you correctly rebuild the body and breathe freely, while maintaining immobility and maximum contraction of the necessary muscles. Such a total impact in the shortest possible time will make the “Adonis belt” (the lateral lines that clearly outline the abdominal muscles) ideal and stimulating further development.
How to stretch obliques?
It will not be superfluous to recall that stretching this muscle group is as important as contraction, because the more a muscle is stretched, the more it wants to shrink even more when it returns to its original position. This feature of the muscle reaction has long been used in yoga practice, because in such classes there are practically no dynamic multiple torsion of the torso, and the abs muscles are still beautiful and strong. Stretching exercises for oblique muscles of the abdomen for men are especially relevant, because after many years of training on simulators, they are characterized by stiffness of the body: they look like a mountain of muscles without a hint of plasticity, which can subsequently lead to problems with the spine. For stretching, you can use only two or three positions, remaining in each for at least 30 seconds, and if necessary, longer:
- Jathara Parivartasana ideally stretches the entire lateral zone from the pectoral muscle to the gluteus, simultaneously freeing the sacrum from the clamps. If the straight leg option is not available, then you can bend your knees at a 90-degree angle and make sure that they remain in line with the hip joints.
- Another wonderful exercise for the oblique muscles of the abdomen is the familiar Ushtrasana: for a basic level, it makes sense to place the feet not on the arch, but on the fingers. Then the heel line will rise higher, which will make it possible to reduce the load on the hips and lumbar. If you can’t put your palms on the soles of the feet, then you can rest against them in the buttocks or lumbar region, pushing yourself forward. Important! Pull up the chest as far as possible, thus freeing the lower back from the crease.
The exercises listed in this article are more than enough to make your abs perfect - beautiful, strong and hardy. The main thing is not to forget that in sport, as in all other body manipulations, adequacy, a positive attitude and self-confidence are important. Well, and, of course, proper nutrition, because without it, no exercise will help, even if you train up to a sweat.