Core · Level 1
Russian twist
Seated with your torso leaning back, rotate moving the weight from side to side.
- Suggested dose
- 3 × 12 rep · 30s rest
- Equipment
- No equipment · or · Medicine ball · or · Weight plate · or · Dumbbells
- Works
- Obliques, Abs, Hip flexors
- Pattern
- Rotation
How to do it
- Seated, knees bent, lean your torso back about 45°.
- Rotate your torso bringing your hands (with or without weight) beside one hip and then the other.
- Feet down to start; lift them to progress.
Key points
- Long back, not hunched
- The shoulders rotate, not just the arms
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back
- Moving only the arms
Why it helps your tennis
Rotational trunk endurance to hit just as hard at the end of the match.
Source: Complete Conditioning for Tennis, ch. 7
Related exercises
- Carioca (crossover step)Lateral movement crossing one foot in front and then behind.
- Lunge with rotationForward lunge and trunk rotation toward the front leg.
- World’s greatest stretchDeep lunge, elbow toward the instep and arm opening to the sky.
- Shadow swingsForehands, backhands and serves without a ball, with movement beforehand.