Machine Kneeling Torso Rotation

How to do the Machine Kneeling Torso Rotation

1. 1Adjust the seat height and position yourself on the machine with your knees resting on the pads and your upper body facing forward.
2. 2Grasp the handles or the sides of the machine for stability.
3. 3Keeping your core engaged, twist your torso to one side as far as comfortably possible.
4. 4Pause for a moment, then slowly return to the starting position.
5. 5Repeat the twist to the opposite side.
6. 6Continue alternating sides for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Exhale slowly as you roll out and keep the ribs pulled down toward the pelvis the entire time.

Muscles worked

Common mistakes

• Hips sagging at the bottom — if your lower back arches as the wheel rolls out, you have gone past the range your abs can control; shorten the rollout and stop at the point where your hips still stay tucked.
• Hinging at the hips — pushing your backside back toward your heels on the return turns it into a hip hinge; keep the hips locked in line with the torso and pull with the abs.
• Reaching with the arms — leading with the arms turns it into a lat exercise; think of moving the whole body as one rigid plank that happens to lengthen.
• Skipping the posterior tilt — before you roll, squeeze the glutes and tuck the pelvis slightly so the abs are braced before the load arrives.

Where it fits in a workout

Rollouts belong toward the end of a session, after heavy lifts but while you can still brace well. Superset them with hanging knee raises or a plank variation so the core work is done in one block.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

When to talk to someone

• Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
• Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
• Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

More exercises

• All core exercises
• All machine exercises
• Bench Assisted Barbell Rollout
• Foam Roller Body Saw
• Floor L-Sit

Sources

1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.