I read that training your obliques directly will make it too big, and that this in turn will detract from the classic V-shape. For those who have experience and have trained obliques, please tell me if this is true for you. Also let me know if you have avoided oblique training for fear of getting too massive of a waist. If you have no experience but want to pitch in an idea or thought, feel free.
It hasn’t happened to me but I have such a naturally small and narrow waist it would be difficult. I know it is possible to thicken the obliques to an extent that they start to detract from the appearance of the v-taper, but it’s not gonna happen overnight…so go ahead and train them and strengthen them but if they start to thicken then cut back on the volume.
I dunno. My obliques are the only decent ab feature I have. I’m 5’10" w/31" waist. My obs protrude about 1/2" over my pelvis and are very distinct. They add to a muscular appearance. Until recent I couldn’t figure out why they were so big but then someone in the gym pointed out that my form on one arm db rows was really bad. I was using 100# db but twisting at the top to get height.
Dude, THis problem exists for people that have too much bodyfat. Muscle developmentof the obliques can push existing body fat forward to give a fat and smooth appearance. This is a battle I am dealing with. I had Lipo to cut my gut down in January and am now working on dropping the last of my body fat to reduce the appearance of the “false fat” that the obliques can create. It is worse after a training day where I push the obliques. As a side note. Lipo pulls fat from outside the muscle and on top of the somach and not any of the fat inside the internal organs. This is the fat I am working on cutting to develope a more ripped and less smooth appearance. Peace