Russian crunches: technique of performing a twist on the abs with rotation of the body

Pros and cons of Russian crunches

Pros of the exercise:

Thanks to the peculiarities of the technique, the exercise trains not only the external abdominal muscles, but also the internal ones, which are responsible for maintaining the spine and the correct position and functioning of the internal organs. Relaxed internal abdominal muscles cannot hold the lower back in the correct position, which causes lumbar hyperlordosis to form.
The exercise, when performed in large numbers of repetitions, forms a muscle corset, visually improves the shape of the muscles and indirectly helps to reduce waist size, especially with the right loads and nutrition. Exercise itself does not burn fat locally in this area. And lifting weights makes the muscles thicker and more defined.

The disadvantage of the twist is that the oblique twisting technique is not suitable for everyone, namely for problems with the spine - hernia, protrusion, pinched nerve endings, osteochondrosis and displacement of the vertebrae.
Even in healthy people, performing a twist incorrectly can cause back pain. Therefore, it should be performed with good physical preparation and master the technique first without weights.

Useful tips

When performing the exercise, you must consider the following recommendations:

You should slightly round your back, which will help relieve excess tension from the lumbar region and increase the effectiveness of working out your abs;
to complicate the movement, you need to raise your legs bent at the knees above the floor and keep them suspended while performing crunches;
turns to the sides should be performed at a slow pace: if you make too sudden movements, this will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the exercise, in addition, sharp turns are unsafe for the spine;
twisting must be performed in the lumbar region;
When working out muscles, you need to constantly keep your back and abs tense.

Those who experience problems with the spine should avoid this exercise.

Russian floor crunch technique

Starting position: sitting on your buttocks, keep your feet hanging, bending your knees. Lean your body back about 45 degrees, slightly rounding your back. Stretch your arms in front of you, placing your palms together for comfort. This position should be maintained throughout the approach. The main thing is not to lose your balance.
In the center of the movement, inhale, and exhale, twist your torso to the right at the same time as your arms. Return to the center as you inhale, and exhale as you twist in the opposite direction.
When performing the movement, take your time and do not rotate your pelvis or legs along with your body. The movement should be performed by the oblique abdominal muscles.

To simplify the technique , lower your heels to the floor with your knees slightly bent.

Execution technique

The Russian twist is a moderate exercise and does not require a special level of preparedness. But experienced trainers strongly advise paying attention to even the smallest details so that the exercise in question will bring the desired results in the shortest possible time. To perform the exercise correctly you must:

Prepare a training ground. To do this, lay a rug on the floor and sit on it. At the same time, you need to understand that while performing the Russian twist, only the buttocks will be our fulcrum.
Tighten the rectus abdominis muscles and lift your legs and torso off the surface. The lower limbs should be slightly bent at the knee joints, and the upper limbs should be straightened and brought together in front of the body. The latter must be kept straight and at a certain angle in relation to the plane of the body. So we have taken the starting position, maintaining which a person receives persistent static tension on the abdominal muscle group.
Go to dynamic movements. To do this, inhale and, without changing the position of the lower extremities, exhale while turning the body to the right. We pause for a moment at one point and squeeze our abdominal muscles. Then we return to the starting position and make an identical movement, but to the left. Repeat as many times as necessary.

You can clearly see how to correctly perform the movements described above in this video.

Features of the Russian twist with a kettlebell

The twist technique is unchanged, the only difference is the addition of weights. This is necessary at the moment when the muscles have adapted to the load with their own weight and stopped developing.

To do this, you need to take the weight by the arms on the sides, tilt the body, taking the starting position with your feet off the floor, and twist to the side.
Carry the weight with your arms bent at the elbows above your body, and when turning, touch the weight to the floor. The same goes in the opposite direction. But you don’t have to lower the weight so low, working with your hands at a level parallel to the floor, the amplitude will be less. The choice of technique depends on the weight of the weight.

What mistakes should you avoid?

These technique flaws can make the exercise dangerous for your lower back. So take the time to learn proper technique before picking up weights.

