# Standing Thoracic Rotation

A standing mobility drill where you turn your upper body side to side with your hands on your hips and your hips facing forward. Improves upper-back rotation and warms up the obliques.

- Beginner · Mobility
- Equipment: 
- HD video: https://media.seto.fit/exercises/middle-back-rotation-stretch/video/male.mp4
- HTML: https://seto.fit/exercises/standing-thoracic-rotation/

## Muscles worked

- Obliques: 7/10
- Lower back: 4/10
- Abs: 3/10

## How to do the Standing Thoracic Rotation

1. Stand tall, feet hip-width apart, hands on your hips.
2. Turn your upper body to one side, hips facing forward.
3. Return to the center, then turn to the other side.

### Full technique — 6 steps

1. Stand tall with your feet about hip width apart and your hands on your hips.
2. Keep your hips and knees facing forward for the whole set.
3. Slowly turn your upper body to one side as far as is comfortable.
4. Let your head and elbows turn with your torso.
5. Return to the center, then turn the same way to the other side.
6. Keep alternating sides at a slow, even pace.

## Common mistakes

- Turning the hips with the torso
- Leaning sideways during the turn
- Rushing the turn with momentum
- Bending the knees to turn further

## Form cues

- Move through the trunk
- Keep hips facing forward
- Stay tall through torso
- Keep shoulders level

## How much to do

- **Strength**: 1–2 sets of 8–10 reps · rest 30 s · 6 reps in reserve · lower 2 s, pause 1 s, lift 2 s
- **Muscle growth**: 1–2 sets of 8–12 reps · rest 30 s · 6 reps in reserve · lower 2 s, pause 1 s, lift 2 s
- **Endurance**: 1–2 sets of 10–15 reps · rest 30 s · 6 reps in reserve · lower 2 s, pause 1 s, lift 2 s

Reps in reserve: how many more you could still do when you end the set.

## Where to start and where to go next

Same muscles, same movement. Too hard for now — step down; once it gets easy — step up.

- **This exercise: Standing Thoracic Rotation — Beginner**
- Harder: [Bent Over Twist](https://seto.fit/exercises/bent-over-twist/) — Beginner
- Harder: [Plank to Lunge with Rotation](https://seto.fit/exercises/plank-to-lunge-with-rotation/) — 35% of bodyweight

## Quick answers

### What muscles does the Standing Thoracic Rotation work?

Primary: Obliques 7/10. Also works: Lower back 4/10, Abs 3/10.

### When should I do the Standing Thoracic Rotation in a workout?

Warm-up. Done at the start to get the body ready. ≈ 2 min with rest.

### How many sets and reps of the Standing Thoracic Rotation?

Strength: 1–2 sets of 8–10 reps, rest 30 s, 6 reps in reserve. Muscle growth: 1–2 sets of 8–12 reps, rest 30 s, 6 reps in reserve. Endurance: 1–2 sets of 10–15 reps, rest 30 s, 6 reps in reserve.

### What is a harder version of the Standing Thoracic Rotation?

Bent Over Twist (Beginner), Plank to Lunge with Rotation (35% of bodyweight).

How we rate exercises: https://seto.fit/guides/methodology/

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