Miley Cyrus twerks it up at the 2013 VMAs. Photo credit: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images.

Twerking is such a complex, technical subject, only a Ph.D. researcher can explain how the body does what it does to make it happen.

Twerking is a combination movement involving a deep squat and a pelvic tilt, Michelle Olson, a professor of exercise science and a certified strength and conditioning coach at Auburn University in Montgomery, Ala., explained.

"You take a wide stance with your legs turned out at 10 and 2 so your hips are externally rotated," she said. "Then you pulse up and down as you thrust the pelvis bone forward and back."

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Olson said the booty dancing move is a good "twerkout" for your butt and thighs. It also works the deep muscles of the hips and the core muscles of the lower back and abdominals. She said it will definitely shape and strengthen all those muscles as well as give them the stamina to do activities important to most people heavily involved in twerking like say, picking up a screaming child off the floor.

However, over-twerking might throw out the lower back or make the knees creak, Olson cautioned.

Translation? If you're over 25, twerking may not be for you.

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