Russian Twist
Muscles worked: Abs.
How to do it
- Sit on the floor with knees bent and heels down (or lifted for more challenge), leaning back so your torso is at ~45°.
- Hold your hands together or a weight at your chest.
- Rotate your torso to the right and touch the floor beside your hip.
- Rotate all the way to the left and touch down on that side.
- That’s one rep - keep alternating sides under control.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Heels light or lifted, chest tall
- Rotate the shoulders, not just the arms
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 12 to 20 rep range, progressing in 2.5 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Cable Crunch - abs
- Hanging Leg Raise - abs
- Ab Wheel Rollout - abs
- Ab Crunch Machine - abs
Track the russian twist properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
Get IronPack free on the App StoreFree download, iPhone. Currently on the New Zealand App Store, wider rollout to follow.
Photos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.