Set-up: Begin by sitting on a mat with knees bent at 90 degrees and your torso at 45 degrees from the floor. The exercise can be performed without weight and made more challenging by increasing the distance of the hands from your torso, or made easier by bringing your hands closer.
Lift: Rotating through the middle and upper back, turn your body 45 degrees to the side, return to the center and repeat in the other direction.
Emphasis: Keep the torso at the same angle to the floor throughout the movement. Do not use momentum or swing through the exercise. Use minimal rotation in the lower back.
Repetitions: Once rotation to both the left and right sides is complete, this counts as one repetition.
Optional weighting: A medicine ball, dumbbell or kettlebell can be used for added difficulty.
Instructions and effects for the Russian Twists exercise 
