Side hustle: forget a six pack, London's top PTs know it's all about the obliques

There is a saying beloved of a certain type — the type that shares workout selfies on Instagram and arrives to anything short of a wedding wearing Lululemon: “Abs are made in the winter”.

It’s a fairly odious way of saying that hewn abs take months and months of work before they reach a standard suitable for peacocking on Instagram.

But unless your raison d’être is flashing your midriff on Instagram — in which case, do carry on — then training your abs at a cost to the rest of your abdomen rather misses the point. Leave the #fitfam to their abs obsession and focus your training on your obliques: it’s the overlooked area that trainers and athletes are obsessed with, as strong obliques can safeguard against injury.

A swift anatomy refresher: the obliques are those muscles that run down the side of the abdomen. Prod yourself in the side and you should be able to feel them. And while six-packs and ab cracks serve little functional purpose, oblique training can strengthen other parts of the body, making you a more well-rounded athlete, explains Joe Khan, a trainer at London boxing studio Kobox.“Strong and conditioned obliques reduce the risk of injury, especially in the lower back and shoulders,” Khan confirms. They can also improve posture, he adds, which is surely bait for time-poor Londoners who spend eight hours a day contorted over keyboards, massaging knotted necks and seized-up shoulders.