Side Crunches For Toned Obliques (5 Best Variations)

Side Crunches, or side-to-side crunches, are among the best core exercises for strengthening the obliques and other core muscles. 

They are perhaps the most user-friendly workouts for training your oblique that you can do at home or in the gym.

It also can help relieve pressure on the lower back and prevent injury by working the muscles that support and stabilize the spine.

You can perform a lateral crunch with your back on the ground or lift your torso and arms straight up into the air. There are so many ways to do oblique crunches, and there is no wrong way.

• You can do oblique crunches with your feet flat on the ground.
• You can put your feet up on a stability ball.

No matter how you do them, keep your back straight and your abdominal muscles pulled in.

• If you are new to side crunches, try standing side crunches.
• If you want a more advanced variation to stimulate different muscle fibers in the oblique, try a lateral crunch leg raise. You can make it more challenging using weight, but focus on form while doing the same.

1. Bent Knee Side Crunch

The oblique crunch, also known as the lying side crunch, is one of the best bodyweight exercises for targeting your core muscles—specifically, the obliques on the sides of your abdomen.

Many abs exercises focus solely on the abs, also known as the six-pack. While important, it is also wise to focus on strengthening the rest of the core muscles to have a balanced strength.

How To Do

1. Lie on the floor on your right side with your hips and knees bent.
2. Put your left hand behind your head and your right hand across your body on your obliques.
3. Placing your hand on your obliques can help you feel the muscles contract and improve the mind-muscle connection.
4. Contract your obliques to lift your shoulder off the floor.
5. Hold this position briefly, contracting your obliques as hard as possible.
6. Then, return to the start position.
7. Do all the reps on the left side, and then do the same number of reps on the right side.

2. Standing Side Crunch

Standing oblique crunches are a fantastic way to easily and effectively build strength and stability in your obliques and abdominal muscles.

According to Electromyographic Studies in Abdominal Exercises, exercises involving twisting and lateral movements, like the standing side crunch, activate the oblique muscles significantly.

How To Do

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hands placed behind your head.
2. Engage your core and lift your right knee towards your right elbow while simultaneously bringing the elbow down towards the knee.
3. Squeeze your oblique muscles at the top of the movement.
4. Lower back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
5. Perform 10–15 repetitions on each side for 2–3 sets.

3. Elbow To Knee Side Plank Crunch

It is a brilliant bodyweight exercise that helps you develop your core’s strength and stability.

Combine your standard crunches with side plank exercise into one move that will challenge your balance, tone up your waist, and strengthen your core.

Side plank crunch works your whole body by combining all the core actions you get from a traditional plank with some extra love for your shoulders and hips. Your obliques get hit doubly hard in this exercise.

How To Do

1. Lie on your right side on the floor with your left foot on top of your inner side and your left arm on top of your left side.
2. Raise your body by placing your right forearm flat on the floor to be perpendicular to your torso.
3. Lift your torso until your right upper arm is straight underneath you with your elbow bent 90 degrees and your forearm flat on the floor. Extend your left arm over your head.
4. Lift your left leg and drive your knee toward your torso. At the same time, bring your left arm in toward your knee in a crunch movement.
5. Continue for a set amount of time, and then repeat on the other side.

4. Standing Cable Oblique Crunch

When doing an oblique workout with a cable machine, you can add plenty of single-arm exercises to correct potential imbalances.

The standing cable lateral crunches are a popular and effective exercise that works your oblique muscles. You can include these exercises in your cable workout routine.

How To Do

1. Attached D-handle to a high pulley and stood side-on to the weight stack.
2. Grasp the D-handle with your left hand and stand with the pulley to your left side.
3. Ensure your forearm is positioned at an angle of 90 degrees to the upper arm and your feet are firmly placed on the floor at shoulder width.
4. Pull the weight down with your head up and back straight using your left oblique muscle as far as you can.
5. Pause for a second and then return to the initial position.
6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. Turn around and repeat the cable side bend with your left side.

5. Seated Wall Side Crunch

The wall-seated side crunch is an advanced exercise that has been developed to shape, tighten, and strengthen the abs and oblique muscles.

You can make the movement difficult by putting weight on your hand to take the exercise to a higher level.

In addition, exercise can help increase the endurance of the leg muscles by providing an isometric contraction.

Benefits Of Doing Side Crunches

Side crunches emphasize the sides of your abdomen to help you build lean, strong muscles. When done correctly, this type of exercise can be an effective way to tighten your side abs.

• The oblique side exercises strengthen your back, engage your core, tone your abs, and improve your balance and flexibility.
• This exercise is highly effective for correcting postural issues. It aids in preventing and alleviating lower back pain and stiffness.
• An oblique workout can eliminate stubborn fat around your midsection by strengthening these muscles.
• Side crunches contribute to developing obliques and abdominal muscles, enhancing both strength and stability and significantly improving balance.
• Exercising the side muscles promotes balanced strength throughout your body, enhances posture, and lessens spinal stress caused by excess weight in that region.
• A key benefit of side crunches is their ability to build a strong core, which provides a toned look, lowers injury risk, and improves balance.
• In addition to their physical advantages, oblique crunches can also boost mental health. Research suggests that exercise enhances mood and reduces stress; oblique crunches are no exception.

FAQs

Do Side Crunches Help To Love Handles?

Side crunches are a good exercise that helps you lose love handles. But to permanently eliminate your love handles, you must make dietary, exercise, and lifestyle changes.

Do side crunches, make your waist smaller

Side crunches are effective for training the oblique and core muscles, which will help improve the shape and tone of the waistline and remove the extra layer of fat around it.

Cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, and healthy eating are the most effective methods for reducing body fat and waist width.

Do side crunches make your waist wider?

Side crunches will not make you bigger and wider, if you train with optimum weight and good form. Avoid using a heavy weight for this exercise.

How many side crunches (reps and sets) should I do

Choose how many sets and reps you want to do based on how good you can keep your technique while doing the core workout. Start with 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps on the left and right side.

Can You Do Side Crunches Every day?

No, it would be best not to do side crunches daily. Muscles need 36 to 48 hours to recover. If you plan to include side crunches in your routine, you should do them at least 2-3 times per week on nonconsecutive days.

References

• Nakai Y, Kawada M, Miyazaki T, Araki S, Takeshita Y, Kiyama R (2021) A self-oblique exercise that activates the coordinated activity of abdominal and hip muscles–A pilot study. PLoS One 16(8): e0255035.
• Whiting, W. C., Rugg, S., Coleman, A., & Vincent, W. J. (1999). Muscle activity during sit-ups using abdominal exercise devices. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 13(4), 339-345.

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.