Best Ab Oblique Exercise Confirmed

There must be thousands of ways to work your abdominal muscles, so how do you know which ones to choose?

Well for starters you need to first develop your overall core strength and make sure your lower back and entire mid-section is strong and stable. Once you are strong in that area you can begin to focus more on individual areas like your obliques.

Before I get into the most effective and best ab oblique exercise to do, I want you to keep in mind that until you get your body fat down low enough, you should not be surprised if you cannot see these muscles. So although you will be able to feel this area get stronger and maybe even tighter, you will not see the definition until you get below about 14% body fat.

Regardless of what your body fat currently is you can certainly benefit from this oblique exercise.

It’s called the "side plank."

Here’s how to complete it:
1. Lie on your side
2. Stack both feet on top of each other
3. Place the bottom elbow under your shoulder
4. Push your hips straight up in the air
5. Hold for 30 seconds
6. Switch sides and repeat

Tips to Remember:
1. Keep your body in a straight line
2. Do not move around – keep your body still
3. Breathe naturally
4. Keep your elbow directly under your shoulder
5. Work up to 30 seconds without dropping your hips

Enjoy this powerful ab exercise and feel free to practice it twice a week until you master it and can feel your obliques getting stronger!

Source: J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2008 Oct;38(10):596-605. Related Articles, Changes in deep abdominal muscle thickness during common trunk-strengthening exercises using ultrasound imaging.