Straight leg twists#1739

Hello! I’m a bit confused by the straight leg twists. Where should I most be feeling the stretch? At the moment I feel it in my glutes but it’s hard to maintain the position before my arm (the one not touching the vent leg) starts to buckle under my weight.

Would love some tips about what this movement should feel like - can’t quite understand it from the tyre/form cues listed in the app

Hey, Chrys here, one of the trainers at Hybrid. Totally fair question, this one confuses a lot of people at first.

In straight leg twists, the main thing you should feel is a gentle stretch and tension through the hips and outer glutes, with some engagement through the obliques as you rotate. Feeling it in the glutes is normal and expected. What you should not feel is your arm doing most of the work or collapsing under you. If that’s happening, it usually means the twist is too aggressive for your current level.

Try widening your base a bit, bend the straight leg slightly if needed, and focus on rotating from the torso rather than forcing depth. You should be able to support yourself comfortably on the planted arm without shaking. Think of the arm as support, not the limiter. The twist should feel controlled and sustainable, not like a balance or arm strength test.

If you still can’t hold it cleanly, regress to bent leg twists for now. Straight leg twists challenge rotation plus leverage, and there’s no rush. Once the position feels stable and you can breathe calmly in it, you’re probably doing it right.

Thank you, your explanation is very thorough and helpful.

Given your description of the muscles that are supposed to be engaged, I think I have been bringing my bent leg up too close to my torso, which means my belly gets in the way and pushes my upper body’s weight over backwards, onto my arm. If the bent leg is too close, I simply can’t get my foreward arm in front of it.

If I plant the bent leg’s foot further away from my torso, I can get my arm in place, and feel the stretch in my hips, glutes and lower torso without balance problems. Does that sound like an ok solution, or will it reduce the effect the stretch is supposed to have?

Yes, that fine. So a couple of things though.
If bringing the bent leg too close is shifting your weight backward and throwing off your balance, that’s just a setup issue. Planting the foot a bit further from your torso so you can actually get your arm in position and feel the stretch in your hips and glutes is a smart adjustment. The goal of the twist is rotation through the hips and torso, not cramming your thigh into your stomach.

You won’t reduce the effect of the stretch by moving the foot slightly farther out. In fact, you’ll probably get more out of it because you can stay stable, breathe, and actually control the position instead of fighting balance. Over time, as your mobility improves and body composition changes, you might naturally bring that foot closer.

Hey Chrys, throwing a comment with this. I think I’m doing okay with these leg twists. I feel most of the stretch in my waist, maybe not quite as much the hips? Not sure. But today I just did 3 sets for 60 seconds. I am finding that whichever arm is placed behind me tends to start going numb at the 40 second mark. Not painful or anything, but maybe I’m putting too much weight on my arm??

Yeah, you are probably putting a bit too much weight into that arm if it is going numb. Even if it is not painful, numbness is usually a sign that something is getting compressed or irritated, so I would not just push through that like it is part of the stretch.

Try taking some pressure off the arm behind you and keep the twist a little more relaxed. You dont need to force the position super hard for it to work. It is also normal to feel a lot of that stretch around the waist with this movement, so that part does not sound off.

Tbh I would just back off a little and see if the numbness goes away. If it keeps happening even with less pressure and a gentler position, then I would stop doing it that way. Feel free to reach out again if you need us