Personal trainer reveals how to do the Russian twist exercise 'without lower-back pinching' to build core strength and stability
Personal trainers love the Russian twist exercise as it's great for beginners - and very easy to tell when you're doing it right (and wrong)
The Russian twist is a powerhouse core exercise, perfect for slotting into your workout routine at the end of a strength training session or home workout. However, many people try it once and then never again after feeling a pinch in their lower back or feeling like it's doing nothing at all.
Once you get it right, it's one of the best functional core exercises, working the abdominals and obliques in a way that builds "rotational core strength" and directly translates to everyday life, says Mark Harris, a level 4 personal trainer and Mirafit ambassador.
"I regularly use Russian twists with my clients because they are an effective and easily adaptable core exercise," he says. Here's how to do one.
How to do the Russian twist exercise right
- Sit on a mat with your knees bent and legs together.
- With control, lean back until your upper body sits at a 45-degree angle to the floor.
- Make sure to keep your chest up, back straight, and core engaged throughout the movement. Breathe throughout.
- Lift your feet a couple of inches off the floor, engaging your core.
- Bring your hands together in front of you, then slowly turn your upper body to one side. Return to the centre.
- Complete the movement again on the other side, and switch sides until you reach your 12 repetitions.
Expert tip: "You should feel the effort through your abdominal muscles rather than your arms," says Mark. "As you rotate, your torso should twist in the direction of the weight, but avoid rounding your spine just to create more movement. The rotation should come from your torso while maintaining good posture throughout."
Benefits of the Russian twist exercise
1. Great for beginners
Those new to exercise or building core strength in particular will see benefits very quickly with this exercise. As Mark says, it's adaptable to all levels.
"Beginners can start with their heels on the floor using only their body weight, then progress by lifting their heels and adding resistance with a dumbbell or kettlebell as they become stronger," he says.
2. Easy to tell when you're doing it wrong
In the plank exercise, you can involuntarily raise your hips, making the plank easier and far less effective, and you might not realise. You'll certainly know if you're doing the Russian twist incorrectly, says Mark.
"If you feel any pain or pinching in your lower back, hips, or both, something needs adjusting," he says.
Start the movement again from scratch and adjust by leaving your feet on the floor to begin with, just rotating your upper body. If you've started using a weight, drop it for the moment and focus on your form.
3. May help reduce lower back pain
Strengthening the core muscles and those around the lower back, as you do with the Russian twist exercise, is one way to help reduce the risk of lower back pain down the line.
"However, if you have existing lower back issues, I wouldn't recommend it as your starting point, as there are more suitable exercises to build strength first," says Mark.
4. It's a functional movement
These days, the conversation around weight training is less about appearances and more about longevity - that's living better, not just for longer. We know that lifting weights can help with this, but those exercises need to be functional - replicating movements we do in everyday life.
Just like how the squat replicates standing up from a chair (or the loo!), Russian twists replicate the turning movement needed to look behind you quickly and can help resist unwanted twisting while carrying bags and other heavier objects.
5. Improves strength and definition
The Russian twist exercise, especially when done consistently over several weeks, is a "highly effective, compound bodyweight movement for conditioning the core", per research in IJFMR.
The study found that the exercise uses most of the core muscles, including the internal and external obliques (on the sides of the core), rectus abdominis (at the front), and transverse abdominis (the deepest of the core muscles; these act like a corset for the torso).
Together with dietary changes, working these muscles can help to create a more 'toned' look in the upper body as well.
