5 killer exercises for spectacular obliques

There's more to building a strong core than just exercising your abs. These five exercises will give your obliques the shape worth drooling over.

When you are looking to build a well-defined midriff, the first and the only thing that comes to your mind is your abs! And most of the fitness plans will have you work only on your rectus abdominus, with unending crunches and planks at the gym.

While training the abs is a good way to showcase your body, a shredded midsection can only be achieved by sculpting the obliques. Don't know what muscle is that? Well, they are the muscles running down on the sides of midsection. And they are the ones which help you bend on the sides and rotate your body from one side to the other. So, now that you know it's importance, here are the exercises to build them strong

Hanging Oblique Raise: This is a tough exercise to master, and you will need to keep patience. But once you can master the hanging exercises, you will not want to get back on the surface.

• Step 1: Grab a pullup bar with an overhand grip and hang at arm's length. Now lift your legs until your hips, keep knees bent at 90 degrees. That's your starting position.
• Step 2: With your knees bent, bring your legs up toward your right underarm and hold the contraction.
• Step 3: Go back to the start position and then repeat the movement on the left side.
• Step 4: Do 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.

Cable Woodchop: Adding weights to the abs exercise just makes it a little harder. But what's the point of simple exercises and not getting desired results, right?

• Step 1: Attach a rope handle to the highest pulley of a cable station.
• Step 2: Grab both the rope's handles and then kneel on one knee, keep shoulders perpendicular to the cable tower.
• Step 3: With arms extended over the opposite shoulder, look straight and pull the rope across your body and finish it at the waist level.
• Step 4: Now bring the weight back to the start position and repeat. In all this, keep your core and abs tight.
• Step 5: Try four sets of 8-10 reps.

Oblique Cable Crunch: This classis crunch variation is the harder version that introduces resistance from the pulley and weights.

• Step 1: Start on your knees, set up the high-pulley cable machine and select the weight you want to use.
• Step 2: Grasp the handle slightly behind your head towards the right, feet placed shoulder-width apart.
• Step 3: Pull the weight down by crunching your right obliques and hold for a peak contraction before resisting the weight back up.
• Step 4: Do all reps for one side before switching over. Keep going for four sets of 10 to 12 reps.

Medicine Ball Twist: Don't like working out with a partner? Well, you will need one for this exercise as he might be the key to you carving out a killer core.

• Step 1: You and your partner need to kneel down facing away from each other but as close as possible.
• Step 2: Keep your abdominals contracted and hold the ball at chest level with back straight, then slowly twist to one side and pass the ball off to your partner. Return to the other side to retrieve the ball.
• Step 3: Continue going one way for one minute and then repeat going the other direction for four sets on each side.

Cross-Body Mountain Climber: You don't need any equipment or a gym partner here as this bodyweight exercise will fire your core at the end of it!

• Step 1: Assume the pushup position, balancing on your palms and toes with your body forming a straight line from your shoulders to your heels.
• Step 2: Raise your right knee toward your left elbow, lower it back down and then raise your left knee toward your right elbow.
• Step 3: Begin slowly to practice and then try to perform this movement as quickly as you can.
• Step 4: Keep going for four sets of 30 to 45 seconds each.