Step By Step Guide To The Wood Chops Exercise
Hello All!!
The wood chops exercise works your core muscles really when you move from side to side. You need to have something to hold in your hands as you twist like a medicine ball or weight.
The wood chop is a functional but advanced movement and has to be learned in 3 stages.
Stage 1: Spiral rotation of your arms
Stage 2: Spiral rotation of arms along with hip rotation from squatting position
Stage 3: Full wood chop with spiral arm, hip and upper body rotation from a squatting position
Take position
Stand in a position such that your left foot is forward and hold a ball in both hands. Keep the ball close to yourself. Engage your abs and core to stiffen your upper body and stabilize the spine. Your upper body should be upright.
Stage 1
Starting position– Slowly bring the ball to the left, to the starting position high and behind you. Don’t rotate the head, chest or upper body. The head, chest and hips should be facing forward throughout this exercise. Keep the ball close to the body.
Movement– Slowly, bring the ball down and across the body towards your right hip. Don’t rotate the head, chest, torso or hips and let them face forward. Keep the ball close to yourself. Hold this last position briefly before returning to the position from where you started. Switch your legs and repeat the movement.
Exercise progression– Repeat the movement but this time extend the arms at the elbow and keep the arm positioned in such a way throughout the exercise. This will increase the load on the spine and will make your core muscles work harder.
Stage 2
Starting position– Move your feet wider apart. Take the same starting position keeping your arms bent, but this time make your hips rotate to the left with the arms, increasing the degree of rotation. Your head, torso and chest should be aligned over the hips. Your left leg should be loaded with most of your body weight.
Movement– Bring your arms down and across yourself towards the right, while squatting down a little to an end point where the ball is placed lower than the right hip (a wood chop movement). Shift your weight onto the right leg. Roatate the hips but keep your head, chest and upper body aligned over the hips. Keep the ball close to you. Hold this last position briefly and return to the starting position. Repeat the movement by switching sides.
Exercise progression– Repeat the movement but this time extend the arms at the elbow and keep the arm positioned in such a way throughout the exercise. This will increase the load on the spine and will make your core muscles work harder.
Stage 3
Starting position– Your starting position should be the same as it was in stage 2, but you should extend the elbows fully and let your upper body rotate further than the hips, rotating even further. Shift more weight to the left foot and let your right foot to rotate on the floor.
Movement– Rotate the arms down and across the body to the right, while squatting a bit to an end point where the ball is positioned below the right hip (performing the wood chop movement) and much of the weight is shifted to the right leg. Your upper body will rotate faster than and further your hips. Keep the elbows completely extended during the movement. Hold this last position briefly before returning to the starting position. Switch legs and repeat the movement.
Want to try the wood chops workout?
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