Exercise 101 : work your abs with the woodchopper move

The woodchopper targets the middle section of the body, and the legs. It’s good for toning and losing weight from the tummy.

What is it?

Stubborn love handles can be tricky to target, but rotational exercises such as the woodchopper are perfect for this particular problem.  It focuses on the obliques and abs and is a good combination exercise when you need a quick workout.

What do you need to do it?

You’ll need to use a free weight, a dumbbell, kettle bell, resistance bands attached to a pole or a pulley machine. That’s pretty much it!

How do you do it?

Imagine you are chopping wood.

Squat slightly, keeping your legs apart with knees bent in line your feet. Hold the weight in both hands on your right side on the outside of your thigh. 

As you straighten your legs, swing the weight up and round to the left side of your body, twisting your torso and pivoting on the right leg. Breathe out as you do this.

From here bring the weight back down to the starting position. 

Repeat the same movement from the left hand side.

Do about 3-4 sets of 12-16 reps with a weight you feel that is appropriate.

Are there variations?

You can also do this exercise using a pulley machine and a rope or handle. The movement is the same except that you would have to attach the rope to the pulley machine at the mid-way point. The movement would now be horizontal rather than diagonal.

Who should do it?

 Anyone who wants to lose weight from their middle, or tone up the core.