Core · Bodyweight
Standing Obliques Rotation
How to do the standing obliques rotation, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall with feet shoulder-width and hands at your chest or behind your head. Rotate your torso to one side under control, keeping hips facing forward, then return to center and rotate the other way.
- 1Obliques driving the rotation, not the arms
- 2Hips and lower body staying planted as the torso turns
- 3Tall spine and braced core throughout
Common mistakes
- Swinging the arms to throw the body around
- Letting the hips spin with the torso
- Rounding or collapsing the chest as you twist
Muscles worked
The standing obliques rotation mainly works the obliques, with the upper abs and lower abs assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
Kovo programs the standing obliques rotation 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.