Obliques

  Banish muffin top the right way

There’s only one way to beat love handles - throw all your best core moves at ’em while simultaneously losing excess fat.

Doing hundreds of oblique exercises a day might make you feel like you’re battling the bulge, but you’re just building muscle underneath that flabby side fat known not-so-fondly as muffin top. If you don’t lose the fat, friends might assume uncorrectly that the only crunching you’ve been doing involves potato chips.

What are the oblique muscles and where are they located?

The obliques are made up of external and internal muscles. The external obliques are wide and thin, running down and in from ribs to hips on each side of the body. Internal obliques are underneath the external. They run down and out toward the hips.

What do they do?

The obliques are involved in torso rotation and side and forward bending. They are important muscles for stabilizing the lower back and protecting it from injury.

Why you should strengthen your obliques

The oblique area is a common problem spot for women. Many who are otherwise satisfied with their bodies find love handles can cause a lot of grief. Jeans that are the right size for the rest of the body look ill-fitting when side fat is squished over the waistband (hence the name muffin top).

Exercises that target the obliques

When working the obliques strive for quality as opposed to quantity. Not only will you quickly burn out if you try to fit in 500 crunches a day, but when done correctly, two or three sets of 8 to 20 reps will get you the same or better results.

• Bicycle crunch - In this crunch both legs should be off the floor, with one bent towards the chest while the other is held straight. Put hands behind your head and crunch up, bringing the arm that’s opposite the bent leg over to meet the knee. Then switch and bring the other knee to your chest to meet the opposite elbow.
• Side bridge - While a regular bridge targets the ab muscles this variation really hits the obliques. Beginners can hold the body up using a bent arm and legs. As it gets easier move to using straight legs, then add a straight arm.
• Dumbbell side bends - This move can be done with increased resistance for killer oblique workouts. Hold a weight in each hand, arms at your sides. Lean your upper body to the right side and lower the dumbbell in your right hand. Focus on using only your obliques to raise back up. Alternate leaning right and left.
• Stability ball side crunches - In this move lay sideways on a stability ball and stabilize yourself on the floor with feet scissored apart. Rest hands behind the head, elbows out, and crunch up towards the hip.