The ultimate core exercise: How to master the Russian Twist and get abs of steel

Some exercises become popular because of the people who do them and succeed in their field or sport. Take for example the Arnold press, which everyone does because of Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Bruce Lee’s dragon flag, or Virat Kohli’s barbell thrusters. Sometimes it’s entire countries or regions that inspire people to become fit.

The Japanese promote walking and balance work like no other country. And then there’s Russia dominating sport in the Soviet Era. Whether it was Sergey Bubka excelling at pole vault, or Yevgeny Grishin at skating, the Russia used sporting success as a big way to show its dominance, with fitness becoming a cornerstone of the national culture.

An offshoot of this dominance was people looking up to them as fitness idols. And these idols were spreading one particular exercise for a strong core: the Russian Twist. The conventional form of the exercise is done in a boat position (with the body resting on the buttocks and the legs out in front of you, usually elevated slightly off the ground, the torso slightly tilted back without support), and by twisting the core from one side to the other, initially without anything in the hands and progressing eventually to add weight or resistance. Progression can also include keeping the legs out without bending the knees, and increasing the elevation as your core gets stronger.

“Rotational training is key for most athletic sports as well as aesthetic development of the core. Movements like the Russian twist can help lifters increase the muscles’ ability to support movement at the spine by countering the rotational forces placed upon it. The Russian twist is a core exercise that targets most of the muscles of the torso and spinal stabilizers such as the transverse abdominis and external obliques,” states a Barbend.comarticle titled, Turn Your Core Training Up A Notch With The Russian Twist.

I wrote a detailed piece for Lounge a few years ago titled, Get Rid Of Your Love Handles By Exercising Your Obliques, but the Russian Twist is probably the first move you learn to do this. If getting into the boat position is not possible, then one can always start with the standing Russian twist, which is the first variation to try; however, make sure you use a plate or a kettlebell to make this worth it.

Adding weights is the obvious progression, and you could use any of medicine balls, kettlebells, plates or dumbbells for this. But one of my favourite variations is using a battle rope to do this. It changes the way the muscles work, adding an extra layer of hypertrophy and explosive power to the move. Because you’re not just moving the ropes from side to side, but also trying to add a wave to it, and that small but powerful whip that needs to be added to do so will make the twist so much more difficult.

A slightly easier version of this could be punching twists. In this you would throw your right arm out in a boxer’s punch when you twisted left and vice versa. Start without anything held in the hands but you may consider using light dumbbells eventually while throwing punches.

There are different ways to look at progression. The first being changing the form, like raising and straightening the legs; then comes added loading; then explosive power; and the most important one—coordination. This is where the leg-cross variation of the Russian Twist helps the most. This is meant to be slightly difficult in terms of learning the move, but it’s an excellent way to promote muscle linking.

So as you twist to the right side, you have to cross the right calf over your left. Then uncross as you’re ready to twist to the other side. And switch: cross the left calf over the right when you twist left.

You can also change the angle of the surface you’re working on. Some gyms possess a decline bench which is meant for ab exercises. If you don't have access to one, you can use a regular bench and set it up to a declining angle and then hook your legs into the pads on top. This will help the body remain in a boat position by opening the hip angle more, which means the obliques work extra hard when you do a rep. These are called Decline Russian Twists, and by performing them you change the angle ever so slightly to get the most out of the exercise. There is a high chance you will be able to use heavier weights in this as well.

Once you’ve learnt some of these moves, you can add a medicine ball slam to the twist. I prefer doing this next to a wall, which means work one side first and then the other. Lift the medicine ball, twist and slam it off the wall so it bounces off and you can catch it. Work one side, switch positions and work the next one. This will boost your rotational power as well; especially important if you’re playing racquet sport.

Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.