How to Russian twist: Form, Muscles and Mistakes

What it is

A seated exercise in which you lean back with the feet raised or planted and rotate the torso side to side, sometimes holding a weight. It trains the obliques through rotation, and it is one of the most commonly butchered movements in any gym.

Muscles worked

Primary: Obliques. Secondary: Core (rectus abdominis), Hip flexors.

How to perform it

Sit on the floor with your knees bent, and lean back to roughly forty-five degrees with a flat back.
Hold a light weight or medicine ball at your chest, or clasp your hands together.
Rotate your torso deliberately to one side, turning through the ribcage rather than just swinging the arms.
Rotate through to the other side under control, keeping the chest up and the lower back from rounding.

Common form faults

Swinging the arms while the torso stays still. Move the ribcage, not the hands. If the shoulders are not turning, the obliques are not working.
Rounding the lower back and collapsing the chest. Sit taller, lean back less far, and keep the chest lifted throughout.
Going fast for high reps with a heavy weight. Slow down and lighten up. Fast loaded rotation with a rounded back is the version that gives this exercise its poor reputation.

Programming

A core accessory in moderate reps per side, done slowly and with a light load. If you can only pick one rotational exercise, a cable woodchop or a Pallof press is the better choice — this one is popular rather than superior.

Frequently asked questions

Are Russian twists bad for your back?

Not inherently, but the common execution — fast, heavy, with a rounded lower back — loads a flexed and rotating spine, which is the position most associated with disc injury. Done slowly with a tall chest and a light weight it is fine.

Should my feet be off the floor?

Feet down is more stable and lets you focus on the rotation. Lifting them adds hip-flexor and balance demand, which makes it harder without making it better at training the obliques.