The five oblique exercises worth building a routine around are the side plank, the Pallof press, the suitcase carry, the woodchop and the bicycle crunch. The first three train the trunk to resist being bent or twisted, which is what the obliques spend most of the day doing. The last two train them as movers, and they are the two to leave out while a back is sore.
Where the ache sits higher up and across the back rather than at the side, the causes worth separating are covered in PhysioHub's guide to middle and upper back pain.
The obliques do two jobs: they produce rotation and side bending, and they stop rotation and side bending happening when something else pushes. Four of these five train the second job, which is the one the trunk spends most of its day doing.
| Exercise | Best for | What makes it stand out | Dose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Side plank | Sideways strength, whole trunk | The highest oblique demand available with no equipment | 3 × 15–40 seconds each side |
| 2. Pallof press | Resisting rotation | Trains the obliques with the spine completely still | 3 × 8–12 each side |
| 3. Suitcase carry | Loaded, usable strength | The easiest way to add real weight to oblique training | 4 × 20–40 metres each side |
| 4. Cable or band woodchop | Producing rotation | The only entry that trains the obliques as movers | 3 × 10–12 each side |
| 5. Bicycle crunch | Rotation with no equipment | High oblique activity from the floor alone | 3 × 12–20 |
This is a documentary review of published biomechanics and clinical evidence rather than a laboratory test run by us. Around fifteen exercises aimed at the obliques were considered, including the side plank in several variations, Pallof press, suitcase carry, woodchop, bicycle crunch, Russian twist, hanging knee raise with rotation, side bend, windmill, Copenhagen plank, oblique crunch, landmine rotation and the Swiss ball pike.
Four criteria decided the order: measured oblique activity where testing exists, whether the exercise loads the trunk in a direction the others miss, how much spinal load it produces for the muscle work it returns, and how many people can perform it with a sensitive lower back.
The sources read were Escamilla and colleagues' 2010 electromyographic study in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, which recorded external oblique activity reaching 84 per cent of maximum voluntary contraction in the Swiss ball pike, their 2016 comparison of supine, prone and side positions in Sports Health, and NICE guideline NG59 on exercise for low back pain. Evidence checked in August 2026.
What could not be checked: no trial has compared these five head to head for the outcomes people care about, and electromyography measures activity in single sets rather than strength gained over months. Treat the ranking as an informed clinical judgement.
Train resisting rotation before producing it. The trunk spends most of the day stopping unwanted movement: carrying a bag on one side, pushing a door, standing on one leg. Exercises where the trunk holds still while a load tries to twist it train that directly.
Be careful about combining rotation with flexion under load. Twisting while bent forward under resistance is the combination most likely to provoke a sensitive back, which is why the twisting exercises here sit at the bottom of the list rather than the top.
Add weight rather than repetitions. Once a side plank holds for a minute it has become an endurance test. Adding load through a carry or a heavier band builds strength faster than extending the clock.
Compare the two sides deliberately. Obliques are the muscle group where side-to-side differences are largest and most meaningful, particularly in racket and throwing sports. Always start with the weaker side and match the stronger one to it.
What it is
A held position on one forearm and the side of the feet, with the hips lifted so the body forms a straight line from head to ankles.
Who it suits
Almost everyone, including most people with a settled history of low back pain. The knees-bent version brings it within reach of anyone.
How to do it
Elbow directly under the shoulder, knees bent to start, hips pushed up and forward until the body is in line. Hold 15 to 40 seconds each side, three sets. Progress by straightening the legs, then lifting the top leg, then resting a weight on the hip.
What the evidence supports
The side plank is the standard way to load the obliques and the lateral hip together while the spine stays in a neutral position. In Escamilla and colleagues' 2016 comparison in Sports Health, side-position exercises produced the greatest lumbar paraspinal recruitment of the positions tested, so this trains the whole trunk rather than the obliques alone.
Limits and cautions
Shoulder pain in the supporting arm usually means the elbow has drifted out from under the shoulder. Anyone with a painful hip on the down side often prefers the knees-bent version indefinitely, which remains a genuine exercise. Letting the hips sag turns the hold into a rest.
Time and effort
Four minutes for both sides. Compare the two every week; a difference of more than about a third is worth acting on.
Why it made the list
It ranks first on the combination of demand, accessibility and safety. No other exercise here trains the sideways direction as directly with nothing but a floor.
What it is
Standing side-on to a band or cable at chest height, holding the handle at the chest and pressing it straight out while the trunk resists being twisted.
