Most of the classic core exercises focus on the center of your abs, with moves like sit-ups hitting the upper abs and leg raises working the lower abs.
For complete core strength, it’s also important to work your obliques, which are the muscles that run up the sides of your body. The obliques are key to twisting and side-bending movements, and stronger obliques also help build stability through your midsection.
While you will work your obliques to some extent with many core exercises, the best way to target them specifically is through twisting moves, side flexion, or side planks, where the obliques take on more load than they do with the classic plank.
This 10-minute abs workout from fitness trainer Kat Boley is designed to target the obliques, though the rest of your core muscles are also involved.
You don’t need any equipment for the workout, but having one of the best yoga mats to do the floor exercises on will make it more comfortable.
Watch Kay Boley’s 10-minute obliques workout
There are four moves in the workout, each of which is demonstrated in Boley’s Instagram post, so it’s worth swiping through to see each exercise before you start.
With each move, you do 10 reps in total, which means five reps on each side since all the exercises target each side of the body individually. With some moves, you do all your reps on one side before switching, and with others, you alternate.
Aim to complete three rounds of the workout in total, resting as required but aiming to keep your breaks as short as possible.
Here are the four moves you’ll be doing:
- Side crunch with leg lift
- Fire hydrant with knee to chest
- Side plank pulse
- Spiderman
I’d say the first move in the workout is the hardest, not least because I’m so inflexible I struggle to keep my leg straight when raising it toward my midsection, but you can always bend your knee if that’s proving too tough.
The session is good for all fitness levels and if you’re a beginner and struggling with any of the exercises you can always add extra breaks or reduce the total reps.
To maximize the benefits of the workout it’s important to ensure you’re engaging the obliques with each move, rather than relying on other muscles that might be stronger. Move slowly and with control, and make sure you’re feeling the burn in your sides above all.
The focus on the obliques means this isn’t a workout I’d do as my only core training each week, but it’s the perfect session to tack onto the end of a full-body workout or do in rotation with a core session that focuses on the upper and lower abs.
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive core burner, try this 10-minute abs workout that packs in 17 moves to work the whole core, and if you’re looking for one abs exercise that engages the obliques as well as the central abs, I heartily recommend the bicycle crunch.
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