If you’re only working your front abs muscles, you’re missing out on strengthening your entire core.

You should also be paying attention to your obliques, aka the “side abs.”

Strong oblique muscles will improve your posture and support your lower back, among other benefits.

Sporty young woman doing side planks on lawn

Photo: Westend61/Getty

Get ready to sweat!

Breakdancer

If you’re looking for a move that works double duty, look no further.

(FYI, all of these oblique exercises are being demonstrated by Seracuse.).

closeup shot of a muscular woman’s defined abs muscles

mihailomilovanovic/Getty Images

A.Start in on all fours with knees underneath hips and wrists underneath shoulders.

Exhale to engage your abs and lift your knees to hover off the mat.

Simultaneously, reach your right arm up.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a breakdancer oblique exercise

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Return to all fours and hover.

Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) for 30 seconds, then switch sides and repeat.

It hits the obliques, abs, and back muscles," he notes.

woman demonstrating how to do a side plank with hip dips oblique exercise

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B.Lower slowly down until the right hip barely touches the ground, then lift back up.

Do 10 to 12 reps, holding the last rep for 15 to 30 seconds before dropping.

Switch sides and repeat.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do an elevated mountain climbers oblique exercise

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Pull one leg in toward the chest.

Do you like her innovative move?

Then try thisweighted abs and obliques workoutfrom Swan next.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a windshield wiper oblique exercise

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Tap your toe down to the floor and lift back up to return to the starting position.

Do 3 sets of 10 reps. Switch sides and repeat.

Oblique Side Sit-Up

“I originally saw this move in my Brazilian JiuJitsu training.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a kettlebell sit-up oblique exercise

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Soon after seeing its amazing ab benefits, I put it into all of my Kettlebell Kickboxing workouts!”

explainsDasha Libin Anderson, a NASM-certified trainer and creator of Kettlebell Kickboxing.

A.Start kneeling, sitting to the side of your knees.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a supine crunch oblique exercise

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Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell tightly at your chest.

Then, sit back down.

Repeat on the opposite side.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a barre curl twist oblique exercise

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Do AMRAP for 1 minute.

A.Lie face up, extending arms straight up overhead.

Keeping core engaged, lift legs into tabletop position, knees bent at a 90-degree angle.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a toe-heel reaches with weights oblique exercise

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B.Without changing the angle of knees, tilt knees right and lower feet until toes tap the floor.

Lift your legs back to the tabletop and repeat on the left side.

A.Life faceup with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a plank hip twist oblique exercise

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Hold for 10 seconds, engaging abs.

B.Twist your upper body to the left while keeping the back of your waist on the floor.

Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat on the opposite side.

oblique workout for women: woman demonstrating how to do a single-side mountain climber oblique exercise

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A.Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.

Avoid bending too much from your hips.

FYI, there are a million otherplank variations that do double duty as oblique workouts, too.

A.Hold a forearm plank position, legs squeezing together for an extra inner thigh activation.

B.Twists hips up and over midline, alternating left to right.

Do 3 to 4 sets of 10 reps on each side.

A.With hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, pull the right knee over toward the left elbow.

B.Switch, pulling the left leg in toward the left elbow.

The right hip should be slightly lower than the left.

Do AMRAP for 45 seconds, then switch sides and repeat.

Do 4 sets per side.