Two Ab Exercises with a Twist for Rock-Hard Obliques and Explosive Core Power

The muscles of the abdominals are always on the list of improvements people would like to make to their physique. I've got two exercises that can help you not only develop obliques that jump out of your abs and demand attention but also help you develop rock-solid core power and strength.

As always, there will be a link to view pictures of the exercises in action at the end of this article.

The first abdominal exercise is one that I call the "Stretched Flying Cable Crunch." It is done using the Cable Crossover machine. This exercise allows you to place direct tension on the upper oblique area to sides of the upper abs where the obliques form the "fingers" that truly finish a physique.

Start by attaching two single handles to the high pulleys of the crossover machine. You will be using a moderately heavy weight for the exercise itself but you can start light to get an idea of the movement first.

Grasping the two handles, kneel down then walk a few steps forward on your knees. As you kneel down, you will need to rotate your shoulders so that your arms are being stretched behind your back (your palms will be facing up in this position). The reason you want to step forward a bit is to get a better stretch on the obliques.

From this position, you can perform one of three movements: a cable crunch straight forward, a side crunch to the left or a side crunch to the right. The angle of the cables form a direct line of pull for the obliques on the opposing side of the body, e.g. when you side crunch to the left, the right pulley has a direct line of pull on the left obliques.

I've found that a good way to execute this exercise is to cycle between the three movements during the set - do one crunch to the front, one to the left, one to the front, one to the right, one to the front, one back to the left, etc. This will give you a balanced workl...

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