Oblique muscle exercises help slim and tone your waist while effectively training your body. Interest in these exercises is increasing. This article suggests simple oblique muscle exercises you can easily do at home. Let’s explore them.
1. Bicycle Crunches
Although quite simple, this exercise has a good impact on the oblique muscles, helping you feel the heat during the process of burning excess fat on both sides of your waist. This movement does not require too much training technique or support from equipment. The steps to perform this exercise are as follows:
• Step 1: Lie on the floor, place both hands behind your head, and cross them.
• Step 2: Slowly lift both legs off the ground, straightening them completely.
• Step 3: Bend your abdomen and simultaneously rotate your waist to the left. The left knee should now be bent so that it touches the right elbow.
• Step 5: Repeat the movement on the other side.
2. Dumbbell Lunge
When mentioning effective back exercises for men, the dumbbell lunge cannot be overlooked. This is a simple exercise that helps straighten the back and shape the physique for men. To perform it, you need to prepare small dumbbells with a weight suitable for your body type. This exercise includes 3 steps, specifically as follows:
• Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, one hand gripping a dumbbell.
• Step 2: Gently step forward one step and then lunge down. At this point, the arm holding the dumbbell is extended straight overhead.
• Step 3: Return to the original position. Perform the movement for the other leg. 3. Medicine Ball Side Twists
Exercising with weights like a ball or dumbbells helps strengthen the oblique muscles and makes this muscle group more defined. You can choose to exercise with a ball or dumbbells; the steps are as follows:
• Step 1: Sit straight on the floor. Bend your knees naturally.
• Step 2: Extend both arms straight, parallel to the floor. Hold the ball or dumbbell in each hand.
• Step 3: Slowly twist your entire upper body to the left as far as possible.
• Step 4: Return to the starting position and then twist to the opposite side.
4. Side-Plank Leg Lift
The side plank is also a popular back exercise for men used in fitness training and bodybuilding. This exercise requires the use of multiple muscle groups, such as the abdominal muscles, hip muscles, etc. Through this, it helps burn excess fat in these muscle groups effectively. This exercise will have 3 steps as follows:
• Step 1: Lie on your side on the floor, left leg placed on top of right leg. Support yourself with your right forearm perpendicular to the floor.
• Step 2: Slightly lift your hips so that they form a straight line with your body.
• Step 3: Hold this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Bird Dog
Belonging to the top of simple oblique muscle exercises that are easy to perform at home, the Bird Dog is a familiar name to many “sports enthusiasts”. The Bird Dog doesn’t require you to use much strength or incorporate too many advanced training techniques. Therefore, even if you are a beginner or new to exercise, you can still do this exercise. Here’s how to perform the Bird Dog exercise:
• Step 1: Kneel on the floor, with both hands straight down.
• Step 2: Extend both legs straight back, parallel to the floor. Slowly raise your left arm, keeping it parallel to the floor.
• Step 3: Return to the starting position and switch sides.
6. Reverse Crunches (Leg Raises and Abdominal Crunch).
• Step 1: Lie on your back on the floor. Place your hands across your chest, behind your head, or on your neck.
• Step 2: Place your knees and lower legs on a flat chair.
• Step 3: Slowly raise your body and twist your upper body to one side by bending at the waist. Hold for about 2 seconds. • Step 4: Repeat the movement, but this time twist your body to the opposite side.
7. Cross Mountain Climbers
Cross mountain climbers are known as one of the oblique muscle exercises classified as high-intensity cardio. Therefore, during this exercise, you need to pay attention to performing the technique correctly, keeping your back straight to avoid potential risks to your back, abdominal, and hip muscles. This exercise consists of 3 steps as follows:
• Step 1: Start by getting into a push-up position.
• Step 2: Bend your left knee up towards your chest on the right side.
• Step 3: Return your leg to the starting position and repeat for the other leg.
8. V-Crunches
This V-crunch exercise is easy to perform and suitable for beginners. You can choose to use a ball to enhance the results. A small note: always use your abdominal muscles to lift your body instead of using the strength of your entire body. Specifically, the steps are as follows:
• Step 1: Lie on your back on the floor. Extend both arms and legs straight, with your arms extended over your head.
• Step 2: Bend your body. Simultaneously, lift both arms and legs as high as possible to form a V shape.
• Step 3: Slowly lower your body back to the starting position and repeat the movement about 20-30 times.
9. Spiderman Push-ups
The Spiderman push-up is one of the oblique muscle exercises suitable for men. Not only does this exercise reveal the oblique muscles, but it also effectively improves physical fitness and strengthens the abdominal muscles, arm muscles, calf muscles, and shoulders. When performing this exercise, remember to maintain a steady and rhythmic breathing rhythm to prolong the exercise time.
• Step 1: Get into a push-up position.
• Step 2: Gently lower your body. At this point, bend your right knee so that it touches your right elbow.
• Step 3: Return to the starting position and switch sides.
10. Side Scoop Throw
Finally, the side scoop throw is also a highly effective oblique muscle exercise that you should incorporate into your training. This movement is quite fun and helps you feel comfortable while exercising. Besides targeting the oblique muscles, this exercise also helps burn stubborn excess fat under the skin. The exercise consists of two simple steps, as follows:
• Step 1: Choose a corner of the wall to practice. Turn your shoulders towards the wall, about 1-1.5m away. Keep your knees bent, and hold the ball in front of you with both hands.
• Step 2: Turn your body and throw the ball forcefully against the wall, then catch it. Repeat this movement about 20-30 times.
Above are the top 10 effective and simple oblique muscle exercises that can be done at home and are loved by many. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will find an exercise that suits your physical condition and personal preferences to plan your workout from today, and soon achieve your desired waist size.
To improve the effectiveness of your workout, train your body, and maintain your figure, you need to combine oblique muscle exercises with many other physical and sports movements. Some sports exercises will require advanced training techniques. Therefore, instead of exercising at home, you should spend time going to reputable and high-quality gyms.
