Get a flat belly and an hourglass figure at the same time with oblique plank twists

Different exercises for flat belly work on different muscle groups in your abs area. But the oblique plank twists can also help you get that hourglass figure.
exercises for flat belly
Nail this exercise and you’ll get that envious hourglass shape. Image courtesy: Shutterstock
Chetna Pattnaik Updated: 24 Sep 2020, 15:54 pm IST
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We all lust after flat abs worthy of being flaunted in bikinis and crop tops. And so, very often we end up focusing on crunches and other exercises for flat belly that come with the promise of sculpted abs. 

Except, what we know as abs or abdominals, includes a combination of different muscles. And different muscle sets require different workouts, making doing just crunches a waste of time. That’s why in this article we will be telling you all about oblique twists and why you should start doing them right away. 

Basically, there are two sets of oblique muscles: internal obliques and external obliques. The ones with visible definition are the external obliques and the internal oblique muscles are the ones beneath them. 

So, when you do oblique plank twists, it helps tone your obliques and also your transverse abdominals. You can add in a few weights or repetitions to increase the difficulty levels and build an even stronger frame around the abdominals. So, to flatten your belly and get that curve, oblique twists are your go to torso workout.  

standing abs exercises
It’s time to build your core. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

This is how you can do oblique plank twists
Get in the plank position and slowly lift your left leg as you draw your knee towards your chest. Twist towards your right and try to touch your right elbow with your left knee. Now, that’s one round. Get back to the plank position and do the same thing on the right side. If you want to level up, then add a pushup to your twisting motion.

These oblique plank twists will also help you in increasing your core movement speed, which could be basically any sport involving the movement of your torso. Once your oblique muscles gain flexibility, the pressure on your lower back reduces as the force that you exert on them gets distributed. 

Not only that, practicing oblique plank twists also helps improve balance and posture and that is a great confidence booster. 

There are different types of oblique twists to choose from
Oblique twists come with a few variations and all of them begin with you keeping your head straight and engaging your core as you do the twist.

You can do a seated twist by sitting on an ab bench and leaning back by around 45 degrees before doing the twists. When performing a standing twist, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and lock your arms straight out to the side. You can always hold weights or a medicine ball in order to level up.

So, if you need an hourglass figure, you need to twist that waist in and out to tone it. These torso twists are exercises focused on strength that isolate muscles in the core to show definition in the desired area. If you decide to carry extra weight or increase your repetitions, and couple it up with regular cardio sessions to burn calories, you are definitely going to lose that belly fat.

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About the Author

Understanding fitness the hard way, Chetna has finally learnt to strike a balance between her protein shake and her beer and making room for her writing desk and her gym at the same time. ...Read More

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