Cable exercise

Cable Woodchop form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The cable woodchop is a rotational trunk exercise in which you pull a cable handle diagonally across the body, typically from a high pulley toward the opposite hip, training the obliques, transverse abdominis, and rotating hips against smooth, constant resistance. Athletes use it to build rotational strength and power for swinging and throwing sports, while lifters value the cable's adjustable load for progressively overloading rotation.

Cable Woodchop illustration

How to do Cable Woodchop

  1. 1Set the pulley to its highest position, attach a single handle, and stand side-on to the machine with feet slightly wider than shoulder width.
  2. 2Grip the handle with both hands, arms nearly straight, and rotate your torso toward the stack to load the start position.
  3. 3Brace your core and exhale as you pull the handle diagonally down and across your body toward your opposite hip, pivoting your inside foot as you turn.
  4. 4Let your trunk and hips drive the rotation; do not bend your elbows and turn the movement into an arm pull.
  5. 5Control the handle back along the same diagonal path as you inhale, resisting the stack's pull, and complete all reps before switching sides.

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Track Cable Woodchop in Plates

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