Seated Twist

How to do it

Sit tall with both legs extended in front of you. Bend one knee and cross that foot to the floor outside the opposite thigh; the bottom leg can stay long or fold in. Plant the same-side hand behind the hips. Inhale and lengthen up through the crown; exhale and rotate toward the bent knee, hooking the opposite elbow outside it. Let each inhale make space and each exhale deepen the turn, the gaze following last over the back shoulder.

Why it's good for runners

It restores rotation to a spine that running keeps mostly in the sagittal plane, lengthening the obliques and the muscles alongside the spine. Sitting upright lets the twist build from the base of the spine rather than collapsing into the shoulders.

Common mistakes

Don't lead with the head and wrench the neck — the rotation starts low, at the base of the spine, and the neck simply finishes it. And don't round and slump toward the knee; stay tall so the spine turns rather than folds.