Russian Twist

Seated rotational core hold with the bell passed side to side. Trains rotary trunk strength under a stable lumbar spine.

· 2 min read

kettlebell · core · rotation · obliques

The lesson

  1. 1

    Sit tall and lean back

    Knees bent, heels light on the floor, chest up, back long. Find a position you can hold without collapsing into it.

  2. 2

    Bell close to your chest

    Your arms carry it; they don't move it.

  3. 3

    Turn from the ribs

    Rotate your ribcage to tap the bell beside one hip, then the other, with your spine long. If your knees swing the opposite way to the bell, you're rocking rather than rotating — pin your feet and go slower.

  4. 4

    The test

    You should feel this at the sides of your waist. Feel it in your lower back and you've started rounding — sit taller and shorten the reach.

Russian Twist

How to do it

Sit with your knees bent and heels lightly on the floor. Hold the bell at your chest and lean back to a tall, supported position — chest up, back long. Rotate from your ribs (not your arms), tapping the bell beside one hip, then the other.

Why it's good for runners

Running asks the trunk to resist rotation, not produce it: every stride your arm and opposite leg swing through, and the job of the core is to stop that turning into a twist of the spine. The Russian Twist builds the rotary strength that makes resisting possible — you own a range by being strong in it. Treat it as capacity work for the obliques, not as a simulation of running.

Common mistakes

Don't round your lower back to reach further. If you feel it in your lower back, sit taller and slow down — a loaded twist through a rounded spine is the one version of this to avoid. The rotation comes from the ribs, and the knees and feet stay still; legs that swing the other way are counterbalancing instead of letting the trunk work.

Appears in these routines

Structural · 04

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