Cable woodchopper: high to low, low to high, and what the studies measured

A cable woodchopper is a standing turn against a cable. You stand side-on to the machine, hold the handle with both hands and pull it across your body on a diagonal, the way you'd swing an axe, turning through your hips and your trunk. Then you let it back under control. It trains your trunk to turn, the same job as the Russian twist, but standing, with your legs and hips in it, and with a weight stack you can load in small steps.

It's the opposite job to the Pallof press, on the same cable: the Pallof press refuses the turn, the woodchopper makes it. This page covers the setup, the three directions, the faults, what the studies measured, and the sets.

How to do a cable woodchopper (high to low)

1. Set the pulley high, above your shoulder, with a single handle or a rope.
2. Stand side-on, a step away so the cable is pulling when your arms reach up toward it. Feet a little wider than your hips, knees soft.
3. Hold the handle with both hands, arms long, reaching up toward the pulley. Your chest faces it a little.
4. Pull down and across your body toward the opposite hip, turning your chest and your hips together. Let your back foot pivot onto the ball as your hips turn.
5. Finish outside your far hip, chest facing away from the machine, arms still long.
6. Let it back up slowly, under control, the same path in reverse. Finish the set, then switch sides.

Keep your arms fairly straight and let your trunk move the handle. These cues are practical, not study findings.

High to low, horizontal, low to high

The same move works in three directions; set the pulley and pull across.

The table is practical. In a reliability study of 51 physically active university students, a horizontal and a low cable woodchop were both tested on a measuring machine, and the horizontal one gave the more repeatable strength readings.¹ That makes it a good test; it doesn't make it a better exercise. Pick the direction you can control, and rotate through all three over a few weeks if you like.

The common faults, and a fix for each

• Arms doing the work. The handle moves and your chest doesn't. Straighten your arms more and turn your chest with them.
• Twisting only at the waist. Hips locked, trunk wringing round. Let your back foot pivot so your hips turn too.
• Too heavy. If the stack yanks you back toward the machine at the end, take a plate off.
• Bending forward. Stay tall; the move is a turn, not a crunch.
• Letting it snap back. Control the return as carefully as the pull.

What the studies measured

The research on the cable woodchop treats it mostly as a test of how strong or powerful your trunk turn is. A PubMed search for this page found six records with the name; none measured its muscle activity, and the three that studied the cable woodchop itself used it as a test:

• Power, by weight. In 23 fit men doing a standing cable wood chop on a weight stack machine, single all-out reps were done at weights rising up to their one-rep max. Power was highest at about 67, 75 or 83% of the one-rep max, depending on the man, and mean power was a reliable measure. In a set of 20 at that weight, the first and last reps differed in power by about 10 to 14%.²
• A reliable test. In the 51 students above, the horizontal cable woodchop measured the trunk-turning muscles reliably, more so than the low version.¹
• Linked to throwing. In 30 physically active college students, strength in the horizontal and low cable woodchops correlated strongly with how fast and how far they threw a medicine ball with a turn (r = 0.68 to 0.79). Their left and right sides didn't differ in woodchop strength.³

A correlation isn't proof that training the woodchop makes you throw further, and no study here trained anyone with it for weeks. The obliques, at the sides of your waist, turn your trunk, with your hips and legs helping; that's anatomy, not a measurement of the woodchop.

Sets, reps and where it goes

• For control: two or three sets of 8 to 12 each side at a weight you can turn smoothly, stopping with a rep or two left. (How to judge reps left.) These numbers are practical.
• For power: fewer, faster reps, roughly 3 to 6 a side (practical), pulling hard and controlling the return. The power study above found the peak at about two-thirds to four-fifths of a one-rep max; you don't need to test yours, just stop before the reps slow down.²
• At the end of a session, after your main lifts, with your core work. In the core workout, add it next to the block rather than in place of the Pallof press.
• Progress one thing at a time: a plate more, a slower return, or a new direction. (Progressive overload covers the options.)

Common questions

Can I do a woodchopper without a cable?

Yes: a band anchored high or low does the same path, and a dumbbell or a medicine ball held in both hands works for the high-to-low and low-to-high versions. None of these was studied above; the cable is what the studies used.

Woodchopper or Russian twist?

Both train turning. The woodchopper is standing, uses your hips, and loads in small steps on a stack; the Russian twist is seated and needs no machine. Pick the one your gym and your week allow.

What if my back hurts when I turn?

Working hard is fine; a sharp or lasting hurt isn't. If you have pain, an injury or a medical condition, a doctor or a physical therapist should set the limits before you train; this page is general guidance for healthy adults.

If you'd rather have the week planned

The woodchopper is one cable and two minutes of learning; fitting it into a week that already holds squats, presses and rows is the part a page can't do. Coaching is the version where your workouts live in Trainerize, built around the days and the equipment you actually have, and a weekly call looks at how the week went and sets the next one. Coaching to get stronger explains how that works, and apply is the first step. Otherwise: at the end of your next session, do two light sets of ten high-to-low chops a side and check that your hips turn with your chest.