Watch a Top Trainer Demonstrate 4 Smart Ways to Target Your Obliques

From Men's Health

Many people find targeting their oblique muscles to be a challenge in an average workout session, especially since common core exercises like situps and planks aren't the most effective. Thankfully, personal trainer Ben Bruno just shared four easy ways he helps his A-list clientele (which includes celebrities like Kate Upton and Chelsea Handler) work their entire core every time, with an added emphasis on the more difficult-to-target muscles located along the outside of your abdomen. Just heed Bruno's warning about overdoing it on these moves: "I made the dumb mistake of doing three of them yesterday, so my abs are so sore today that it’s not even funny," he wrote on Instagram. Start with one exercise per workout, and go from there. (Good luck.)

Move 1: Hanging 'Around the Worlds'
"Performing an isolation hold at the top part of the chin-up gives you added bang for your buck by working your upper back," Bruno says, "but it also helps to lock you in so you don’t swing as much." That said, Bruno adds, it's really hard to do well, so if it’s too hard, just hang normally. "Switching directions each rep makes it harder because you can’t use momentum. Controlled reps are better."

Move 2: Arc Rollouts
Bruno says if he had to pick a favorite core exercise, it’d be ab wheel rollouts. "It’s what I do the most. Arc rollouts are similar, but as the name suggests, you make an arc as you roll out," he writes. That'll help you target the obliques and the lats together. "I like to alternate sides because I find that when I have clients do all the reps on one side first, they unknowingly just more their hips and roll straight out. I also like to set up two targets to roll to, both to control the arc width, and to know how far to roll out," he says.

Move 3: Power Landmines
"You often see landmines done in a very strict and controlled fashion where the feet and hips don’t move—only the arms," Bruno says. "While I'm usually a proponent of very strict form, landmines are one exercise where I feel it’s better to rotate your feet and hips a little bit on each rep." That'll take the stress off the lower back by reducing torque, and allow you to use more weight and make the movement more explosive and athletic. "Just be sure not to get too lax and use crappy form to where you’ll hurt your back," he says.

Move 4: Lying Side-to-Sides
Sure, it's a dumb name, Bruno admits, but it’s a great exercise that you can do anywhere because it doesn’t require any equipment. "It’s plenty hard with just bodyweight, and that’s usually how I do it. I’m just using the med ball here to show off a little bit because a lot of you are mean to me and say I don’t look like I lift, so I want to seem strong in my videos."

Watch Bruno's demonstration of each move—and then try one for yourself:

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