Follow These Three Simple Steps to Oblique Twist Success
If you are looking for a powerful exercise that will engage your core and improve your posture, oblique twists are the way to go. The obliques are one of the three major muscles that make up the abdominals (the other two being the rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis). This simple but impactful exercise is great for strengthening the oblique muscles, which cover the larger part of your waist and abdomen. It is an effective move for athletes because it helps enhance rotational movement, which is beneficial for many sports.
However, you might run into some major trouble if you perform this exercise wrong, and you won’t see the results you want. If you try to twist too fast, not only will this delay your results, but it might even cause a painful oblique injury. Yikes! Instead, this is one exercise you want to take nice and slow. Follow these steps to perform a proper oblique twist:
1. Interlace your hands and place them behind your neck
Rather than hastily bending your arms at your side, try starting off the exercise with your hands interlaced behind your neck. This will force you to practice control as you navigate the exercise, and it will also help improve your posture. You want to keep your elbows out wide and pull your shoulder blades down to fully maintain this upright posture.
2. Engage your abs in a controlled way
When performing oblique twists, you typically want to aim for three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions. Although it can be tempting to kick up the speed and get them over with quickly, remember that slow and steady wins the race when it comes to oblique twists. Twisting your torso to the left, right, and back to center is the main motion in this exercise. As you do this, remember to focus on posture and control. Although this will adversely affect your range of motion, the difference in the results you see will be well worth it.
3. Take time to rest between exercises
Like with any exercise, to get optimal results, you’ll want to work out the oblique muscles regularly while taking time in between exercises to recover. After you are finished with your workout, make sure you take some time to stretch and cool down, and don’t forget to stretch out the full abdomen and oblique area. One of the best stretches you can do to cool down your obliques is a cat-cow stretch. Like the name suggests, this stretch will require you to get on your hands and knees and tuck your head downwards as you arch your back. Extend your neck upwards and drop your belly downwards to stretch the abdominal muscles. Repeat these three to four times for best results.
Oblique twists are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to abdominal exercises and overall fitness success. At MoveU, our mission is to make complex movements simple so that you can achieve your fitness and life goals. Dr. Mike and our whole team are dedicated to bringing simplified education, entertainment, and movement straight to you. Get in touch with us to get moving today.
