The Twisting Medicine Orb Tango

Pressure Cascade · Mechanism

Time to dance with a medicine ball, and by dance, I mean twist your torso violently from side to side while holding a weighted sphere like you're a wizard performing a very physical spell. The Medicine Ball Full Twist is a beginner core exercise that targets your obliques — those muscles on the sides of your abdomen that make your waist look like it was carved rather than just assembled.

You sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat, holding a medicine ball in front of your chest. You lean back slightly — not so far that you're lying down, but enough to engage your core, like you're sitting in a chair that's slowly reclining and you're not sure how you feel about it. Then you twist your torso to one side, touching the medicine ball to the floor beside your hip, and immediately twist to the other side, touching the ball to the floor on the opposite side. It's a rhythmic, side-to-side motion that fires your obliques alternately, like two engines taking turns propelling a ship.

This exercise builds rotational core strength, which is essential for any movement that involves twisting — throwing a ball, swinging a bat, turning to look at something behind you without stepping on a Lego. The medicine ball adds resistance to the twist, making your obliques work harder than they would with just a bodyweight twist. After a few sets, your sides will be so sore that laughing will become a painful experience, which is ironic because this exercise looks pretty funny when someone else is doing it. Twist, touch, twist, touch, and tango your way to a waist that's tighter than your budget after a gym membership.