Obliques not getting targeted?

Since the russian twists I am having trouble targeting my obliques, I am doing the elbow side plank twists and I kinda feel them but they dont really seem to fire up like the hollow body hold does and the next day I am not feeling anything in them(I stopped having sore abs the day after training them not sure if good or bad).

Hi Edoardo,

If you are unsure about your form, I recommend to submit a form check. This is definitely the best way to ensure that you're on right track. After doing the same exercises for a while you won't get as sore anymore, this is not an indicator of the quality of your workout.

Edoardo -- Don't fret, my friend. As you progress through the program, your obliques will get shredded! Side Lever workouts alone will see to that!

I'm not concerned about the shredded part as I'm patient but to actually targeting the obliques.

thank you Pauline I will submit a check

The course does not neglect the obliques, I assure you.  However, you need to prove good core stabilization and control before you get to that point.

48 minutes ago, Douglas Wadle said:

The course does not neglect the obliques, I assure you.  However, you need to prove good core stabilization and control before you get to that point.

And I never said that. Maybe reading the post I made will help you understand what I wrote.

Edoardo, the course starts off easy. If you are not feeling it in your obliques there are 2 possibilities.

A. You are not doing them correctly. Easily mitigated with a form check video.

B. Your obliques are conditioned enough that this exercise, performed correctly, is not a challenge. I encourage you to try to actively contract the obliques if the external loading alone doesn't force them to do so. Crank those side muscles as tight as you reasonably can. This will also prepare you for future more difficult progressions.

Best,

Matt

Edoardo, I have a similar problem. I found forcing myself to really twist fired my obliques up. It took a couple sessions to really "find" my obliques so I can force the twisting.

Does this que make sense and change your experience? "Twist to place the dumbbell as far behind your waist as possible"

BTW, I'm assuming you were talking about Russian twists. Sorry if I got that wrong..

@Mark 

I am doingg the side plank twists but I understand what you mean, I used to force the russian twists too to feel my obliques.

now I am gonna try just side planks as much as I can hold and see if those target them.

Great post Edoardo,

When you are ready it would be our pleasure to help you with your form for any movements, please don't hesitate to submit videos anytime.

Cool beans! Lemme know what works for you, because I"ll probably have the same issue! Best of luck!

I was doing this exercise wrong and Alessandro Mainente corrected me. Maybe that s what happening to some of you. The floor should be reached only by the twisting of the torso and the shoulder must be pulled back all the time. Does it make sense? Even that is not a super fire exercise, you ll feel more pe 3.