The Best Oblique Exercise (You’re Not Doing)

The Best Oblique Exercise (You’re Not Doing)

A few of the most common moves I see done for oblique work are the Pallof Press, side planks and teapots (love them or hate them…which is a topic for another day).

But my favorite is actually a unilateral balance challenge and bodyweight exercise.

This move requires no equipment and is deceptively hard.

But if you regress to progress, and take the time to master it, it will take not only your core strength, but also your scapular, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle stability to the next level.

It’s seriously one of the most amazing compound oblique exercises out there and one of the most awkward feeling as you get your balance – The Single Arm Rotational Plank with Knee Drive.

This rotational core exercise is an amazing way to really target your obliques and abs while also working your adductors, quads, Serratus Anterior, shoulders, back…and so much more.

However it is more challenging a unilateral move than we give it credit for.

If you can’t control the advanced variation and perform it slowly, please make sure to use the modifications I mention. You don’t get better results by rushing a movement or by doing a harder variation you haven’t earned.

The best results happen when we are intentional with our exercises so we can get more out of every movement. And you want to make sure you get all of the benefits you can from this move!

So…What are the benefits of this amazing move?

With this unilateral move, if you take the time to learn to control it, you will…

  • Improve your hip and knee stability, especially strengthening those adductors and quads.
  • Work your obliques and abs with both the rotational movement and the crunch. Your abs have to work hard to actually prevent unwanted extension of your spine as you even rotate to face the ground.
  • Improve your shoulder and scapular stability strengthening both the muscles of your shoulder but also of your upper back as well as your Serratus Anterior. You’ll feel that muscle really having to work as the shoulder blade protracts during your torso rotation toward the ground.
  • Correct imbalances because of the unilateral focus so you can make sure both sides are strong and working efficiently.

You’ll also find this movement really helps you improve your mind-body connection to recruit many different muscles at once to stabilize everything. I know it can be a frustrating coordination and balance challenge to start, but that is so key for actually improving our strength gains ultimately.

The more efficient and able we are to recruit the correct muscles to stabilize, the stronger ultimately we will be so we can run faster and lift more.

And bonus, if you are a runner, this is for sure a must-do core move if you’ve ever had knee, hip or lower back aches and pains!

Now…how do you do the Single Arm Rotational Plank With Knee Drive?

To do the Single Arm Plank Rotation With Knee, set up in a side plank position from your hand with your bottom leg staggered on the ground behind your top leg. You won’t be on the inside of that front foot like a regular side plank but will actually want to place the sole of your foot on the ground.

Make sure your hand is under your shoulder as you set up and you’re engaging your back to support your shoulder so you aren’t shrugging or straining it. This is key to supporting you as you rotate.

Then lift that back leg as if kicking it back and up toward the wall behind you as you rotate your chest toward the ground to counterbalance yourself. You will reach that top hand out as if almost trying to create a line across your body from your heel to your finger tips.

You should almost feel like you’ve rotated into a front plank position as you lift and reach out.

Then pivot back into the side plank position and, as you do, tuck the knee of your extended leg and elbow of your extended arm together, slightly crunching. You’re performing a little cross body crunch as you twist. Make sure your hand is still under your shoulder so that you’re shoulder isn’t straining as you twist.

After slowly tucking the knee to the elbow and feeling yourself pivot around that shoulder, extend back out.

You will feel all the muscles around your rib cage as well as your obliques, abs, adductor and quads especially as you crunch together.

Move slowly so you can stabilize. Do not rush if you feel off balance.

How can you modify this move?

How can you adjust this move if you feel your shoulder straining or adductor or groin becoming overworked?

A first little tweak you can make to the move is touching your foot down behind you instead of lifting it up. This little touch to pause and balance in the movement may be all the modification you need to start.

If you struggle with hyper mobility, especially in your elbows, you may also choose to modify this off your forearm.

However, if you don’t feel in control of any aspect of this movement, your next modification should be off an incline. The higher the incline, the more you can reduce the resistance of the movement.

As you feel stable, you can slowly lower the incline to progress the move.

You may even find you combine the incline with the foot tap to start.

The key is making sure you’re able to properly stabilize that shoulder to really focus on those obliques working to rotate and help you stay balanced!

The Best Core Exercise You Aren’t Doing

The Best Core Exercise You Aren’t Doing

Your core is everything from your shoulders to your knees down your frontside and your backside.

And when you train your core you want to work in every plane of motion, including both anti-rotational and rotational core work.

You want to consider not only how to create a stronger core, but also a better mind-body connection to stabilize and support your shoulders, spine, pelvis, hips and knees.

And that is why I love this amazing core move the SIT THRU!

Now this move looks slightly odd and can feel awkward and complicated to start, it also requires more stability and mobility than we realize.

But it is an amazing move to work on your rotational core strength, targeting your abs and obliques while also improving your hip and shoulder mobility and stability. You’ll feel this move working the muscles around your ribs, your shoulders and arms as well as your quads.

It requires no equipment to do as well and can even be a great way to get your blood pumping, making it a fun move to even use as additional core work in an interval cardio workout.

Plus the basic Sit Thru can so easily be combined with other moves to match your needs and goals, whether it’s performing it as a Burpee Sit Thru, Crawl with Sit Thru or even Sit Thru to Thoracic Bridge!

So how do you do this amazing basic Sit Thru move and what if you aren’t yet ready for the full variation?

How To Do The Sit Thru:

To do the Sit Thru, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Tuck your toes under and press up onto your hands and toes or balls of your feet.

This is a bulldog position and your knees should be hovering a few inches off the ground.

Lift one foot to kick under your body as you rotate to face that way. As you bring your leg forward and through, extending it out, lift your hand on the side you’re kicking toward so you can rotate your chest open.

You will be supporting yourself with your other hand and foot. Make sure to keep that arm straight and do not shrug the shoulder.

You want to rotate all the way through with your leg out straight so that you are almost sitting, and even could touch your butt to the ground if you needed to pause and re-balance. This is the sit thru.

Then rotate back close, placing your hand back down as you bend your knee to move back into that bulldog position.

You want to avoid your legs straightening out more into the plank as you perform this move. That tight position is what not only works your quads but helps improve your mobility.

You also want to make sure your hands stay under your shoulders to help keep your shoulders stable while improving your shoulder mobility. Do not shrug as you do this move.

Then kick through to the other side.

The faster you move, the more challenging, and even cardio, the move will be!

But what if you don’t have the mobility or shoulder stability yet to do this move?

How To Modify The Sit Thru:

One of my favorite ways to modify the Sit Thru is off a bench or incline. By placing your hands up on a bench, you provide more space to perform the sit thru and you reduce the strain and load on your arms and shoulders, abs and quads.

It can allow you to still work on that same position and rotational move while improving your shoulder stability without the strain.

As you feel more comfortable and improve your mobility, you can lower the incline over time.

If you do not have an incline, you can also modify this move by kicking your leg under in that bulldog position without raising your hand. This can be great if you don’t yet have the shoulder stability too, however it does take out some of the benefits.

SUMMARY:

Just remember a move is only as good as our implementation. We need to regress to progress and make sure we are not just replicating a movement pattern but also feeling the correct muscles working.

Have some fun including the sit thru in your routine and feel that core working!

Ready to learn how to use moves to match your needs and goals?

Check out my 1:1 Online Coaching Program:

—> LEARN MORE