Legs · Barbell
Barbell Leg Twist Press
How to do the barbell leg twist press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Lie back on a bench or floor and press a barbell or loaded bar away with your legs, feet on the bar. Extend the legs to press, then as you lower, add a slight rotation of the hips to one side to load the obliques, alternating sides.
- 1Feel your quads and glutes press the bar away
- 2Feel the obliques engage as you twist the hips
- 3Press through your whole foot and control the lowering
Common mistakes
- Do not lock out the knees aggressively
- Avoid letting the lower back arch off the bench
- Do not over-rotate; keep the twist controlled
Muscles worked
The barbell leg twist press mainly works the quads and glutes, with the obliques, hamstrings, lower abs, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- ObliquesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the barbell leg twist press for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.