Seated Spinal Twist

Muscles worked by the Seated Spinal Twist

Primary

Lower BackErector SpinaeObliquesOblique Abdominals

Secondary

GlutesGluteus Maximus

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors, oblique, obliques.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Seated Spinal Twist

1. Sit with one leg straight and cross the other foot over it.
2. Brace the opposite elbow against the outside of the bent knee.
3. Rotate your torso toward the bent knee and look over your shoulder.
4. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, breathing steadily.
5. Switch sides and repeat.

Form tips

• Sit tall and lengthen your spine before twisting.
• Twist from the mid-back, not the lower back.

At a glance

Seated Spinal Twist in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Back Extension
• Barbell Deadlift
• Bench Child's Pose
• Bodyweight Good Morning
• Bow Pose
• Cat Stretch
• Cat-Cow
• Child's Pose

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": "seated-spinal-twist",
  "name_en": "Seated Spinal Twist",
  "name_de": "Sitzende Wirbelsäulendrehung",
  "name_es": "Giro Espinal Sentado",
  "description_en": "A seated rotation that stretches the obliques, mid-back and glutes by twisting toward a bent knee.",
  "description_de": "Eine sitzende Rotation, die durch Drehen zu einem gebeugten Knie seitliche Bauchmuskeln, mittleren Rücken und Gesäß dehnt.",
  "description_es": "Una rotación sentada que estira los oblicuos, la espalda media y los glúteos girando hacia una rodilla flexionada.",
  "category": "stretching",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "obliques"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "mobility"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "mobility",
    "stretching"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": true,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Sit with one leg straight and cross the other foot over it.",
    "Brace the opposite elbow against the outside of the bent knee.",
    "Rotate your torso toward the bent knee and look over your shoulder.",
    "Hold for 20 to 30 seconds, breathing steadily.",
    "Switch sides and repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Sitze mit einem gestreckten Bein und kreuze den anderen Fuß darüber.",
    "Stütze den gegenüberliegenden Ellbogen außen am gebeugten Knie ab.",
    "Drehe den Oberkörper zum gebeugten Knie und blicke über die Schulter.",
    "Halte 20 bis 30 Sekunden und atme ruhig weiter.",
    "Wechsle die Seite und wiederhole."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Siéntate con una pierna estirada y cruza el otro pie por encima.",
    "Apoya el codo opuesto contra la parte externa de la rodilla flexionada.",
    "Gira el torso hacia la rodilla flexionada y mira sobre el hombro.",
    "Mantén de 20 a 30 segundos, respirando de forma constante.",
    "Cambia de lado y repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Sit tall and lengthen your spine before twisting.",
    "Twist from the mid-back, not the lower back."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Sitze aufrecht und strecke die Wirbelsäule vor dem Drehen.",
    "Drehe aus dem mittleren Rücken, nicht aus dem unteren."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Siéntate erguido y alarga la columna antes de girar.",
    "Gira desde la espalda media, no desde la lumbar."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/seated-spinal-twist-main.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 === "seated-spinal-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.