Rounding the back

Make sure your lower back remains in a neutral position throughout the exercise. This will protect the intervertebral discs from compression and reduce stress on the lower back.

Lumbar rotation

During crunches, the shoulders, arms and upper back rotate, while the lower back remains more or less stable.

Make sure that your navel is always pointed forward and does not move from side to side during turns.

Movement of legs from side to side

Turning your legs takes some of the load off your abdominal muscles. Make sure that your hips remain in one place and do not move in the opposite direction from your arms.

Features of the Russian twist with pancake

This option is quite convenient if the pancakes have holes on the sides that make it easier to grip.

You should hold the pancake of the required weight on the sides; of course, its weight should be moderate.
When twisting, the pancake moves parallel to the floor. The technique and breathing remain the same.

Advantages and features of the training

Simple crunches have a number of advantages, which is why they can be found in any comprehensive program. The advantages of the technology include:

increased strength of the abdominal wall muscles;
strengthening the muscle corset;
improved posture;
increasing the body's endurance;
fat burning and relief in the abdominal area;
a wide range of activity options.

By pumping your abs, you use the rectus abdominis, pectoral, external (internal/oblique), and transverse muscles. Training has a positive effect on the functioning of internal organs and systems, since they receive more oxygen under the influence of physical activity.

You don't need to train every day. 2-3 times a week will be enough. It is necessary to give muscle tissue time to recover; this is the only way you will achieve positive results and notice the effect of your work on your figure.

Watch a video with the correct technique for performing abdominal crunches:

(No ratings yet)

Features of Russian dumbbell crunches

You can perform a twist with either one or two dumbbells. It all depends on their weight and physical fitness. When working with two dumbbells, you should connect them together and hold them in your hands with bent elbows so as not to put stress on your joints. The movement is parallel to the floor. Do not twist your spine too intensely; perform the exercise smoothly, without jerking. When working with one dumbbell, you must hold the handle with both hands or hold on to weights.

Contraindications

Despite the popularity of the described exercise, some people should not do it. If there are contraindications, it can be harmful, causing health problems. You should not proceed in the following cases:

the presence of gynecological diseases and inflammatory processes in the pelvic organs;
serious injuries to the spine and joints;
presence of pain in the lower back.

Unpleasant sensations when performing movements may indicate problems. If you feel discomfort, stop exercising and consult a doctor.

Russian twist with dumbbells

Russian crunches on a fitball

This option involves an even greater load when maintaining balance, since the body position is not on the floor, but on an unstable surface. You can perform the exercise with or without equipment. For weights on a fitball, it is better to use a medicine ball or small dumbbells.

Sit on the ball with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Place your feet wider for stability.
Tilt your body, moving your pelvis forward a little, your lower back should lie on the ball. The spine is slightly rounded. Raise your arms perpendicular to your body.
As you exhale, smoothly twist your torso to the side without lifting your lower back from the ball and maintain your balance.
As you inhale, return to the center.
Exhale and twist in the opposite direction.

Basic twist options

A classic exercise - the most common abdominal crunches are performed on the floor. The main load here will fall on the rectus abdominis muscles and its upper part. In this case, the lower back practically does not compensate for muscle tension.

This is an ideal exercise for pumping up the abdominal muscles, it is so effective that only with this exercise you can achieve sculpted abs, but subject to diet.

This exercise is performed from a supine position with bent knees. The fingers are interlocked and fixed at the back of the head.

Try to spread your elbows to the sides. After this, tighten your abdominal muscles and begin to lift your upper body up, trying to bring your ribs closer to your hips. Make sure that this lift is performed without jerking, both during lifting and lowering. To avoid losing your equipment, watch the video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JC66T_zUkFI

Rotate while twisting

Another type of exercise for the upper abs is crunching on the floor with a turn. Here the exercise technique will be the same as in the previous version, only during the rise you will need to turn the body towards one leg, then towards the other.

The exact same exercise can be done from a standing position, but then the right elbow and the opposite left leg will twist diagonally and simultaneously meet in the center of the body. Then we change the position to the opposite.

