The belly area has a lot of muscles split into front abs and side abs. Most people when they do ab workouts focus a lot on front abs and ignore side abs. But if you want to get stronger, protect your body from injury, or have well-shaped abs, you need to work all your abs muscles without skipping any part.
- Here we will explain the best 13 exercises to strengthen your side abs. These muscles stretch along your waist from your ribs to your hip bones. Every time you twist your torso or bend side to side, you use these side abs. So it's really important to have strong side abs muscles.
- These exercises don’t need any equipment or weights, so you can easily do them at home. If you don’t go to the gym, just pick a few of the exercises below and add them to your next workout session.
1 - First exercise Side Planks
- Lie down on your right side with your feet stacked on top of each other. Then put your right forearm on the ground right under your shoulder.
- Tighten your core and lift your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line from head to feet.
- Hold this position for 30 seconds without lowering your hips then repeat on the other side.
2 - Second exercise: Side Plank Dips
- Lie on your right side with your feet stacked, then place your right forearm on the ground directly below your shoulder.
- Tighten your core muscles and lift your hips off the ground so your body forms a straight line from head to feet.
- Lower your hips down toward the floor then lift them back up to the starting position or a little higher.
3 - Third exercise: Sit-Ups to Twist
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
- Put your hands behind your head, tighten your core, lift your upper body, then twist to bring your right elbow toward your left knee while turning your whole body to the left side.
- Return to the starting position and repeat the move on the other side.
4 - Fourth exercise: Russian Twists
- Sit on your lower back so your back and the floor form a 45-degree angle with your knees bent a little and heels on the floor.
- Hold a physical therapy ball or a light dumbbell in front of your chest. Twist the ball and your torso together to the right then to the left but keep your back straight.
5 - Fifth exercise: Spidermans
- Get into a high plank position with your core tight and your arms and hands right under your shoulders.
- Move your left knee toward your left elbow and use your upper body to twist toward your left elbow.
- Bring your knee back to the starting position and repeat the move on the other side.
6 - Sixth exercise: Trunk Rotations
- Get into a high plank position, tighten your core muscles and place your arms and hands directly under your shoulders.
- Move your left knee from under your body towards your right elbow by slightly twisting your torso.
- Bring your knee back to the start and repeat on the other side.
7 - Exercise seven: Wood Choppers
- Stand with your feet slightly apart and bend your knees lightly.
- Hold one dumbbell by both ends with both hands, arms straight in front of your left leg.
- Turn your left foot a bit and at the same time twist your body, moving the weight up and to the right in front of your body, keeping your arms straight all the time.
- Slowly bring the dumbbell back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
8 - Exercise Eight: Wall Ball
- Stand with your left side facing the wall and bend your knees slightly. Then hold a light physical therapy ball in front of your right leg with your arms straight.
- Turn your right foot slightly and use all your strength to throw the ball at the wall.
- Catch the ball again while bending your knees to absorb its rebound force.
9 - Exercise Nine: Side Bends
- Stand with your feet a little apart and hold a medium or heavy dumbbell in your right hand.
- Tighten your core muscles and bend your waist to the right toward the ground, letting the weight slowly pull you down.
- Use your back and core muscles to go back to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
10 - Tenth exercise: Forward Lunges With Rotation
- Stand with your feet slightly apart and hold the physio ball with both hands in front of your chest, keeping your arms straight.
- Step your left leg forward big and bend your left knee to a 90-degree angle. Also bend your right knee until it almost touches the floor without moving your right foot. From this position, twist the ball to the left while rotating your torso too. Keep your arms straight.
- Twist the ball back until it’s in front of your chest again and return to the start position.
11 - Eleventh exercise: Standing Side Crunch
- Stand with your feet slightly apart and raise your right arm up beside your ear.
- Lift your right knee to the side so your right hip is parallel with the ground. At the same time, lower your right elbow down until they meet.
- Raise your arm back up and lower your leg to return to the start, then repeat on the other side.
12- Exercise twelve: Side kicks
- Stand far enough from the wall so you can bend your torso forward and press the wall with your palms and bend your elbows.
- After placing both hands on the wall, lift your right leg until it’s parallel to the ground.
- Move your right knee toward your right elbow then tighten your leg muscles and kick with your foot until your leg is back to parallel with the ground. Repeat on the other side.
13- Exercise thirteen: Power Hooks
- Stand in a fighting stance with your strong (dominant) leg behind you. Raise your hands in front of your face and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
- Lower your front hand to chest level and throw a hooking punch forward with your arm bent at a 90-degree angle. Make sure your core muscles are tight.
- Repeat the move with your back arm but this time twist your back foot a little.
- Keep repeating the movement as fast as you can while switching between arms.
