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Exercises

Dumbbell oblique exercises: bend, chop, plank and carry

Published October 19, 2026

The best dumbbell oblique exercises are the dumbbell side bend, the kneeling dumbbell woodchop, the weighted side plank, the side plank hip dip and the suitcase carry. The side bend and the hip dip bend your torso sideways under load, the woodchop rotates it, and the side plank and carry make your obliques stop a dumbbell from pulling you over. One bending move, one rotation and one hold or carry trains your obliques completely, and all of it needs a single dumbbell.

  1. Dumbbell Side Bend Abs
  2. Dumbbell Woodchop Abs
  3. Dumbbell Side Plank Abs
  4. Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip Abs
  5. Dumbbell Suitcase Carry Abs, Quads

Bend and rotate: the dumbbell moves that take your obliques through range

Your obliques bend your torso to the side and turn it. The side bend loads the first job through a full stretch and the woodchop loads the second on a diagonal. These are the two to push for reps and weight, because they move the most.

Obliques, lateral flexion

Dumbbell Side Bend

Abs

It is the most direct dumbbell oblique exercise: your torso bends sideways and comes back up against the load, through a stretch the other moves don't reach. It is easy to add weight to and easy to count reps on.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with your feet about hip width and a dumbbell hanging in one hand, the other hand resting on your hip or behind your head.
  2. Lean straight to the side of the dumbbell, letting it slide down the outside of your leg as far as your torso allows.
  3. Pull yourself back up to standing using the obliques on the side without the weight.
  4. Finish all reps on that side before switching hands.

Cues

  • Bend sideways, not forward
  • Hips stay over your feet
  • Lead the way up with your ribs

Common mistakes

  • Twisting or leaning forward as you go down: imagine you're between two panes of glass.
  • Holding a dumbbell in each hand: they balance each other and the obliques barely work.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip, Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dumbbell Side Plank

Build a session with Dumbbell Side Bend

Obliques, rotation

Dumbbell Woodchop

Abs

Kneeling takes your legs out of the move, so a diagonal chop from above your shoulder to beside your opposite hip is turned by your trunk alone. It is the dumbbell rotation that you can load and progress.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on one knee, the other foot planted in front, and hold one dumbbell with both hands by the ends.
  2. Start with the dumbbell above the shoulder on the side of your back knee, arms long.
  3. Pull it down and across your body on a diagonal until it sits outside your front hip, turning your chest with it.
  4. Reverse along the same line to above the shoulder, then repeat. Finish one side, then switch knees.

Cues

  • Chest turns with the dumbbell
  • Hips stay square
  • Control it up, don't swing

Common mistakes

  • Swinging fast and letting momentum lift the dumbbell back: count two seconds each way.
  • Bending only the arms: keep the arms fairly straight so the torso does the turning.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Bend, Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip, Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Build a session with Dumbbell Woodchop

Weighted side planks

Lying on one forearm, your bottom obliques hold your hips up against gravity, and a dumbbell on your top hip or in your top hand makes that harder without more time. The hip dip adds a short side bend to the hold, so it trains in range as well as holding still.

Obliques, side hold

Dumbbell Side Plank

Abs

A dumbbell on your top side turns a side plank that you can hold for a minute into one that ends at 20 to 30 seconds. It is the easiest oblique exercise on your spine and needs only floor space.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your side propped on one elbow under your shoulder, legs straight and stacked.
  2. Hold a dumbbell on your top hip or pressed up in your top hand.
  3. Lift your hips until your body makes a straight line from head to feet.
  4. Hold that line for the target time, then lower and switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow under shoulder
  • Hips high and stacked
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag or roll back: stop the set when either starts.
  • Using a dumbbell so heavy the hold drops to a few seconds: aim for at least 15 seconds of clean holding.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip, Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dumbbell Side Bend

Build a session with Dumbbell Side Plank

Obliques, side plank with movement

Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip

Abs

Lowering your hip toward the floor and lifting it back above the line adds reps to the side plank, so your obliques work through a short range instead of only holding. Use it when the side plank starts to feel easy.

How to do it

  1. Get into a side plank on your forearm with a dumbbell resting on your top hip.
  2. Let your bottom hip drop toward the floor without touching it.
  3. Drive it back up until your hips are a little higher than the straight line.
  4. Keep the up-and-down going for the full set, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Dip down, drive high
  • Shoulder stays over the elbow
  • Smooth, no bounce

Common mistakes

  • Resting your hip on the floor between reps: stop an inch short.
  • Rolling the chest toward the floor: keep your shoulders stacked.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Dumbbell Side Bend, Dumbbell Woodchop

Build a session with Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip

The carry: obliques that stop you leaning

Holding a heavy dumbbell in one hand and walking tall makes the obliques on the opposite side work for the whole set. It uses heavier weight than anything else here and pairs well with the side bend, which moves the same muscles that the carry holds still.

Obliques, anti-lateral flexion

Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Abs, Quads

Walking with one heavy dumbbell at your side, your obliques fight to keep you from tipping toward it on every step. It allows the heaviest weight of these moves and trains your grip too.

