Core · Bodyweight
Lying Reverse Twist
How to do the lying reverse twist, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your back with your arms spread wide in a T and your knees bent. Keeping your shoulders pinned to the floor, let both knees fall together to one side until you feel a stretch through your lower back and obliques. Hold, then bring the knees back to center and drop them to the other side.
- 1A rotational stretch through your lower back and obliques
- 2Both shoulder blades staying flat on the floor
- 3Your hips and knees stacking as they fall to the side
Common mistakes
- Letting the opposite shoulder peel off the floor
- Forcing the knees down past a comfortable stretch
- Holding tension instead of letting the twist relax open
Muscles worked
The lying reverse twist mainly works the obliques and lower back, with the lower abs and glutes assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Lower BackPrimary
- Lower AbsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- Upper ChestMinor
- Mid ChestMinor
- LatsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
Kovo programs the lying reverse twist 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 abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.