Reps Only exercise

Russian Twist form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The Russian twist is a seated rotational exercise performed leaning back with the torso at roughly forty-five degrees, turning side to side with or without a weight to train the obliques and rectus abdominis under an isometric hip-flexor hold. Athletes in rotational sports use it to build trunk rotation strength and endurance, and lifters add a plate, dumbbell, or medicine ball to progressively overload the movement.

Russian Twist illustration

How to do Russian Twist

  1. 1Sit on the floor with your knees bent, heels lightly touching or hovering, and lean your torso back to about 45 degrees with a straight spine.
  2. 2Hold your hands together or grip a weight in front of your chest and brace your core.
  3. 3Exhale as you rotate your torso to one side, turning your shoulders and chest rather than just swinging your arms.
  4. 4Keep your back from rounding and avoid whipping side to side with momentum.
  5. 5Inhale as you rotate back through center and turn to the other side, counting each side as one rep and keeping the tempo controlled.

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Track Russian Twist in Plates

Save this movement to a workout template, log sets and rest periods, and keep your training history in one focused gym tracker.