Twisting on an inclined horizontal bench

This load is performed on a special projectile. You need to secure your legs under special supports. We do everything else as in the above options.

Make sure that it is the abdominal muscles that are working.

Using a block

You need to calculate the load so that you can do 20 or 25 repetitions. Turn around to face the block and get on your knees. Firmly grasp the handle of the block and begin to pull it towards the floor.

At the same time, you must perform crunches and use all the abdominal muscles as much as possible. Return to the starting position. This exercise must be performed in such a way that your muscles are constantly tense.

You can practice this complex while standing. This will allow you to achieve a stronger range of motion and increase productivity.

Please note that the gym usually has different handles for such machines that allow you to change the load. The handle can also be wound either in front of you or behind your back.

We work on our sides

This type of load is aimed at working out the oblique muscles. It can be used both on the floor and on a special inclined bench. How to do abdominal crunches in this case?

If you decide to load your muscles on a bench, then lie down so that your body is suspended, and the fulcrum is only in the hips. To secure the body, you will definitely need an assistant to sit on your feet. Turning your face to the wall, you must bend and straighten your body so that all the oblique muscles are involved in the work.

It is much easier to do it on the floor; you just need to lie down on the floor and start doing it.

Leg Raise

This exercise can also be found under the name reverse abdominal crunch. If in previous variations we almost always raised the upper body, then in this one we will tear off the lower part of the body from the surface.

There are two options: on a bench or on the floor. On the bench, you should grab the edge with your hands so that you can hold on.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FA1-25gRNDw

While lying on the floor, simply stretch your arms along your body to provide yourself with support. In the starting position, the legs are bent at the knees. We begin to do twisting and raise the lower limbs to perpendicular to the floor. We pull our knees to our chest, and so that the pelvis does not come into contact with the surface.

Recommendations for men and women: how to do a twist correctly

The Russian twist is an effective exercise for both men and women. There is just a slight difference in execution. It is better to perform crunches at the end of your workout. It can be combined with straight crunches and leg raises for the abdominal muscles.

Women are recommended to perform the technique without weights with a large number of repetitions: 20-30 times, 3 sets.
men should perform a weighted twist, 10-12 twists, 3-4 sets.

Advantages of the exercise

An important feature of the Russian crunch

is its effectiveness: it affects both the external and internal abdominal muscles. Firstly, it leads to strengthening of the spine, problems with which, according to research, are common even in progressive and well-developed countries. Secondly, regular exercises maintain the spine, which will have a positive effect on many internal organs (they will function correctly and be placed in the correct position), according to the opinion of the famous surgeon Anatoly Stashkevich.

In addition, they have several important advantages:

improves metabolism, promotes energy;
maintains a normal balance of hormones, which, according to the Ministry of Health, affect the general condition of a person;
strengthens the muscle corset and improves coordination between all muscle groups;
reduces the risk of obesity, which according to statistics is especially common among adolescents;
stabilizes blood pressure and reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Doing the Russian twist

for abs, you will not only get your body in great shape, but also improve your health.

How to lose weight in the stomach and not pump over muscles

As much as we might want it, working out your abs won't help you burn belly and flank fat. That is, if you are overweight, you will certainly tighten and strengthen your figure, but relief will not appear until the amount of fat in the body changes.

Regarding weight loss, there is a golden rule - you need to consume less than you receive. That is, in order to achieve the goal you need to either reduce your diet, or increase physical activity, or all together. And then the magnificent relief of the sides and six-pack abs will not take long to appear. Intensive twisting, by the way, entails significant energy consumption.

The second fact concerns pumping up the oblique muscles and, accordingly, saying goodbye to the dream of a narrow waist. For most people, abdominal exercises are recommended to be performed without additional weights and in a large number of repetitions. This also applies to Russian twists.

Of course, for more intensive muscle training, you can use a small small plate or weights, but this should only be done if your goal is not to narrow your waist, but to increase the volume of your muscles to enhance their definition. Below we will show variations of Russian crunches without additional weight and with the use of weights. So there is enough exercise for everyone!