The Dumbbell wood chop, also known as the dumbbell up-down twist, is an effective full-body exercise that builds rotational power and core strength.
This exercise activates your trunk in a rotational movement pattern and multiple abdominal and back muscles for stability. In addition, your shoulders, legs, and arms provide stability and mobility.
This strengthens your torso’s twisting movement and improves its resistance to twisting forces.
You can easily incorporate it into your abs workout routine to strengthen your core muscles.
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Muscles Worked
The wood chop effectively strengthens the core. Your abs and obliques engage as you twist and lift.
- Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus abdominis (abs), Obliques (internal and external) and Erector spinae.
- Secondary Muscles Worked: Serratus anterior, Shoulders (deltoids), legs (quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves), Gluteus maximus and hip flexors.
How To Do Wood Chop with Dumbbell
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
- Hold a dumbbell with both hands—either interlace your fingers or place one hand over the other to grip it securely.
- Bend your knees, engage your core, and keep your back straight. This will help you maintain stability and protect your lower back.
- With your arms straight, rotate the dumbbell diagonally downward across your body.
- Your torso should twist as you bring the dumbbell toward the outside of your opposite knee. Keep the motion controlled and smooth.
- Slowly bring the dumbbell back to the starting position, following the same diagonal path.
- Repeat this for the number of reps you’ve planned, then switch to the opposite side.
- Do 3–4 sets of 10–15 reps a side.
Form and Tips
- The power for the wood chop comes from your core and lower body. Use your torso and hips to rotate the dumbbell, not just your arms. This helps recruit the obliques and stabilizes your movements.
- Ensure your movements are controlled significantly when lowering the dumbbell. Avoid jerky or rapid movements.
- Don’t lock the knees and hips. Allow the hips and knees to rotate slightly.
- Keep your arms straight and shoulders locked in place.
- Exhale as you twist the dumbbell downward, and inhale as you bring it back to the starting position.
- Choose a challenging dumbbell weight that enables you to keep proper form. The preferred approach is starting with a lighter weight and gradually increasing it as you gain confidence in the movement.
- Maintain a steady pace; too fast can lead to loss of form, and too slow might reduce the exercise’s effectiveness.
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Dumbbell Reverse Wood Chop
The Dumbbell Reverse Wood Chop, also known as the Low-to-High Dumbbell Wood Chop, is a powerful variation of the traditional wood chop exercise.
Lifting the dumbbell from a low position challenges your core to stabilize your torso as you move against gravity. This requires greater engagement of the transverse abdominis (deep core muscles) and erector spinae (lower back) to maintain proper posture and control.
How To Do
- Hold the dumbbell with both hands, with either your fingers interlaced or one hand over the other.
- Keep your arms straight and rotate the dumbbell diagonally upward.
- Don’t lock the knees and hips when performing dumbbell wood chops. Allow the hips and knees to rotate slightly.
- Then, slowly reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
- Repeat the exercise on your opposite side.
Kneeling Dumbbell Wood Chop
The kneeling wood chop is a beginner-friendly variation of wood chop.
It is the total-body movement that uses many muscles in your body and allows you to lift a little heavier and spike your heart rate.
This exercise is highly versatile and can also be performed in a tall kneeling stance, a square standing stance, and a split standing stance.
How To Do
- Kneel on the floor with knees hip-distance apart, holding a dumbbell with both hands, arms extended.
- Rotate the torso to the left, bringing weight to the outside of the left thigh, keeping arms extended.
- Using your core, lift the weight diagonally across the body and above your right shoulder.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
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Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.
Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.