Standing Oblique Exercises For Stronger & Toned Core

“It is so important to train and build strong obliques muscles to help us perform better in exercise, sports, and everyday functional movements.

These standing oblique exercises target not only target your oblique muscle, but also help to stimulate the core—including your back and glutes—to help you sculpt, tone and strengthen the core and obliques.

Unlike the usual mat moves, standing oblique exercises are functional, meaning they work with your natural body movements to mimic how you’d utilize your muscles in real life—say, when carrying groceries, mowing the lawn or deep cleaning the bathroom.

This standing oblique workout can be done absolutely anywhere with minimal space and with minimum equipment.

So, what are the best oblique exercises that you can do standing up? Keep reading to find out.

12 Best Standing Oblique Exercises

1. Standing Oblique Twists

Standing Oblique Twists (also known as standing twists, side twists, oblique twists) is a dynamic standing oblique exercise.

This oblique exercise will help in a development of functional core and well-looking midsection.

Don’t underestimate the benefit of this standing oblique exercises. Ensure that you’re twisting your whole torso, not just your arms, to get the full benefit.

How To Do Standing Oblique Twists

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and bring your arms to your chest.
2. Brace your core and begin to twist your upper body to the left side of your body, then the right.
3. Keep your body still during the motion; only your torso moves.
4. Exhale on the turns, inhale when coming back.
5. Repeat until all reps have been completed.

Tips

• Keep your lower body stable throughout the movement.
• Engage your abs and slowly twist your torso

2. Dumbbell Side Bend

The dumbbell side bend is effective at targeting the internal and external obliques, strengthening the lateral flexion of your spine, improving spinal mobility, and helping to develop a strong and stable core.

It is an easy oblique exercise to practice at home in standing position. If you’re new to the exercise, practice the movement with your bodyweight alone.

How To Do Standing Dumbbell Side Bend

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart while holding a dumbbell with a neutral grip in your right hand with your arm hanging at your side. You can place your free hand behind your head.
2. Bend sideways at the waist to the left as low as possible, using your oblique muscles to pull your torso down.
3. Hold for a second and return to the starting position.
4. Complete the desired number of reps and repeat on the other side.

Tip

• Keep the dumbbell close to your side, your elbow very slightly bent, and your hips still.
• To work the oblique muscle, perform this exercises slow and steadily.
• Always keep your back straight, eyes facing forwards, and bend at the torso only.

3. Standing Barbell Twist

The standing barbell twist focuses on your obliques. Use the barbell twist to strengthen the twisting movement pattern of your body.

It is a great idea to stop halfway through some reps, and attempt to resist the twisting force.

How To Do Standing Barbell Twist

1. Grab a light barbell and rest it on the upper back, keeping your head facing forward.
2. Stand up straight, with your feet firmly on the floor at a wider than shoulder width stance, keeping your back straight.
3. Slowly twist your torso to the right and then to the left. Tense up your mid-section. Twist as far as possible.
4. Try to keep your abs tight throughout the whole set.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions

Tips

• Make sure not to rest the weight on your neck.
• Keep the movement slow and under full control. Do not allow momentum to build up because you can damage your spine.
• Avoid using heavy weights because the momentum may become too difficult to control.

4. Pallof Press

If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with standing oblique exercises, why not try Pallof Press?

It is a full-body exercise that can increase overall stability and activate many large muscle groups in the body.

The beauty of the Pallof press is that it challenges and strengthens the stabilization action of your oblique and abs.

How To Do Pallof Press

1. Attach a handle to a chest-high cable pulley. Stand on the side cable machine with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Grasp the handle with the hand nearest the pulley, pull the handle to your chest, and place your free hand over the hand holding the handle.
3. Engage your core and press the handle out with both hands, so your arms are extended in front of your chest.
4. Hold this position, resisting the pull of the cable and not letting your torso rotate towards the machine, for five to ten seconds then bring the handle back in to your chest.
5. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Maintain a forward chest and straight back throughout the entire exercise.
• Use a challenging weight, but only to where you can maintain a straight body position. 

5. Landmine Twists

The landmine twist is a rotational abdominal movement performed using an angled barbell anchored at floor level in a landmine device.

It targets the deep muscles of the core, including both the obliques and the transversus abdominis. You may add these exercises in your standing oblique workout arsenal.

How To Do Landmine Twists

1. Position a bar into a landmine or securely anchor it in a corner. Load the bar to an appropriate weight.
2. Raise the bar off the floor, taking it to shoulder height with both hands with your arms extended in front of you. Adopt a wide stance.
3. Rotate the trunk and hips as you swing the weight all the way down to one side. Keep your arms extended throughout the exercise.
4. Reverse the motion to swing the weight all the way to the opposite side.

Tips

• Keep a slight bend in your knees as you rotate, this should help take a bit of tension off your lumbar spine during the movement.
• Try to keep your arms straight.

6. Standing Oblique Crunches

Standing oblique crunches, also popular as side crunches, are effective abdominal exercises that target your oblique muscles performed by assuming a standing position.

How To Do Standing Oblique Crunches

1. Attached D-handle to a high pulley and stand side-on to the weight stack.
2. Grasp the D-handle with your left hand and stand with the pulley to your left side. Make sure your forearm is positioned at an angle of 90-degrees to the upper arm and your feet firmly placed on the floor at shoulder width.
3. Keeping your head up and back straight, pull the weight down using your left oblique muscle as far as you can.
4. Pause for a second and then return to the initial position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. Turn around and repeat the cable side bend with your left side.

Tips

• Keeping your head up and back straight, pull the weight down using your left oblique muscle as far as you can.
• Don’t bend too far down during the crunch as this could cause injury, and it isn’t necessary for the exercise to be effective.

