There are several basic exercises that will train the obliques in isolation (meaning they won’t shape other muscles). You must practice these basic exercises before trying harder ones so that you do not injure yourself in the process of toning your muscles.
Lie on your right side on a gym mat or soft surface. Lift your body off the mat with only the right forearm and outer side of the right foot in contact with the ground. The right elbow should be directly under the right shoulder. Keep the body erect by drawing the shoulder blades downward and backward and squeezing the butt muscles together. The hips should not drop at any point of the exercise. Hold this position for 15 seconds. Continue breathing in a relaxed manner. Keep the body in a straight line at all times. Do 3 sets of 15 second hold with 15 second rest in between.
Lie on your back with knees bent and hands placed at the back of the head. Aim to touch your right knee with your left elbow by lifting your upper back up and sideways from the ground. A common mistake for beginners is crunching the neck instead of the abdominal section. Fix this problem by touching the roof of the mouth with your tongue. This tenses the muscles around the neck and prevents misalignment of the cervical spine. There should be some burn felt in the left oblique area but there should never be an incidence of pain throughout the exercise. Return to the starting position. Do a side crunch towards the other side. This time try to touch the left knee with your right elbow. This counts as 1 repetition. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions with 1 minute rests in between.
Hold a dumbbell at each side. Stand tall with the feet hip-width apart. Draw your shoulder blades back and down. Clench your butt muscles together. Suck in your gut as if you are about to be punched. Make a double chin and look straight. This position should be maintained to ensure effectiveness of the workout. Lower the dumbbell by bending sideways to the right. Bend as the body permits. Do not bend to the point of pain. The dumbbells should be kept as close to the body as possible. Return to the starting position. Repeat 15 times. Bend sideways to the left for 10 repetitions. 3 sets of 10 repetitions with 30 seconds of rest in between are ideal.
Lower the weight and turn your body towards the other side. Bend at your knees and crouch down towards the floor. Keep a controlled and balanced movement. Move back to the starting position slowly. Repeat the exercise 15 times. Do 2 sets on each side alternately.
Slowly stand up. Do the same procedure on the other side of the body. Repeat the whole exercise.
Hold the handle of the dumbbell with both hands. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart. Draw the shoulder blades down and back. Keep the butt squeezed together. Raise the dumbbell above the left shoulder. This stretches the oblique muscles to ensure all the muscle fibers are engaged. Lower the dumbbell across your body and to the outer part of your right ankle by squatting. Push your hips back and butt out as you do this. The arch of the back should not round out. If muscle inflexibility limits the movement, bring the dumbbell to the outside of the right knee. Reverse the movement. This counts as a repetition. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions with 60 seconds rest between sets. Repeat the exercise on the other side.
Hold a dumbbell with your left hand. A single arm row challenges the oblique muscles more than a double arm row. Your muscles activate to maintain good posture with the presence of an uneven weight between the left and right side of the body. Bend at your hips with the knees slightly bent. Push your hips back as if you are trying to close a door behind you with your butt. Draw your shoulder blades back and downward. Maintain the natural arch of your lower back at all times. Raise the dumbbell toward your rib cage and twist your upper body to the left simultaneously. The tip of the left elbow should ideally go past your back to squeeze the back muscles maximally. The twist amplifies the left oblique muscle workload. Return to the starting position. That counts as a repetition. Do 3 sets of 10 reps with 60 second breaks. Repeat the exercise with the right hand.
Lie down on a mat with knees bent and hands behind the head. Press your lower back against the ground. Tighten the abdominal muscles while maintaining a relaxed breathing pattern. Raise both legs by straightening the right leg and drawing the bent left leg towards the torso. Simultaneously do a side crunch to the left with the aim of touching left knee with the right elbow. Exhale with every elbow to knee motion to prevent excessive rise in blood pressure. Pain should not be a part of the exercise. Immediately reverse the movement. Straighten the left leg and bend the right leg. Do a crunch to the right with the aim of touching the right knee with left elbow. This counts as a repetition. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions with 45 second rests in between.
Repeat the procedure on the other side of the body. Once you can do this easily, add a light dumbbell (five pounds) between your feet.
Hold the position where the knee is in the chest for 1 second and then repeat the movement. Perform 15 reps per side or as many as the body permits.
Hold the position for 0. 5 seconds when full extension to the right and left is achieved. As the exercise becomes easy, hold a weight plate or medicine ball to add to the difficulty and extend it to chest height.
Do 20 complete twists.
Casein protein powders are suggested to be taken before going to bed because it is digested by the body in a slow pace. And the whey protein powders which are absorbed by the body faster are recommended to be taken in the morning and right after work out or exercise. The recommended intake of protein is at least 1 gram for each pound of the body weight.
It allows the muscles to absorb extra water that makes it bigger and harder. It can increase the total body weight up to 3%. It increases energy supplied in the muscles during exercises which permits performance of additional reps with the same body weight. It helps the body to become stronger thus; the ability to lift heavy weights is increased. A more solid pump in the muscles will be experienced during workouts. It increases joints stability that decreases vulnerability to injuries.
Digestive system upsets leading to diarrhea and insufficient absorption of the supplement in the body. Kidney and liver problems when in long term use of large doses of creatine supplementation. Discomforts during exercises or physical labor because of the pumping in the muscles.
Consume protein during snacks. Always keep a handful of nuts, a cup of Greek yogurt, or a string of cheese in handy to avoid consuming sugary snacks.
6 days of total sensible eating and 1 full cheat day weekly 5 meals of sensible choices and 1 cheat snack daily Trying to maintain a 100% sensible diet is impossible to maintain and burn you and your taste buds out. The brain sends craving impulses once in a while that you have to give in to.
