How to Work Obliques With the Lever Twist

The oblique muscles are also referred to as the upper hips or the sides of the waist. These muscles control flexion and rotation, allowing side bend and twisting movements at the waist. By strengthening the obliques, the chances of having a back injury decrease and posture and physical appearance improve as well. The following steps explain how to perform one type of oblique exercise properly on a lever twist machine.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Lever twist machine

1. Obtain clearance from your doctor prior to doing any type of exercise to prevent injury or aggravate a previous injury.
2. Locate the lever twist machine on the floor of the gym. Set the machine's range of motion to be only on one side, not a full side-to-side movement.
3. Sit and make sure to have your legs and torso against the pads to stabilize the body. Be sure to hold onto the handles for support and to prevent injury.
4. Rotate from the waist and use the oblique muscles to twist the body to the opposite side and also to stop the rotation and return to the starting position. Repeat.
5. Reset the machine's range of motion to be on the other side. Perform the exercise, concentrating on using the obliques to start and stop the momentum of the movement. Repeat.
6. Continue until the obliques are fatigued on both sides.

Tips & Warnings

• Always twist from the waist using the obliques, and not from the chest using the arms, to minimize the possibility of injury when using the lever twist machine.