A functional core exercise, the wood chop can build strength and power while also training spinal rotation — an essential movement pattern for sports like golf, pickleball, tennis, and baseball as well as everyday tasks like shoveling, raking, and lifting a child or pet.
The fact that it can be done standing or kneeling makes it an accessible alternative to crunches and other floor exercises.
While this dynamic move boasts many benefits, it can be tricky to get right. Common pitfalls typically fall into one of two categories: doing too little or doing too much.
Under the doing-too-little umbrella, you’ll find these issues: using only your arms to lift and lower the weight; keeping your shoulders and hips squared to the front; failing to use your legs to help power the movement; and keeping your heels glued to the floor.
Examples of doing too much include twisting through your lower back; arching your back as you raise the weight; hunching over as you lower the weight; and lifting more weight than you can control.
A just-right wood chop is powerful yet controlled, with your hips and thoracic spine rotating, your legs transferring power to your upper body, and your torso remaining stable as your shoulders and hips turn from side to side in tandem.
Be patient and start with a light weight. Visualization can be a helpful tool, too, so channel your inner lumberjack as you “chop wood.”
Instructions
Perform 10 to 15 reps, then switch sides and repeat.
1.
Stand tall with your feet about shoulder width apart. Grasp a light to medium weight with both hands.
(A kettlebell, medicine ball, weight plate, cable pulley machine, or resistance band can also be used.)
2.
Quickly and with control, rotate your hips, thoracic spine and shoulders to the right, then rotate left and raise the weight up and over your left shoulder keeping a slight bend in your elbows.
3.
Keep your knees soft, extending them as you raise the weight and bending them as you lower it. Allow your feet to pivot and your heels to rise as you rotate you rotate from side to side.
4.
Powerfully reverse the motion: Lower the dumbbell down and across your body as you rotate to the right and bring the weight to the outside of your right hip.
Woodchop Variations
Cable Wood Chop With Lateral Step
Repeat for reps, then switch sides.
- Start with a cable-pulley machine (or resistance band) anchored slightly above shoulder height.
- Grip the handle with both hands and take a few steps to the right of the anchor point. Stop when you feel tension.
- Stand with your feet at about hip width and engage your abs. Hold the handle just above your left shoulder.
- Step your right foot a couple of feet to the right, allowing your knee to bend without descending into a full lunge. Then quickly perform a chopping motion to bring the handle toward your right hip, rotating through your midback.
- In a controlled manner, return the handle to — and step back to — the starting position.
- Repeat for reps, then switch sides.
Half-Kneeling Wood Chop
Repeat for reps, then switch sides.
- Start in a half-kneeling position with your left foot planted and right knee on the floor, holding a weight with both hands in front of you.
- Rotate your torso to the left (in the direction of your raised knee) and lift the weight up and across your body. As you lift, turn your torso so you end up facing the weight as it’s above your left shoulder.
- Lower the weight back past the starting position, reversing the twist to bring the weight down to the outside of your right hip.
- Repeat for reps, then switch sides.
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Thanks for the lesson. While I am on vacation I’ll put it to use.
MTM