Anyone have an opinion of the Nautilus rotary torso machine? I’ve been using it along with doing side bends to fill out the sides of my torso to make everything more flat (so I have something between hips and ribcage besides narrow strip of abs sticking out in front). Side bends alone feel like they only hit the very outsides of the area I’m trying to develop. The Nautilus machine seems like it should work yet I can never really tell exactly what it is working. Why is that? I wonder if I’m wasting my time with them. Are Russian twists the only alternative?
Im a chiropractor student! My advice for you is not to use it! The range of motion in your lumbalspine aint big, youll force your joints and ligaments to maximum if you do the rotation. This will/can lead to hypermobility in you lower back and hypomobility in thoracal and cervical back + Hip joint and SI-joints → stain/sprain + lowerback pain. //Powerman
You can try side raises on a hyperextention bench. They work for me but they could thicken the width of your abdomen.
Read the “Real Abs” article by Coach Davies.
Saxon side bends, Bent presses, side presses and a few other exercises are listed that will do wonders for your core. Just look at what it did for me on my pic posted on the photo forum.
Also, I’ve recently begun doing See-Saw presses, and that will definitely hit your obliques as well. Great exercise.
I agree with every one and add:
if you are training for strength (functional) you should do it in the plain of motion as you would naturaly rotate your spine- standing. the woodchops from a pulley macine are great exersize for that.
supplement it with some revese trunk twists and my invention (I bet some1 thougt of it but not that I know of) sitting DB passes - sit on the floor legs together in front back arched and move a heavy DB from one side of your legs to the other
Full contact twists, side and bent presses, windmills, see saw presses, heavy partial deadlifts, one arm deadlifts, pizza buffets, russian twists, straight leg raise (SDSU study indicates this to have been #1 from the 10 they tested), olympic lifts.
Turkish Get-ups, no need to say anything more.
Rotary torso machine is a piece of junk. Better of doing cable twist on a swiss ball. And what everyonelse suggested.
In health,
Silas Chen
How could I have forgotten?? I’ve only spent several months doing them 1-2 times a week. Gotta love those Turkish Get-ups!
I don’t know the machine you refer to but as well as the exercises recomended suggest you check out this routine