The Russian Twist is a type of exercise that is used to work the abdomen

Abdomen

In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...

 muscles by performing a twisting motion on the abdomen. The exercise is believed by those who practice it to build explosiveness in the upper torso

Torso

Trunk or torso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. The trunk includes the thorax and abdomen.-Major organs:...

, which may help in sports such as swimming baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, track & field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

, golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

, or boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

.

History

The origin of this exercise is not exactly known, but most trainers believe it came from the USSR, during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 period.

Technique

To perform the Russian Twist, first, one should sit on the floor with knees bent like in a "sit-up" position. The feet should be kept together and slightly above the ground or put under a stable surface. The torso should be kept straight with the back kept off the ground at a 45 degree angle. Arms should be held together away from the body in a straight fashion and hands kept locked together like a ball or one can hold a weight to increase the difficulty. Next, the arms should be moved from one side to another in a twisting motion, with each swing to a side counting as one repetition. The slower one moves their arms from side to side, the harder the exercise becomes and the abdomen is thus worked better. When moving your arms during the exercise, it is crucial to not stop in between repetitions or else you will lose the effect of working the abdomen. Constant breathing in and out during the exercise is important as one should not hold his/her breath.

There are also other variants of this exercise such as using a stability ball

Swiss ball

An exercise ball is a ball constructed of soft elastic with a diameter of approximately 35 to 85 centimeters and filled with air. The air pressure is changed by removing a valve stem and either filling with air or letting the ball deflate...

 or with a barbell

Barbell

A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, weightlifting and powerlifting. Barbells range in length from to although bars above 7' in length are used primarily by powerlifters and aren't commonplace...

standing up.