Pilates Moves for Obliques

Oblique Meet and Greet

To understand your obliques in action, picture this. You come home from work and chirp "Hi honey, I'm home." Your husband, sitting on the couch watching the game, twists to his left and says "Hello my love." He just engaged his right external and left internal oblique. He then rotates his torso toward the end table on the right, and grabs his can of beer. Now, his left external and right internal obliques take over. If these muscles are weak, even these simple movements will hurt his back.

Back to Basics

The Pilates spinal twist forms the basis for all other oblique exercises. Sit upright on your sitz bones -- the appropriately named bones in your butt -- and extend your legs in front of you. If you can't sit upright, place a pillow under your butt. Imagine your spine as a barber pole, and your obliques as the stripes spiraling around the straight central axis. Extend your arms to the side at shoulder height, and inhale to prepare. Exhale, draw your belly in and rotate your torso to the right. Inhale, return to center and repeat on the other side. As you rotate to one side, sink your opposite hip into the floor. This exercise might be a no-no for those with disc problems. Ask your doctor.

Twist Again, But Do It Right

The advanced, sexy Pilates oblique exercises provide many cheating opportunities, but as your 5th grade teacher used to say, "You're only cheating yourself." The problem arises during oblique exercises that simultaneously engage your abs and legs. Pilates instructor-trainer Aliesa George describes the chaos that ensues when your quads wage war against your obliques. If a quad contraction initiates rotation, it lifts the top of your thigh bone, which in turn lifts your hip. A lifted hip minimizes the space your spine has for rotation, and causes you to crank your shoulders and elbows around instead. Your elbows get a great workout. Your obliques get nothing.

Criss-Cross

Calling it the bicycle maneuver, the American Council on Exercise honored the Pilates crisscross with the distinction of being one of the most effective abdominal exercises, as long as it's done correctly. Despite its many benefits, the crisscross often invites Murphy's Law. Performed supine with your legs lifted and extended, it involves bending one knee, rotating your upper body toward it, then twisting to the other side. The pesky hip-lifting issue might rear its ugly little head during this exercise. As you rotate in one direction, remember to sink your opposing hip into the floor.

Equipment Exercises

Some of the Pilates machines address the side-bending functions of the obliques. The mermaid, for example, performed on the Pilates reformer, looks as pretty as it sounds. Sit on the reformer carriage with your knees bent to the left, and your feet facing the shoulder pads. Hold the foot-bar with your right hand. Reach your left arm overhead, and bend at your waist to the right. The carriage will move away from the foot-bar. Complete one set, then switch sides.