RUSSIAN BELLY TWISTS  

The abdominal muscles or abs is tiff by nature until the fat deposition starts taking place with due change in our diet and body’s ability to metabolize food. It is not possible to restrain the digestion mechanism to deposit fats in the belly region. The only way is to exhaust them or to in take the fat containing foods in a controlled manner. Our ability to persevere with workouts largely decides the fitness of our abdomen as well as overall health. The Russian belly twists are high intensity exercises developed for maintaining the upper and lateral abdominal muscles. 

Posture 

The belly twists are typical high intensity exercises. The posture of belly twist workout is quite unique. One has to sit with his legs raised and knees at right angle. Body should be bent slightly backwards and hands should be joined together in front of the chest. 

Exercise 

One should sit in relaxed and comfortable position. The body should be bent slightly backwards and the legs should be raised a little from the ground. With both the hands together in front of the chest, you should twist the trunk of the body towards left and right such that your abdomen is twisted. Exercise should be done slowly and jerks should be avoided. Exercise should be continuously done with foot on the ground and body leaning backwards. 

Effects 

This exercise cause strains on the lateral muscles of the tummy. The lateral muscle shrinks towards the centre pushing the fats and other stored food particles. The pressure caused due to this will require energy that is supplied by burning up of these fats in the belly. The body goes to churn out the stored food only when the strain is excessive. So, this will help in flushing out the excess fats by exhaustion. The workouts will cause wear and tear and fatigue. This will force the body to retain protein components in the food. This forced absorption of proteins in the muscle tissue will build their strength and keep it fitter. 

Breathing Exercise 

During the relaxed posture, air should be taken in fully. When you twist yourself towards the side, you should breathe out slowly. When coming back from the side to the centre position, air should be taken in slowly and then exhaled while going to the other side. Doing this exercise with slower speed is advisable as it will facilitate more intake of oxygen and also imparts greater pressure to the abdomen muscles to burn fat.