7. Standing Machine Twist

You can easily do this Standing oblique twist exercise in twisting machine.

It strengthens your core, so they may help you avoid back injury. A strong core is also important for physical strength and balance.

How To Do Standing Machine Twist

1. Stand on a twist machine with feet hips apart and hold the machine handles. Assume a normal posture, with your back straight.
2. Exhale and using your abdominal muscles twist the pelvis slowly to your right, as further as you can, tensing your abs.
3. Hold the stretch for several seconds and return to your starting position while inhaling.
4. Perform the stretch on the other side, this time turning to your left, as far as you can without moving your head and upper torso

Tips

• Keep your head and upper torso in their starting position – immobile.

8. Cable Wood Chop

The cable wood chop is also known as the cable up-down twist is great for strengthening the twisting movement pattern of your torso, as well as improving your torso’s ability to resist twisting forces.

You can do wood chops with a medicine ball or dumbbell, but the cable will give a constant tension that is preferable. 

How To Do Cable Wood Chop

1. Attach a handle to the top of the cable pulley. Grasp the handle with both hands, with either your fingers interlaced or with one hand over the other. Stand next to the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your arms straight, pull the handle in a diagonally downward motion until your torso faces away from the pulley and your hands are knee height.
3. Hold for a count of two. Then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Stop and hold the handle for a few seconds halfway through some reps, thus forcing your body to resist the twisting force.
• Keep your arms straight, shoulders locked in place.
• Control the weight the whole time.

9. Cable Down-Up Twist

The standing low cable chop is a variation of the wood chop and an exercise used to target the muscles of the oblique and abdominal complex.

In particular, the standing low cable chop primarily works the obliques.

How To Do Cable Down-Up Twist

1. Attach a handle to the lowest of the cable pulley. Grasp the handle with both hands, with either your fingers interlaced or with one hand over the other. Stand next to the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your arms straight, pull the handle in a diagonally upward motion until your torso faces away from the pulley and your hands are knee height.
3. Hold for a count of two. Then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Don’t lock the knees and hips. Allow the hips and knees to rotate slightly.
• Keep your arms straight, shoulders locked in place.
• Keep the movement under control.

10. Standing Plate Twists

Standing Plate Twist (aka Torso Rotation) is best for the mobilization of the torso.

It’s important to know that this exercise won’t make your waist smaller, as this is a pretty popular myth. When you become lean, however, the exercise can help to make that area look a bit more toned.

How To Do Standing Plate Twists

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, while holding the plate (weight) with both hands.
2. Bring your arms to your chest, then, using your abs, twist your torso as you bring your arms to the left side of your body, then the right.
3. Keep your body still during the motion; only your torso moves.
4. Exhale on the turns, inhale when coming back.

Tips

• Keep your torso and arms straight and the movement under control.
• Make sure to get a full range of motion, twisting from one side all the way to the other side, and then back again.

11. Dumbbell Lunges With Twist

Dumbbell Lunges with twist are an excellent exercise to build thigh muscles and glutes, abs, and oblique.

However, this exercise requires good balance, so if you have issues keeping your balance, start off by doing the lunges twist exercise without weights as you learn the proper form.

How To Do Dumbbell Lunges With Twist

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold one dumbbell at your chest with both hands, gripping it on each end.
2. Our chest should be upright and your torso should be leaning slightly forward so that your back is flat and not arched or rounded forward.
3. Take a step forward, bending your knees, to create two 90-degree angles with your legs. Slowly rotate your torso to the left. You should feel a nice stretch in your midback.
4. Push yourself back to the starting position and repeat with the other foot.
5. Keep alternating the leg with which you lunge twist

Tips

• Bend as far and low as possible without losing form.
• Keep your torso upright and your head facing forward.
• If you suffer from balance problems, it is best either avoid it, or just use your own bodyweight while holding on to a steady object.

12. Cable Twist

Finally, if you’re looking for one more effective standing oblique exercises, try the cable twist.

The cable twist is an isolation exercise that works the oblique muscles of the core. Use the cable twist to strengthen the twisting movement pattern of your body.

It is a great idea to stop halfway through some reps, hold the stirrup, and try to resist the twisting force. This will strengthen your torso’s ability to resist twisting forces.

How To Do Cable Twist

1. Attach a handle to a shoulder-height cable pulley. Grasp the handle with both hands, with either your fingers interlaced or with one hand over the other. Stand next to the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Keeping your arms straight, pull the handle in a twisting motion, across your body to your opposite side until your torso faces away from the pulley.
3. Hold for a count of two. Then slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions. Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.

Tips

• Keep your arms straight, shoulders locked in place.
• Don’t lock the knees and hips. Allow the hips and knees to rotate slightly.
• Control the weight the whole time

FAQ On Standing Oblique Exercises

Are Standing Oblique Workouts Effective?

YES! Standing oblique workouts is effective to train your oblique. Because standing oblique exercises mimic the way you move in everyday life – requiring your core muscle to work to stabilize your trunk as you move your limbs away from your body, twist and rotate.

What Are The Best Standing Exercises For Oblique?

My favorite standing oblique exercises involve a weight transfer – either with your bodyweight or with a dumbbell! This engages every muscle around your core. Examples include Wood chop, leaning obliques, standing side bend or side crunch.

Takeaways

This standing Oblique workout targets every muscle in your core to build strong, defined abs — in just 10 minutes! And these 12 standing oblique exercises are scalable from beginner to advanced (intensify this standing oblique workout by adding weights).

Know More About Oblique Training

• 21 Best Oblique Exercises For A Strong Core
• Standing Oblique Twist Benefits and Variations
• Most Effective Abs & Oblique Cable Exercises & Workout
• Best Dumbbell Abs Workout To Build Six Pack Abs

12 Best Standing Oblique Exercises That Will Work Your Core

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