Standing Torso Rotation

beginner · rotation

Setup

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a light medicine ball with both hands and your arms straight out in front at shoulder height.

Brace the belly lightly and keep the hips almost still throughout.
Turn the torso to one side, following the ball with your eyes, arms staying straight.
Stop the moment the hips start to turn along with you, which marks the range for this drill.
Reverse through to the opposite side at that same slow speed, changing direction smoothly rather than snapping.
Keep the arms and ball at the same shoulder height throughout, without letting them drift lower.
Continue for 10-20 rotations back and forth, then stop.

Breathe steadily with each turn, exhaling gently at the far point of each rotation. Do not hold your breath to turn faster.

Fault: The hips and feet turning along with the arms
Fix: Shorten the range to just before the point where the hips start to move.
Fault: The arms sagging down toward waist height over the set
Fix: Use a mirror to check, and reset the arms back to shoulder height every few reps.
Fault: Snapping quickly and jerking at both ends of the range
Fix: Slow down and keep an even speed through both the turn out and the turn back.
Fault: Bending the knees and bouncing to help swing the ball around
Fix: Keep the knees nearly straight and let the turning power come from the upper body, not the legs.

medicine_ball

core