Who it suits
Anyone with a sensitive lower back, anyone in a rotational sport, and anyone whose trunk training has been all planks.
How to do it
Anchor a band at chest height, stand side-on about a stride away, and hold the handle at the sternum with both hands. Press it straight out until the arms are extended, hold for two seconds while the band tries to rotate you, then return. Three sets of 8 to 12 each side. Standing further from the anchor increases the challenge.
What the evidence supports
Anti-rotation exercises produce meaningful internal and external oblique activity while the spine stays still and the compressive load stays low. That combination is what makes the Pallof press a standard component of trunk programmes for people with back pain, where loaded twisting is usually the thing to avoid. Position changes the demand, so half-kneeling and tall-kneeling versions load the obliques differently from standing.
Limits and cautions
Letting the trunk rotate towards the anchor as the arms extend removes the point of the exercise. If the whole body is turning, move closer to the anchor. It needs a band or a cable machine, which is the only real barrier.
Time and effort
Six minutes for both sides.
Why it made the list
It is the purest anti-rotation exercise available, it can be loaded progressively with a stronger band, and it suits the group of people most other oblique exercises exclude.
What it is
Walking a set distance holding a heavy weight in one hand, keeping the trunk upright and level.
Who it suits
Everyone, and particularly anyone who wants oblique training that transfers directly into carrying shopping, tools and luggage.
How to do it
Pick up a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand, stand tall, and walk 20 to 40 metres without letting the trunk lean either towards or away from the weight. Swap sides and repeat. Four rounds each side. Going heavier is the progression.
What the evidence supports
Loading one side of the body forces the trunk muscles on the opposite side to work continuously to stop the body folding sideways. It is the most direct way to apply real external load to the obliques, and the skill requirement is close to zero, which is why carries have become a standard part of trunk programmes across both rehabilitation and strength training.
Limits and cautions
Very few. Grip strength usually limits the exercise before the trunk does, which is a legitimate training effect in itself. Leaning away from the weight to counterbalance it is the fault to watch for, and it means the weight is too heavy.
Time and effort
Six minutes, and it needs a corridor or garden rather than equipment.
Why it made the list
It is the only exercise here where the load can be increased indefinitely, and it trains the obliques in the exact task most people need them for.
What it is
A diagonal pulling movement across the body, from high to low or low to high, driven by the trunk rotating.
Who it suits
Anyone in a throwing, striking or racket sport, and anyone whose trunk training has been entirely static.
How to do it
Anchor a band high, stand side-on with the feet planted, and pull the handle down and across the body to the opposite hip, letting the trunk rotate and the back foot pivot. Return under control. Three sets of 10 to 12 each side, at a moderate load.
What the evidence supports
The obliques are the primary producers of trunk rotation, and no other exercise on this list trains that role under load. Rotational power matters in every sport involving a racket, a bat or a throw, and it is trained by moving against resistance rather than by holding still against it.
Limits and cautions
Rotating through the lower back rather than the hips and mid-back is the fault that causes trouble. The back foot should pivot and the hips should turn. Anyone with current low back pain should leave loaded rotation out until symptoms settle and use the Pallof press instead.
Time and effort
Six minutes for both sides, and it needs a cable machine or a long band.
Why it made the list
It covers the job the four other exercises deliberately avoid, which makes it valuable for a specific group of people and unnecessary for everyone else.
What it is
Lying on the back, alternately bringing one elbow towards the opposite knee while the other leg extends.
Who it suits
Anyone with a healthy back who wants rotational abdominal work from the floor with no equipment at all.
How to do it
Lie on your back, hands resting lightly at the sides of the head, and lift the shoulder blades off the floor. Bring one knee in and rotate the opposite shoulder towards it, then switch slowly. Three sets of 12 to 20 total. Slow is harder here, which is the opposite of how most people perform it.
What the evidence supports
The bicycle manoeuvre has measured well for both rectus abdominis and oblique activity in comparative testing of abdominal exercises, which is why it has stayed in circulation for two decades. It requires nothing at all, which is its main practical advantage over the four exercises above it.
Limits and cautions
It combines spinal flexion with rotation under the load of the trunk itself, which is the pattern most likely to aggravate disc-related back pain. Anyone in a current episode should stay with the side plank and Pallof press. Pulling on the neck with the hands is the standard technical fault and produces neck ache within a week.
Time and effort
Four minutes.
