Torso Rotation
Seated in a rotation machine with your lower body locked in place, you turn your torso against resistance to one side at a time, mainly training your obliques.
- Primary muscles
- Obliques
- Secondary
- Abs
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
The machine fixes your hips and legs, so the only thing that can move is your torso, and the weight stack makes the resistance easy to adjust in small steps. That makes it a simple way for beginners to load rotation before they can control free-standing twists or cable chops. Keep it light and slow: this is a muscle exercise, not a power drill. Train both sides evenly, even though it means setting the machine up a second time.
How to do it
Sit in the torso rotation machine with your chest against the pad and your knees locked against the leg pads.
Rotate your torso slowly to one side as far as the machine allows, keeping your hips still.
Pause for a second at the end of the range.
Return slowly to the start, finish the set, then set the machine up for the other side. Use a light weight and a slow tempo; the spine does not like fast loaded twisting.
Common mistakes
Twisting fast and heavy
Swinging a big stack around at speed is exactly the fast loaded twisting your spine handles worst. Use a weight you could stop at any point and turn slowly both ways.
Letting your hips turn with you
If your knees slide on the pads, the rotation comes from your hips and your obliques do less. Lock your knees firmly against the pads and keep them still.
Forcing extra range at the end
Cranking past the point where you can pause turns muscle work into a strain on your spine. Turn as far as you can with control, hold a second, and come back.
Training only one side
It's easy to skip the second setup and leave with one side done. Do the same reps and weight on both sides, starting with your weaker one.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
