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Exercises

Oblique exercises for men: rotation, side bends, side planks and anti-rotation

Published October 29, 2026

The best oblique exercises for men are the cable woodchop, landmine twist and Russian twist for rotation, the dumbbell side bend and side plank for bending and holding sideways, the Pallof press and suitcase carry for resisting a pull to one side, and the hanging oblique crunch for the hardest bodyweight version. The obliques turn your trunk, bend it sideways and stop it from twisting, so a good routine includes one of each. Do two or three of these for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 per side, twice a week, stopping 1 to 2 reps short of failure.

  1. Cable Woodchop Abs
  2. Dumbbell Side Bend Abs
  3. Pallof Press Abs
  4. Side Plank Abs
  5. Hanging Oblique Crunch Abs
  6. Landmine Twist Abs
  7. Russian Twist Abs
  8. Dumbbell Suitcase Carry Abs, Quads

Rotation: chops and twists

Turning against load is the oblique's main job in sport and lifting. Cables and the landmine let you add weight in small steps; the dumbbell chop and Russian twist work at home; the throw adds speed.

Obliques, high-to-low cable chop

Cable Woodchop

Abs

It loads rotation through the hips and trunk together, like a swing, and the cable stack lets you add weight in small steps. The most useful oblique exercise in a gym.

How to do it

  1. Set a cable high, stand side-on and grip the handle two-handed above the near shoulder.
  2. Chop it on a diagonal to the far hip, turning your chest as your back heel lifts and spins.
  3. Let it return along the same line under control. Finish one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Turn the chest
  • Arms long
  • Pivot the back foot

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms rather than turning the trunk.
  • Going so heavy the stack drags you back on the return.

Swap for: Dumbbell Woodchop, Pallof Press

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Obliques, kneeling dumbbell chop

Dumbbell Woodchop

Abs

Kneeling takes the hips out of it, so the trunk does the turning. A single dumbbell makes it a home version of the cable chop.

How to do it

  1. Kneel tall on both knees on a mat and hold one dumbbell with both hands beside one hip.
  2. Lift it diagonally up and across your body to above the opposite shoulder, turning your ribs with it.
  3. Bring it back down the same line to your hip under control.
  4. Finish all reps on that side, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Chest turns
  • Hips square
  • Diagonal line

Common mistakes

  • Bending the elbows to move the weight instead of turning the trunk: keep your arms long.
  • Going too heavy to control the way back down: if the dumbbell pulls you off balance at the top, go lighter.

Swap for: Med Ball Woodchop, Cable Woodchop

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Obliques, loaded rotation

Landmine Twist

Abs

Swinging the bar end from hip to hip trains rotation with heavier load than most twists allow, while your feet stay planted.

How to do it

  1. Hold the end of a landmine bar at chest height with both hands and arms nearly straight.
  2. Turn your trunk and arms to lower the bar toward one hip in an arc.
  3. Bring it back over the middle and down to the other hip.

Cues

  • Arc, don't drop
  • Pivot the feet
  • Brace

Common mistakes

  • Letting the bar fall to the hip and bouncing it back.
  • Adding plates before the arc is smooth.

Swap for: Cable Woodchop, Russian Twist

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Obliques, seated twist

Russian Twist

Abs

The classic floor exercise for the obliques. Turn your shoulders, not just your hands, and hold a plate once bodyweight reps get easy.

How to do it

  1. Sit with knees bent and heels on the floor, then lean back until your trunk is at an angle.
  2. Clasp your hands together at chest height.
  3. Turn your shoulders to one side, come back through the middle and turn to the other.

Cues

  • Turn the ribs
  • Chest tall
  • Slow

Common mistakes

  • Swinging only the arms while the chest faces forward.
  • Rounding your back to get lower.

Swap for: Dumbbell Woodchop, Windshield Wipers

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Obliques, explosive throw

Med Ball Rotational Throw

Abs

Throwing hard into a wall trains the obliques to turn fast, which matters for golf, baseball, hockey and fighting. Short sets at full speed.

How to do it

  1. Stand side-on to a wall in your hitting stance, holding a medicine ball at your back hip.
  2. Load into the back leg as you would before a swing.
  3. Turn the hips hard and throw the ball into the wall.
  4. Catch, reset, and repeat. Train both sides.

Cues

  • Load, then turn
  • Hips lead the arms
  • Throw through the wall

Common mistakes

  • Throwing only with the arms: start with the back hip.
  • Training only your dominant side: do both directions.

