Standing Barbell Twist

Setup

1. 01Place a light barbell across the upper back as you would for a squat.
2. 02Stand with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent.
3. 03Grip the bar wide to keep it stable on the shoulders.
4. 04Brace the trunk and set the ribs down before the first rep.

Execution

1. 01Rotate the torso slowly to one side while keeping the hips mostly facing forward.
2. 02Turn only as far as you can control without the spine collapsing or the bar tipping.
3. 03Reverse the rotation under control and pass through center.
4. 04Rotate to the other side and continue alternating at an even tempo.

Checkpoints

• -Rotation comes from the mid-back and obliques, not from whipping the hips.
• -The bar stays level across the shoulders through every rep.
• -Knees stay soft and stacked over the feet.
• -Tempo stays slow and deliberate, never ballistic.

Common mistakes

• -Loading the bar heavy and twisting fast, which stresses the lumbar spine.
• -Letting the hips and knees rotate so the trunk does no work.
• -Arching the lower back as the bar swings past center.
• -Using momentum instead of muscular control at the end range.