Seated Oblique Twists with Medicine Ball

The medicine ball is actually one of the oldest pieces of fitness equipment around, having been used thousands of years ago by the Greeks and the Persians. More recently it has been used by boxers to build core strength, and it’s now being used by a wide range of fitness enthusiasts to build endurance, strength, and to work the core. The Seated Oblique Twists with Medicine Ball is one of the more popular exercises, because it combines the core toning abilities of the medicine ball with the well known training abilities of Oblique Twists.

As you may have guessed, the Seated Oblique Twists with Medicine Ball are used to target the love handles, which often develop due to increased stomach fat along with weak internal and external oblique muscles. While some readers may well be familiar with Oblique Crunches, trainers often note that doing this exercises is actually more back and neck friendly, due to the fact that it’s done from a seated position, rather than a lying position.

To get started doing this exercise, make sure the medicine ball is near by and take a seat on the floor, making sure that your knees are bent in front of you and your feet are firmly planted on the floor. Then contract your abdominal muscles, and keep them contracted, while making sure that your shoulders are relaxed. We should also mention that the closer your feet are to you, and the closer together they are, the harder the exercise is, and visa versa.

Once you’re in the starting position, begin leaning back slowly, ensuring that the spine is straight and that your spine hasn’t begun to round. Then grasp the medicine ball and place it at chest level. Begin winding to the right, bringing the medicine ball with you to floor level, but don’t let it touch the floor. The object is to bring the ball as close to the floor as possible, without touching, and keeping you’re back straight as you go. Bring the ball and your body back to center, straighten up, take a minute, and then do the same move on the left side. Also, make sure not to move to quickly from side to side, because you begin using momentum rather you’re your core muscles, so your core isn’t worked properly.

Trainers often suggest doing 8 to 12 repetitions, and 1 to 3 sets of the Seated Oblique Twists with Medicine Ball. This exercise is often used along with other stomach fat burning exercises that target other areas of the core, including the Half Curl and the Reverse Crunch.