Your obliques --- strong muscles at the sides of your waist --- support your torso during daily activities. Your obliques also contribute power to any movement during which your torso must rotate. Strong obliques support your frame during heavy exercise, such as squatting and deadlifting. Your obliques are a combination of types of muscle fibers, like any other muscle, and need heavy resistance training to develop strength. Endless, high-repetition sets will neither build muscle nor burn fat. Consult your doctor before beginning any strength-training program.
Training
Step 1
Lean to one side with a dumbbell in the hand opposite the side you are leaning toward. Keep your back arched and do not lean forward. Side bends work your obliques directly. Perform this exercise for 10 to 15 repetitions per set; work one side, then the other.
Step 2
Grip a resistance band anchored to a support on the floor. Perform side bends using the band. This exercise increases in difficulty the farther you stretch, because the resistance of the band increases accordingly. Perform this exercise for 10 to 15 repetitions per set.
Step 3
Hook your feet under the supports on a situp board and lean back while holding a dumbbell in both hands. Lean back until your torso is just above parallel to the ground, then hold the dumbbell by the handle with both hands just above your stomach. Without moving your hips, twist as far as you can to one side, then the other, without allowing the dumbbell to come into contact with your body. This exercise is known as the Russian twist, and should be performed for 15 to 20 repetitions per set.
Step 4
Hold a dumbbell overhead in both hands. Lean to one side as if you were doing a conventional side bend. This exercise, known as the Saxon side bend, will not allow you to use as much weight as a conventional side bend, but will provide a greater range of motion. As you get more advanced, you can hold one dumbbell in each hand.
