SIDE PLANK TWIST

Most of the time when people focus on working their abs they forget about their obliques. Obliques are a group of stabilizer muscles that are used in most physical activities and sports, and should play an important part in any workout program.

The Side Plank Twist is one of my favourite oblique specific exercises and takes the regular Side Plank up a notch.

Here are some tips to help you execute them perfectly.

• You can either stack your feet on top of each other, or place the top foot on the ground.

• Un-stacking the feet makes the exercise a little bit easier, especially on your balance.

• Start in the Side Plank making sure your hips and shoulders are stacked.

• Make sure your whole forearm is resting on the floor. Don’t lift up onto your elbow.

• Create a chicken wing with your other arm by placing your hand behind your head.

• Don’t let your hips sag towards the floor.

• As you twist the upper-body, don’t just move your elbow. Think about twisting the upper-body from the hips upwards. You want to let the hips rotate a little as well.

• As the hips rotate fractionally try not to twist the lower-body. Especially your knees.

• Don’t let your elbow drop down to the floor. Your elbow and chest should finish parallel with the floor.

• Don’t just flap your arm about.

• Add a pause in at the bottom position and feel your core working hard to stabilize the body.

• Aim for 8-12 reps on both sides.

Have a go at these Side Plank Twists and let me know what you think. As always it’s important to think about targeting the muscles you’re supposed to be using, in this case your obliques.