Swap for: Med Ball Woodchop, Landmine Rotational Press, Cable Woodchop

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Side bends and side planks

Bending sideways, and holding yourself straight on your side, trains the obliques through a different line than twisting. The side bend is the easiest to load heavy.

Obliques, loaded side bend

Dumbbell Side Bend

Abs

It is the easiest oblique exercise to load heavy with one dumbbell and add weight to in small steps. Bend straight to the side without leaning forward.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall with a dumbbell in one hand.
  2. Bend sideways toward the weight, sliding it down your leg.
  3. Pull yourself back to upright using the opposite side of your waist.
  4. Do all your reps, then switch hands.

Cues

  • Straight sideways
  • Pull up from the side
  • No twisting

Common mistakes

  • Leaning forward or twisting as you bend.
  • Holding a weight in each hand, which cancels the exercise out.

Swap for: Plate Side Bend, Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

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Obliques, side hold

Side Plank

Abs

Holding your body in a straight line on one elbow trains the obliques to keep you upright. Use it as the warm-up or the beginner's oblique exercise.

How to do it

  1. Lie on one side with your elbow under your shoulder and your legs stacked.
  2. Lift your hips until your body is straight from head to feet.
  3. Hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Hips high
  • Stacked feet
  • Elbow under shoulder

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop toward the floor as the hold goes on.
  • Rolling the chest forward or back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Copenhagen Plank

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Obliques, side plank with hip dips

Dumbbell Side Plank Hip Dip

Abs

Lowering and lifting your hips turns the side plank from a hold into a set of reps, and a dumbbell on the top hip adds load.

How to do it

  1. Set up in a side plank on your elbow with a dumbbell on your top hip.
  2. Lower your hips until they almost touch the floor.
  3. Drive them back up past straight, squeezing the bottom side of your waist.

Cues

  • Lift past straight
  • Slow down
  • Elbow under shoulder

Common mistakes

  • Dropping fast into the floor and bouncing up.
  • Rolling the chest toward the floor as the hips drop.

Swap for: Dumbbell Side Plank, Dumbbell Side Bend

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Resisting the twist

Here the obliques work by refusing to move while a cable or a one-sided weight pulls you over. This is how they work under a heavy one-arm press, row or carry.

Obliques, anti-rotation press

Pallof Press

Abs

The cable tries to turn you and you press straight out without moving. It builds the stiffness your trunk needs for heavy one-sided lifts.

How to do it

  1. Set a cable at chest height, stand side-on to it and grip the handle two-handed at your chest.
  2. Step away until the cable pulls, feet hip-width.
  3. Press the handle straight out, hold for two seconds without turning, then bring it back.

Cues

  • Hands on the midline
  • Don't turn
  • Hold it out

Common mistakes

  • Standing too close, so the cable barely pulls.
  • Letting the arms drift toward the stack.

Swap for: Cable Woodchop, Landmine Twist

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Obliques, one-sided carry

Dumbbell Suitcase Carry

Abs, Quads

One heavy dumbbell in one hand makes the opposite obliques work for every step to keep you upright. Hard, simple and it trains grip too.

How to do it

  1. Pick up one heavy dumbbell and stand tall with it at your side.
  2. Walk with short, steady steps without leaning toward or away from it.
  3. Set it down, switch hands and walk back.

Cues

  • Shoulders level
  • Tall walk
  • Grip hard

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the weight to balance it.
  • Picking a dumbbell so light that nothing has to work.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Dumbbell Single-Arm Overhead Carry

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Hanging and floor exercises

Bringing your legs up and to the side loads the obliques from the bottom. Both are hard bodyweight options once twists and side planks feel easy.

Obliques and lower abs, hanging side knee raise

Hanging Oblique Crunch

Abs

Raising your knees toward one shoulder from a hang works the obliques with your full leg weight. It needs only a pull-up bar.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms, your shoulders set down and your legs still.
  2. Bend your knees and bring them up and across toward one shoulder.
  3. Squeeze the side of your waist at the top for a second.
  4. Lower with control to a still hang and alternate sides.

Cues

  • Knees to the armpit
  • Shorten one side of the waist
  • Pause before switching

Common mistakes

  • Swinging from side to side: stop the hang before every rep.
  • Raising the knees straight up: aim them clearly to one side.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Windshield Wipers, Russian Twist

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Obliques, lying leg rotation

Windshield Wipers

Abs

Dropping your bent knees side to side while your shoulders stay down trains the obliques in a long, stretched position. Lower only as far as both shoulders stay on the floor.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up, arms spread wide, knees bent to 90 degrees above your hips.
  2. Lower both knees together toward one side while both shoulders stay on the floor.
  3. Bring them back through the middle and lower them to the other side.

