Try These Oblique Exercises If You Want to Get Strong, Toned Abs

When it comes to tightening up that midsection, many of us focus on the six-pack zone. We want Halle Berry's abs and we want 'em now.

But the obliques are your waist's unsung hero. Both the external and internal obliques are in charge of rotating your torso and flexing your spine laterally. In other words, they're the reason you can throw a ball, swing at a pi?ata, or simply turn around. The obliques are also important for stabilizing your trunk and maintaining your posture as you move about your everyday life. So, yeah, you don't want to forget about them.

If you're not sure how to target your obliques, start here. We've got 15 of the best oblique exercises you can do at home with minimal equipment. Pick five exercises to form a circuit you can do every other day. Then when they start to get easy, increase the reps and/or switch up the exercises for a new challenge.

Equipment: yoga mat, dumbbell, and your strong self

Sets and reps: for each exercise, aim to get 10-20 reps for 2-3 sets