Internal Obliques
The Internal Obliques muscles of the deep core is the intermediate muscle group of the abdominal complex, located just beneath the external oblique and just over the transverse abdominal muscle (TVA).
Internal Obliques structure
The Internal Obliques’ fibers run along with the external oblique muscle, starting at the thoracolumbar fascia in the base of the lower back, the anterior 2/3 of the iliac crest (the very part of the hip bone) also at the side half of the (IL) inguinal ligament. The muscle fibers move along these point up and towards the midline to the insertions of the muscle on the lower edges of the tenth through twelfth ribs and the linea alba (abdominal midline seam)
Internal Obliques core functions
The internal oblique muscles are responsible for two major functions. First, they act as antagonists to the diaphragm, helping to lessen the volume of the chest cavity during exhalation. As the diaphragm contracts, it brings the wall of the chest cavity down, raising the volume in the lungs when filling with air. Conversely, when the internal obliques contract they compress the organs of the abdomen, pushing them up into the diaphragm which intrudes back into the chest cavity reducing the volume of the air filled lungs, producing an exhalation.
On the end, as the internal obliques contract they squeeze the internal organs of the abdomen, pushing organs up into the diaphragm muscle which then go back into the thoric cavity lessening the volume of air filling the lungs, producing the exhalation. This contraction rotates and bends the trunk of the torso by pulling the ribs and mid-section into the hips and lower back. The internal oblique muscles work with the external oblique muscles of the opposite side to complete the torsional motion of the trunk of the torso. This action is important in the core training program for core strength conditioning of the Internal Obliques.
More Core Training Resources:
Below are links to other core training resources