Your obliques, the muscles that run up the sides of your core, have one primary job: twisting your torso.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re in the car and reach to grab something out of the back seat, your obliques help make it happen.<\/p>\n
So what better way to strengthen these muscles than by doing oblique twists? This includes a group of core-twisting exercises that target both the internal and external obliques in ways most people\u2019s workouts rarely do.<\/p>\n
Rotation is one of the body\u2019s fundamental movement patterns, so it\u2019s important to\u00a0train your core\u00a0to resist rotation (like in a\u00a0Pallof press), flex (as you do with crunches), and extend (achieved with back extensions).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also important to train your core to twist when you need it to (you make a quick turn during a game of basketball), and that\u2019s where the oblique exercises come into play.<\/p>\n
While you would never do a specific \u201coblique workout,\u201d there are a number of moves you can do to ensure that your oblique muscles get plenty of attention.<\/p>\n
Since there is no \u201cone\u201d type of oblique twist, here are four variations on the movement to sprinkle into your next core workout. And these aren\u2019t just plain old\u00a0oblique crunches.<\/p>\n
These moves will give you a nice assortment to stave off workout boredom.<\/p>\n