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Oblique Exercises Without Equipment

Sculpt Your Waistline With These Oblique Exercises — No Equipment Required

Jan 3 2018

Forget waist trainers! The only waist training you need are these oblique-sculpting, waist-shaping exercises. And the best part? No equipment required: You can do any of these moves wherever you are, gym or no gym!

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Kathryna Hancock

Beginning Seated Russian Twist

  • Sit on the ground with your knees bent and your heels about a foot and a half from your butt.
  • Lean slightly back without rounding your spine at all.
  • Place your hands behind your head with elbows wide.
  • Pull your navel to your spine and twist slowly to the right. The movement is not large and comes from the ribs rotating. Inhale through your center and rotate to the left. Come back to center.
  • This completes one rep/rotation.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography

Scissor Slices

  • Extend your right leg up and lower your left leg, exhaling to curl up. With your arms straight, bring your palms together as you twist to the right and make a slicing motion with your arms toward your right side.
  • Keeping your chest lifted, twist as you slice your arms to the left and switch legs. This completes one rep.
Image Source: Joshua Michael Diaz / Sonoma Broadway Farms

Side Plank Leg Lift

  • Place your right elbow on the ground. Extend both legs out so that your body is in one straight line and you're balancing on the outside edge of your right foot.
  • Flex both feet if you can, and either rest your top hand on your upper hip or extend it in the air. Keeping your spine lengthened and your abs engaged, lift your left leg up just higher than your top hip. Then slowly lower it back to your bottom leg.
  • This completes one rep.
Image Sources: POPSUGAR Studios and POPSUGAR Photography

Forearm Plank Hip Dips

  • From an elbow plank, slowly rotate the spine to lower your left hip to just above the floor (about one to two inches from the ground). Come back to elbow plank.
  • Now lower the right hip toward the floor. This counts as one rep.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Kathryna Hancock

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Intermediate Seated Russian Twist

  • Sit on the floor with your knees bent. Pull your abs to your spine and lean back a few inches while lifting your feet off the floor. Be sure to keep your back straight.
  • Reach your arms out in front of you and twist your torso to the right, then to the left, to complete one rep/rotation.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography

Oblique Singles

  • Lie on the floor and roll slightly to your right side, placing your right arm on the mat and your left arm near your ear. Bend your left leg.
  • Exhale and engage your obliques to sit up, touching your right foot with your left hand.
  • Repeat on the other side.
  • This completes one rep.
Image Source: Joshua Michael Diaz / Sonoma Broadway Farms

Bicycle Crunches

  • Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground (pull your abs down to also target your deep abs). Interlace your fingers, and put your hands behind your head.
  • Bring your knees in toward your chest, and lift your shoulder blades off the ground.
  • Straighten your right leg out to about a 45-degree angle to the ground while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow toward the left knee. Make sure your rib cage is moving and not just your elbows.
  • Now switch sides and do the same motion on the other side to complete one rep (and to create the "pedaling" motion).
Image Source: POPSUGAR Studios

Kickstand Crunches

  • Sit on your right side with your right leg straight and your left knee bent, placing your left foot on the floor in front of your right knee. Place your right hand on the mat under your right shoulder and your left arm behind your head.
  • Exhale to engage your obliques, and lift your body. Hold for two seconds before slowly returning to the starting position.
  • Repeat on the other side.
  • This completes one rep.
Image Source: Joshua Michael Diaz / Sonoma Broadway Farms

Side-Plank Crunch

  • Begin in a side elbow plank, with your left elbow down and your right hand behind your head.
  • Keeping your torso stable and your waist lifted, bring your right leg up toward your shoulder to lightly tap your right elbow.
  • Lengthen your right leg back to the starting position to complete one rep.
Image Sources: POPSUGAR Studios and POPSUGAR Photography

Side Elbow Plank With a Twist

  • Come into a side elbow plank on your right side, with your feet stacked one on top of the other. Keep your weight on your right elbow, with your fingers reaching away from your body.
  • Place your left arm behind your head and inhale to prepare.
  • Exhale and pull your navel to your spine, engaging your deep abs. Rotate your left rib cage toward the floor. Stay there for a second and deepen your abdominal connection by pulling your navel in toward your spine even more.
  • Return to the starting position and repeat. Repeat on your left side.
  • This completes one rep.
Image Sources: POPSUGAR Studios and POPSUGAR Photography

Oblique V-Crunch

  • Lie on your right side, with your left hand behind your head and right hand on the floor.
  • Press down into your right hand as you raise your straight legs off the floor, bringing your torso toward your legs.
  • Lower yourself back to the floor with control. This completes one rep.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography

The Twister

  • Place your hands under your shoulders, bend your elbows, and engage your core as you lean back. Bend your knees and lift your feet. Keeping your knees together, slowly lower your legs to the left until you feel your obliques fire up. Pause for one second.
  • Inhale to return to starting position, and exhale as you slowly lower your legs to the right side.
  • This completes one rep.
Image Source: Joshua Michael Diaz / Sonoma Broadway Farms

Standing Russian Twist

  • Stand with your knees slightly soft, holding a dumbbell at chest level.
  • Keep your pelvis stable as you rotate your rib cage right and left to complete one rep. Be sure to keep your abs pulled toward your spine as you twist from side to side.
  • Twist once to the right and once to the left to complete one rep.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography

Seated Trunk Rotation

  • Sit on the ground with your legs extended out in front of you and lean ever so slightly forward.
  • Keeping your elbows relaxed, lift your hands so they are even with the bottom of your rib cage.
  • Pull your navel to your spine and twist slowly to the right, touching the floor by your hip. The movement is not large and comes from the ribs rotating. Inhale through center and rotate to the left. This completes one rep.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Kathryna Hancock

Camel Twists

  • On bent knees, lean back slightly, drawing your belly button toward your spine. Reach both arms out in front of you as you inhale. Exhale, twisting to the right while reaching your right hand back toward the mat. Keep your left arm extended in front of you.
  • Inhale back to your starting position, and exhale as you lean back and reach your left hand toward the mat.
  • This completes one rep.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Kathryna Hancock

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