If your core workout is to bend at the crunch and hold it right away on the board, it’s time to add a Russian twist to your routine.
“In life, we use a lot of movement, including the plane of every movement. One of them is rotation,” says Cody Braun of CSCS. And when you skip it, you open yourself up to a great strength and functional deficit.
Whether you change direction on the soccer field or reach for the back seat of the car, you need a strong, stable core that can wear yourself and protect your spine, rotating left and right.
Additionally, if you want a core carved from any angle, you need to get an oblique twist exercise like a Russian twist.
Words of caution before performing Russian twists
Form is the most important thing when performing exercises. But as soon as your form slips in the Russian twist, you Intention Feel it – it’s probably on your waist.
To ensure proper movement of the core muscles and avoid discharging stress in your lower back, it is important to focus on maximizing your core throughout the exercise, as you are about to be punched into your intestines. This will stiffen the torso and provide proper alignment.
If at any point in the Russian twist, you feel the waist arch is exaggerated, try a variation of movement (see below) or cut off the set there and rest before starting again.
Russia’s twist: step-by-step instructions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3whj3hknciw
program: Coarse around the edges
Good results: Total Body Killer Core
- Sit on the floor, hold a pair of dumbbells in front of your chest, and bend your knees a few inches from the floor to balance your butt as your legs.
- Keep your back flat and on the core, rotate your torso to the right and lower the weight towards the floor outside your right hip.
- Return to the starting position and repeat to the left. Continue with alternating aspects and perform equal personnel for each.
Russian twist: Muscles worked
- diagonal: These muscles, including both deep internal obliques and more superficial external obliques, sit along the sides of the torso and are the main drivers for both rotation and lateral flexion.
- Lateral abdomen: For short, called TVA, the lateral abdomen behave like an internal corset that stabilizes the spine and keeps everything neat and tight.
- Natural Abdomen: These covetable six-pack muscles help to bend the lumbar vertebrae and keep the torso lifted (crunch style) during exercise.
How to make the Russian twist easier
If the Russian twist is too difficult for you, or if you have discomfort on your back, try running it using only your weight or feet on the floor.
“Place your feet on the ground and you’ll gain stability through the contact points,” Brown says. This helps reduce the amount of work your core is doing, maintain support and relieve lower back stress.
An alternative to the Russian twist
Also, there are plenty of other spinning core exercises that can be added to a routine that places minimal stress on your back, whether you perform a Russian twist or not. Try these core moves and stick to what feels good to you.
1. Bike crunch
- Lie on your back with your legs straight in place, fold your fingers behind your fingers, gently resting your head on your fingers. Point your elbows to the side and relax your neck.
- Push your hips into the ground, lift your shoulder blades off the ground and bring your right knee towards your chest, then rotate your right knee and turn your right knee towards your right knee. Keep your left foot straight.
- Bend your left leg and straighten your right leg and reverse movement, then rotate your torso and enter it towards your chest as you turn your left knee towards your left knee.
- Once you continue for the person in charge and conquer the appropriate form, switch legs and rotate faster to introduce aerobic elements. Your hips should stay on the floor for the entire movement.
2. Standing band rotation
- Secure the resistance band to sturdy objects at the height of the navy.
- Spread your legs hip-width, standing next to the anchor point, bend your knees slightly.
- Hold the handle with both hands, arms fully extending in front of your chest, spinning your torso towards the station.
- Decorating the core, rotating the torso, heading away from the station, but his arms still extending in front of his chest.
- Pause, then slowly reverse the movement and return to the start.
3. Low to high dumbbell chops
- Grab the dumbbells with both hands (one hand on each end) and lower them to a quarter square.
- Hold the dumbbells outside your right knee, and fully extend your arms and diagonally from your body. Your torso should face weight.
- Extend your arms completely, torso toward your weight, squeeze your abs, pivot to the left, release your right heel, and pull up the dumbbells above your hips until you’re above your left shoulder.
- Pause and then slowly reverse the movement to start. Repeat on the other side.
4. Plank Cross Tap
- His arms are straightened, lined up from his shoulders (but slightly wider) to his body from his head to his heels.
- Keep your back flat, lift your right foot and bring your right knee to your left elbow.
- Return to the starting position. Equal personnel will be provided on both sides.