Why it made the list
It produces real oblique work with no equipment and no space, which keeps it useful. It ranks last because the movement pattern it uses is the one most likely to cause problems in the people most likely to be reading this.
| Exercise | Job trained | Equipment | Spine position | Usable with current back pain | Can be loaded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side plank | Resisting side bending | None | Neutral, held | Usually, knees bent first | Yes, weight on the hip |
| Pallof press | Resisting rotation | Band or cable | Neutral, standing | Yes, often the starting point | Yes, stronger band |
| Suitcase carry | Resisting side bending, loaded | One heavy weight | Neutral, upright | Yes, shorter distance | Yes, without limit |
| Woodchop | Producing rotation | Band or cable | Rotating | Not during a flare-up | Yes |
| Bicycle crunch | Producing rotation and flexion | None | Flexed and rotating | No | Barely |
The fifth column is the one that changes programmes. Three of these five can be trained through a week when the back is sore, and the two that cannot are the two that combine rotation with flexion.
If your back is sore right now, use the Pallof press and short suitcase carries, and add the side plank as soon as it is comfortable. Leave the twisting exercises out entirely for now.
If you play a racket sport or golf, do all five, and prioritise the woodchop and the suitcase carry. Compare your two sides every few weeks, because one-sided sports create real differences.
If you are training for a flatter stomach, treat these as strength work and handle body composition separately, because waist measurement follows total body fat. Our guide to losing weight safely covers that side of it.
If you have no equipment, the side plank and the bicycle crunch cover both jobs, and a heavy shopping bag makes a perfectly good suitcase carry.
If you have 8 minutes, twice a week, do side planks, a Pallof press and one heavy carry each side. That covers both directions and adds real load, alongside the general trunk work in our guide to the best ab exercises.
What has changed in clinic over the last couple of years is how many people arrive with a side-to-side story rather than a back story. Padel has grown fast across Sussex, and the courts around Mid Sussex and Brighton have brought in a steady flow of people playing a hard, one-sided, rotational sport two or three times a week, often having done nothing similar for twenty years.
The pattern in those assessments is consistent enough to be worth naming. The complaint is usually a nagging ache in the side or the lower back that appears late in a match, and the finding is a side plank that holds for 40 seconds on the dominant side and 15 on the other, along with a hip that gives way in single-leg standing on the same weaker side. The rotational power is being produced perfectly well; what fatigues is the trunk's ability to resist being pulled sideways at the end of a long game. That gap responds within about six weeks of training the weaker side first.
Where a one-sided ache has been building through a season, our page on back pain sets out how it is assessed and what the plan usually looks like.
What is the best oblique exercise?
The side plank. It produces the highest oblique demand available without equipment, it loads the trunk in the sideways direction that almost every other abdominal exercise misses, and it trains the lateral hip at the same time. It also keeps the spine in a neutral position, which makes it usable by most people with a history of back pain.
Do oblique exercises give you a smaller waist?
No. Training a muscle does not remove the fat over it, and a 2011 trial in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that six weeks of abdominal exercise five days a week produced no change in abdominal circumference, body fat percentage or abdominal skinfold measurements. Waist measurement follows overall body fat, which is driven by total energy balance.
Should I train obliques with weight?
Yes, once bodyweight versions are comfortable. The obliques are ordinary muscles and they respond to progressive load like any other. A suitcase carry with a heavy dumbbell, a Pallof press with a stronger band and a side plank with a weight on the hip are all straightforward ways to add load.
Are Russian twists good for obliques?
They train the obliques, and they combine loaded rotation with spinal flexion, which is the combination most likely to irritate a sensitive lower back. Anti-rotation exercises such as the Pallof press and the suitcase carry produce useful oblique work without that combination, which is why they rank above twisting movements here.
How often should I train my obliques?
Two or three sessions a week of about eight minutes is enough for most people. The obliques also work during every carry, every single-leg exercise and every overhead lift, so people who already train those need less direct work than they expect.
Why is one side much weaker than the other?
Some difference between sides is normal, particularly in anyone who plays a one-sided sport such as racket sports, golf or cricket. A difference of more than about a third in a side plank hold is worth training deliberately, by starting each set on the weaker side and matching the stronger side to whatever the weaker one managed.
Will oblique training help my back pain?
It can, as part of a broader exercise programme. NICE recommends exercise as the core treatment for low back pain, and the obliques contribute to controlling the trunk in the sideways and rotational directions where most awkward lifting happens. The evidence does not support the idea that any single trunk exercise fixes back pain on its own.
PhysioHub – Empowerment through Evidence-Based Education.
Every body is different. Book a thorough assessment and get advice that is specific to you and your goals.
Book an Appointment