Cues

  • Shoulders pinned down
  • Slow both ways

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the knees fast: move only as far as you can control the return.

Swap for: Dead Bug, Cable Woodchop, Russian Twist

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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.

Session 1

At the gym, after your main lifts

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets10 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentAdjustable Cable, Dumbbells, Pull-Up Bar

You lift three or four times a week and want the obliques trained properly without adding a separate day.

Two exercises at the end of two sessions give about 10 oblique sets a week, one rotation or side-bending move and one anti-rotation or hanging move each time.

Session A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Cable WoodchopPer side. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min
Pallof PressPer side. 2 × 10–12 2 1 min

Open Session A in the session builder

Session B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Side BendPer side. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Hanging Oblique CrunchPer side. 2 × 6–12 2 75 s

Open Session B in the session builder

How to run it
Add Session A after one upper day and Session B after a lower or second upper day. Keep a day between them.
How to progress
When every woodchop or side bend set reaches the top of the range at 1 rep in reserve, add one plate or go up 5 lb. On hanging oblique crunches, add reps to 12 per side, then slow the lowering.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

At home with one dumbbell

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets15 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You train at home with a mat and a single dumbbell, and want the sides of your trunk stronger.

With one dumbbell the load is light, so the plan uses three short sessions for 14 sets a week, each with one rotation and one side exercise.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell WoodchopPer side. 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Side PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 20–40 2 45 s

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Russian TwistCount both sides; each turn is one rep. 3 × 10–16 2 1 min
Dumbbell Side Plank Hip DipPer side. 2 × 8–12 2 1 min

Open Day 2 in the session builder

Day 3
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Windshield WipersPer side. 3 × 6–10 2 1 min
Dumbbell Side BendPer side. 2 × 12–15 2 1 min

Open Day 3 in the session builder

How to run it
Do one session on three non-consecutive days. Each takes about 10 minutes and can follow any home workout.
How to progress
Once all your sets on an exercise hit the top of its range with 2 reps still left, make it harder: hold the dumbbell for the Russian twist, place it on your hip for the side plank hip dips, or slow every rep to 3 seconds each way.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

You swing, throw or punch in your sport

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets13 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentMedicine Ball, Dumbbells, Landmine, Adjustable Cable

You play golf, baseball, softball, tennis, hockey or a combat sport and want more power through your trunk.

Power work needs fresh, full-speed reps, so each session opens with a throw or loaded twist and closes with a heavy carry for control. Six or seven sets per session, twice a week, trains speed without making you sore before games.

Day 1: Throw
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Med Ball Rotational ThrowPer side. Full speed. 4 × 5–6 3 90 s
Dumbbell Suitcase CarrySeconds per side. 3 × 30–40 2 90 s

Open Day 1: Throw in the session builder

Day 2: Twist
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Landmine TwistPer side. 3 × 8–10 2 75 s
Pallof PressPer side. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min

Open Day 2: Twist in the session builder

How to run it
Do these at the start of a gym session on two days away from games or hard practice. In season, keep Day 1 only.
How to progress
Keep the medicine ball the same and throw harder; move up a size only when every rep is fast. Add 5 to 10 lb to the landmine twist and carry when sets reach the top of the range at 2 reps in reserve.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What ab exercises are good for obliques?

Woodchops, Russian twists, side planks, side bends and hanging oblique crunches. Bicycle crunches work them too, but they are hard to load once they get easy.

What gym machines work obliques?

The cable machine is the best one: woodchops and Pallof presses both use it. A landmine and a captain's chair or pull-up bar for hanging oblique crunches cover the rest.

What does a strong oblique look like?

It holds your trunk straight under a heavy one-arm carry or press, and it turns the hips and shoulders hard in a throw or swing. When body fat is low, it shows as lines along the sides of the abs.

Will oblique exercises make my waist bigger?

Not by much. The obliques are thin muscles, and fat changes waist size far more than they do. Heavy side bends can add a little; anti-rotation work hardly any.

What is the single best exercise for obliques?

The cable woodchop, because it trains rotation with load you can increase steadily. At home, the dumbbell side bend is the easiest to load.