Core · Cable
Cable Standing Wood Chopper
How to do the cable standing wood chopper, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Set a cable pulley high and grip the handle with both hands. Stand side-on, brace your core, and pull the handle diagonally across your body from high to low, rotating through your trunk as you finish in front of the opposite hip.
- 1Drive the rotation from your obliques and core, not your arms
- 2Pivot your back foot and let your hips turn with the chop
- 3Keep your arms long and the motion controlled in both directions
Common mistakes
- Don't yank with your arms or bend at the elbows to move the weight
- Avoid rounding or collapsing your spine as you rotate
- Don't let the cable snap you back; control the return
Muscles worked
The cable standing wood chopper mainly works the obliques, with the upper abs, lower abs, forearms, lats, lower back, and glutes assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- LatsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- GlutesSupport
- Upper TrapsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
- Rear DeltsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the cable standing wood chopper for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.