How to Strengthen the Obliques

To define and tone your waist and love handles, you have to both lose weight in fat and build muscle. These two exercises will help you strengthen your obliques into toned perfection.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Exercise mat
• Medicine ball
• Stability ball

Oblique Curl With Ball

1. Place your stability ball on top of a non-skid surface such as your exercise mat. Lie down on top of the ball with your buttocks and shoulders just over either side of it. Bend your knees at a 90-degree angle and place your feet on the ground, shoulder width apart.

2. Bend your arms at the elbows and interlock them under your head. Begin to lift your shoulders away from the ground. Aim your left shoulder towards your right hip in this movement, while tightening your abdominal muscles.

3. Lower your shoulders slowly back to the original position. Lift your shoulders again away from the floor, this time aiming your right shoulder towards your left knee. Continue to alternate sides in this way, doing 10 repetitions on each side.

4. Use this exercise in the same manner on your exercise mat or a carpeted area of your home if you do not have a stability ball.

Seated Oblique Twists

5. Sit down on your exercise mat. Extend your legs in front of you held together at a 45-degree angle from the floor. Also, hold your upper body straight at a 45-degree angle from the floor, with your head held straight forward. Spread your fingers to grasp the medicine ball between your hands. Hold the ball directly in front of you.

6. Strengthen your obliques by tightening your abdominal muscles and twisting your torso slowly all the way around to your right side. Touch the medicine ball to the mat on your right side. Hold for a second.

7. Release and tighten your abdominal muscles again, rotating your torso around to your left side. Touch the medicine ball to the mat by your left side. Continue this side to side motion for 10 repetitions.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also strengthen your obliques by eliminating fatty and oily foods from your diet, and instead eating foods such as nuts, green vegetables and whole grains.
• Before purchasing your stability ball, lie on top of it to see whether your legs will form a 90-degree angle to the floor. If the ball is too big or too small to make this possible, get one that is correctly sized. However, it is usually safer to purchase a ball that is too small rather than too big.

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