Kettlebell Russian Twist

Muscles worked by the Kettlebell Russian Twist

Primary

ObliquesOblique Abdominals

Secondary

Hip FlexorsHip Flexor MusclesAbsRectus Abdominis

Also called: oblique, obliques, side abs, external oblique, internal oblique.

Equipment

Kettlebell

Also called: kb, cast iron kettlebell, competition kettlebell, girya.

How to do the Kettlebell Russian Twist

1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet lifted off the ground.
2. Hold a kettlebell with both hands in front of your chest.
3. Lean back slightly to engage your core.
4. Rotate your torso to one side, bringing the kettlebell next to your hip.
5. Rotate to the opposite side in a controlled motion.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Rotate your whole torso, not just your arms.
• Keep your spine tall instead of slumping as you twist.
• Keep your legs still as your torso moves side to side.

At a glance

Kettlebell Russian Twist in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Bicycle Crunch
• Cable Crunch
• Crunches
• Dead Bug
• Decline Crunch
• Dragon Flag
• Machine Seated Crunch
• Russian Twist

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "kettlebell-russian-twist",
  "name_en": "Kettlebell Russian Twist",
  "name_de": "Kettlebell Russian Twist",
  "name_es": "Giro ruso con pesa rusa",
  "description_en": "A seated rotational core exercise twisting a kettlebell from side to side with the feet lifted.",
  "description_de": "Eine Rotationsübung für die schrägen Bauchmuskeln, bei der eine Kettlebell im Sitzen von Seite zu Seite geführt wird.",
  "description_es": "Un Russian Twist con pesa rusa realizado sentado con los pies en el aire, que entrena los oblicuos mediante rotaciones del torso.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "kettlebell",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "obliques"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hip_flexors",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "crunch",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet lifted off the ground.",
    "Hold a kettlebell with both hands in front of your chest.",
    "Lean back slightly to engage your core.",
    "Rotate your torso to one side, bringing the kettlebell next to your hip.",
    "Rotate to the opposite side in a controlled motion.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Sitz auf dem Boden mit gebeugten Knien und vom Boden gehobenen Füßen.",
    "Halte ein Kettlebell mit beiden Händen vor der Brust.",
    "Leicht zurücklehnen, um den Rumpf zu aktivieren.",
    "Oberkörper zu einer Seite rotieren und das Kettlebell zur Hüfte führen.",
    "Zur anderen Seite kontrolliert rotieren.",
    "Wiederhole die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Siéntate en el suelo con las rodillas flexionadas y los pies levantados del suelo.",
    "Sostén una pesa rusa con ambas manos frente al pecho.",
    "Inclínate ligeramente hacia atrás para activar el core.",
    "Rota el torso hacia un lado llevando la pesa rusa junto a la cadera.",
    "Rota hacia el lado opuesto en un movimiento controlado.",
    "Repite el número deseado de repeticiones."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Rotate your whole torso, not just your arms.",
    "Keep your spine tall instead of slumping as you twist.",
    "Keep your legs still as your torso moves side to side."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den Rücken gerade, statt ihn beim Zurücklehnen einzurunden.",
    "Drehe Schultern und Brustkorb mit, statt nur die Arme zu bewegen.",
    "Setze die Füße am Boden ab, wenn die Übung zu schwer ist."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Gira los hombros, no solo los brazos.",
    "Mantén la espalda recta aunque el torso esté inclinado hacia atrás.",
    "Apoya los pies en el suelo si te cuesta mantener el equilibrio."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/kettlebell-russian-twist-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/kettlebell-russian-twist-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "kettlebell-russian-twist");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.