How to do it

  1. Pick up a heavy dumbbell in one hand and stand tall with your shoulders level.
  2. Walk forward with steady steps, with the dumbbell brushing your thigh.
  3. Keep your torso upright and your free arm relaxed; don't lean away from the weight either.
  4. Walk for the target distance or time, set it down, and switch hands.

Cues

  • Stand tall, shoulders level
  • Short, even steps
  • Squeeze the handle hard

Common mistakes

  • Leaning toward or away from the dumbbell: use a lighter one until you can walk straight.
  • Shrugging the loaded shoulder up: keep it pulled down.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Dumbbell Side Bend, Dumbbell Woodchop

Build a session with Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

One dumbbell, ten minutes after a workout

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You train at home or in a gym corner and want to finish two workouts a week with obliques using whatever single dumbbell is nearby.

After a workout your trunk is already tired, so this finisher uses the two moves that take your obliques through range and are easy to judge: the side bend and the woodchop, at 1 rep in reserve. The carry closes the session because it uses the heaviest load and the least technique. Each side gets 8 sets in about ten minutes.

Obliques Finisher
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Side BendPer side. Free hand behind the head. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Dumbbell WoodchopPer side. Kneeling. 2 s each way. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySeconds per hand. 2 × 30–40 1 90 s
How to run it
Do this after two of your weekly workouts. Use the same dumbbell for the bend and chop and the heaviest one you have for the carry.
How to progress
Add reps on the side bend and woodchop until you hit the top of the range at 1 rep in reserve, then move up 5 lb. On the carry, add distance first and weight second.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Your back prefers you not bend under load

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets16 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

Bending sideways or twisting with a weight irritates your back, or you're new to training your core and want to build up first.

Holds and carries train your obliques without bending your spine under load, so this plan uses only the weighted side plank, the hip dip at a short range, and the suitcase carry. Holds stop 1 to 2 seconds before your form breaks, which counts as 1 to 2 in reserve, and the sets stay at 2 to 3 so the volume builds slowly. That is 8 sets per side.

Obliques Holds
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Side PlankSeconds per side. Dumbbell on top hip. 3 × 20–40 2 1 min
Dumbbell Side Plank Hip DipPer side. Short range. 2 × 8–12 2 1 min
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySeconds per hand. Walk tall. 3 × 30–45 1 90 s
How to run it
Do this session twice a week. The holds and the carry are timed: log the seconds as reps.
How to progress
Add 5 seconds to each hold until you reach the top of the range, then use a heavier dumbbell. After four weeks without trouble, try one set of side bends with a light dumbbell.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

A set of dumbbells and two core days a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You have a range of dumbbells and want obliques to grow, not just get a finisher.

Each session leads with one loaded range-of-motion move at 0 to 1 reps in reserve: the side bend in A, the woodchop in B, so each gets your freshest effort once a week. A hold or carry follows at 1 to 2 so you don't add more bending to a tired trunk. Every session is 8 to 9 sets per side, at heavier loads than the other plans.

Obliques A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Side BendPer side. Heavy. Full stretch. 4 × 8–12 0 75 s
Dumbbell Side PlankSeconds per side. Dumbbell pressed up. 3 × 20–30 1 1 min
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySeconds per hand. Heaviest dumbbell. 2 × 30–40 1 90 s

Open Obliques A in the session builder

Obliques B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell WoodchopPer side. Kneeling. 4 × 8–12 1 75 s
Dumbbell Side Plank Hip DipPer side. Dumbbell on hip. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Dumbbell Side BendPer side. Lighter, slow. 2 × 15–20 1 1 min

Open Obliques B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Obliques A and B on separate days at least 48 hours apart, either alone or after a workout.
How to progress
On the side bend and woodchop, move up a dumbbell when you hit the top of the rep range at 1 in reserve on every set. Hold the carry for the same time with a heavier dumbbell each time you can walk straight.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is the most effective oblique exercise?

With dumbbells, the side bend: it loads the obliques through a full stretch and you can keep adding weight. Pair it with one rotation, the woodchop, and one hold like the weighted side plank or the suitcase carry, and your obliques are covered.

Can you train obliques with one dumbbell?

Yes. Every exercise on this page uses one dumbbell. Side bends, side planks and carries are done one side at a time anyway, and the woodchop is held with both hands.

Do obliques give you a blocky waist?

Not quickly. Muscle grows slowly and side bends with heavy dumbbells for a long time are what would widen your waist. Most of what makes a waist look wide is body fat. If you're concerned, favor side planks and carries over heavy side bends.

Are obliques hard to grow?

They grow like other muscles: train them with hard sets in a range of 8 to 20 reps, close to failure, a couple of times a week, and add weight over time. They get worked during heavy squats and carries too, so many people need only a few direct sets.

Can walking help tone your stomach?

Walking burns calories, which helps lower body fat and lets your abs and obliques show. It doesn't build them. A suitcase carry is walking that also trains your obliques.

Can I get a six pack in two weeks?

Not unless you're very lean already. Abs show when body fat is low, which takes months of eating and training, not two weeks of ab exercises.

How many sets of oblique exercises should I do?

Six to ten hard sets per side per week, spread over two sessions, is plenty for most people. Every plan on this page sits in that range.