Wondering how to get a small waist without fancy gym equipment? You’re in the right place!
These small waist exercises at home target your obliques and core to help sculpt your waistline. And the best part? You only need 15 minutes and your own body weight.
Today’s workout walks you through 8 exercises that’ll really work those waist muscles. Let’s get started!
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Star Crunch
Let’s start things off with a dynamic diagonal crunch. For this one, you’ll be reaching across your body from a wide star position, which really targets those obliques to help sculpt your waist.
How to perform:
- Lie down on your back with your legs and arms wide, forming a “star” shape.
- Crunch your torso across your body, reaching one arm up and across toward the opposite leg.
- Lower your body back down with control.
- Alternate the crunching and reaching motion to the opposite side for each repetition.
Reverse Crunch
Time to work your lower abs with a twist—literally! You’ll add rotation to your reverse crunches, which takes a bit more core control but hits those waist muscles so well.
How to perform:
- Place your hands in a diamond shape underneath the small of your back.
- Pull your core in nice and tight.
- Perform a reverse crunch, bringing your knees toward your chest while simultaneously rotating your body.
- Straighten your legs out after the crunch.
- Bend your knees and repeat the motion, ensuring you continue to rotate and crunch.
Russian Twist
This classic move is all about finding your “biting point”—that spot where your core is trembling and working hard. You’ll hold that position and twist side to side to really fire up your obliques.
How to perform:
- Come up into a seated position and spread your glutes to ensure a steady base.
- Roll back slightly to your “biting point,” which is the point where your core is engaged and trembling.
- Lift your legs off the ground keeping your knees bent for balance.
- Rotate your torso from side to side, performing a Russian twist.
- Optionally, straighten your legs (out and in) after the Russian twist to increase the intensity.
Ankle Crunch
This exercise focuses on that diagonal crunching motion. You’ll reach toward your ankle while rotating across your body, which is key for targeting those side waist muscles instead of just your front abs.
How to perform:
- Lie down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Keep your left hand straight and place your right fingertips by your temple.
- Reach toward your ankle with your left hand.
- Crunch your right elbow towards your left knee, rotating your torso.
- Extend your left leg straight out, keeping your right knee bent.
- Repeat the motion on the same side, focusing on crunching across your body to engage the obliques/waist muscles.
- Now, switch sides and repeat the whole process.
Full Roll Up
Here’s a challenging one that tests your control. You’ll slowly roll up from lying flat to seated, keeping everything smooth and controlled. It’s harder than it looks, but it works your entire core!
How to perform:
- Lie on your back with your arms reaching up and over your head.
- Engage your core and come up into a full roll up to a seated position.
- Touch your hands to the side of your body at the top of the movement.
- Control your body as you roll back down to the lying position.
Sit-Up & Oblique Twist
Your core is probably on fire by now! For this one, you’ll hover one leg while crunching across your body. It takes some balance, but that’s what makes it so effective for your waist.
How to perform:
- Roll back to your “biting point.”
- Hover your left leg off the ground.
- Place your right fingertips by your temple.
- Crunch your torso across your body and straighten back out.
- Keep rotating across the body as you crunch.
Sit Up with Punch
Let’s add some power to your sit-ups. You’ll come all the way up and punch across your body, really rotating as you go. Those punches help you engage your obliques even more.
How to perform:
- Lie all the way down on your back.
- Come all the way up into a full sit-up.
- Once you are up, punch across your body, then punch across again.
- Roll your body back down, really rotating your body with the punches.
- For the final 10 seconds of the interval, hold the sit-up position and continue to punch across.
Side Plank
We’re finishing with a side plank variation. You can use your forearm or hand—whatever feels better.
You’ll thread your arm underneath your body, which adds movement and really works those waist muscles along with your shoulders.
How to perform:
- Come up into a side plank position, either on your forearm or your hand.
- Hold the plank position, working your shoulders and pulling your core in tight.
- Thread your top arm under your torso, rotating your body as you do so.
- Drop your hip toward the floor during the threading motion.
- Follow the movement of your hand with your eyes.
Article Medically reviewed by
I’m fitness coach Ashley Castleberry, an NASM-certified personal trainer and nutritionist, as well as a coach on an established YouTube Channel with over 1 million followers. With certifications from major fitness brands, I specialize in athletic, HIIT, and strength training. Leveraging my experience coaching clients on lifestyle changes, I provide customized exercise and nutrition guidance to help people reach their fitness goals, whether that be weight loss, muscle gain or overall health improvement.
