We take some things for granted. As a bodybuilder it has either been my legs, calves, shoulders or my abs that have been taken for granted. Most bodybuilders never think of there obliques or in some circles there serratus if at all only when summer or a competition is approaching then and only then is there leanest condition required. We are confident that our serratus will etch in impressively once we strip away the body fat. Unfortunately this is never true for most of us, even if by some miracle we get dialed in at the last minute. Your obliques would be more impressive when trained on a regular basis. There many reasons why we, as bodybuilders never train most body parts as well our serratus. The primary reason is we are afraid that we will overdevelop the obliques thus widening the waistline and looking blocky. The other is there is no incentive to train what the world cannot see. The finger like strands of the obliques are the most impressive feature on a bodybuilder when he or she is fat free and in the flexed position of a side chest, triceps or ab shot. The fear that we have of over developing the serratus which is valid is often used as a cop-out. What we don’t see is out of mind for most of us another is laziness, but regular exercise will keep them fat free and toned. The sarratus is another muscle and may help to keep them visible even when there is a thin layer of fat, more important regular training will keep them looking impressive. When we get ripped if we where ignoring our serratus in the off season, why should we expect them to be at there best when we hit the beach or the stage?
The obliques are on the side of your lower torso tied in to your lower back, lower abdominals and hips at the bottom of the serratus and upper absand pectorals at the top. There function is to tilt and twist your torso side to side. The serratus anterior lies just under your armpits, between your pecs, your lats, and the upper portion of your external obliques. There is also a serratus posterior under the latissimus dorsi which is out of view. When developed they look like ribs under your skin. There function is to assist in pulling the scapula (shoulder blade) forward and rotating them upwards. Like when you are doing a pullover movement. So to work your entire side you can break this muscle into three movements, lower obliques, upper obliques and the serratus as not to get confused and lose out on great results.
LOWER OBLIQUES
External obliques is the most neglected muscle because we are afraid to have too much muscle, there giving a wider look to our waistline. This can be true for most of us so those of us with the tendency to have wide hips need to be careful , but obliques have to be trained to get maximum detail and there are exercises that can give you more tone than mass like twisting, side bends and jumping jacks . Start with a broom stick either standing or seated on a bench, if standing keep feet together, knees bent and twist until the tip of the broom stick is fully in front of you in the middle. Repeat for the other side begin with sets of twenty five per side in controlled movements. You can increase the rep as they get easier. Side bends can be done with weight or without depending on if you have problems with the widing of the waist or not, start with feet shoulder width apart and slowly bend to one side reaching as far down the calf muscle as you can. To begin with you can also use a low cable when doing this exercise. A similar exercise is side crunches. Side crunches are more difficult than standing side bends, so start with low reps if you must but try to work up to sets in the 20-25 rep range. You can add weight for more resistance. Supersetting 25-40 rep set of twists with standing side bends keeps your obliques toned but will not add mass.
UPPER OBLIQUES
Thickness in the upper obliques (also known as the intercostals).These tie into your serratus and look like fingers. They are dramatic when thick, like the pattern on most pro bodybuilders like Ronnie Coleman , Jay Cutler and Dexter Jackson . Crunches hit this upper area, other exercises are crunches with a slight twist, where you aim your elbow to your left knee and vice versa alternating reps. You can also use an overhead cable to perform crunches contracting your torso sideways to the resistance. Doing these exercises while seated or kneeling shortens the movement and focus more pressure in the upper obliques. An exercise that is unique for isolating the upper obliques is the upper side bends. This is done by troquing your torso to one side like when doing an ab pose. now torque to the other side. Do this by going back and forth in this manner. Once you get the exercise you will be able to do it with your hands at your sides. A short flexing movement focused on the tension at the contraction, keep the reps high.
SERRATUS
They are between your chest and abs and are seen from the front. The sarratus share the most common with your back muscles. They assist in overhead exercises like the pulldown and chins when done to the front and they are the principal movers when doing the pullovers. Pullovers are done during back workouts. Some trainers like in an overall chest workout. Pullovers focus on the upper lats and the invisible upper obliques. If using a dumbbell, machine or barbell go through the full range of motion with your elbows as far overhead as possible. The machine allows you to bring your hands all the way down to your waist keeping the resistance through the entire range of motion. Dumbbell pullovers on a bench gives you a better stretch from the start by performing this with your shoulders resting on the side of the bench, hips kept low and hands gripping a single dumbbell. Reps should be between 8-10. Stiff-arm pulldowns are a serratus exercise that stress the outer upper lats. Stand two feet from the bar, with your hands at shoulder width keeping your arms straight pull the bar to your waist level. Keep reps between 15-20. Go for the stretch and contraction in the uppe area of your lats and serratus. You can also work your serratus using a rope,this works your serratue and your front abs. while kneeing on the floor ,attach a rope to an overhead cable pull the rope down and in for the crunch not to Be confuse with rope crunches where you hold the rope in place behing your head. Let the extend to a Straigth-arm position with each repthe motion is similar to a pullover but with an ab contraction at the end. Can be tricky to master but will tie your abs to your serratus, also by alternating from side to side With a twist you can bring your upper obliques along for the torture session. There is no need for a Routine by doing three or four sets of one of the exercise into your offseason workout you can do two exercise close to a contest or summer to burn fat way when you hit the beach. Your serratus can be all they can with just a little training , by adding them in to your workout regularly and stripping away the layer of fat that covers them , always pay full attention to these muscles and the girls will go wild for the added look.
http://www.bodycoreonline.com/shopcategory/Fat_Burners
