Shoulders · Bodyweight
Figure 8 with Towels
How to do the figure 8 with towels, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall holding a rolled towel in each hand with arms extended. Move both arms in smooth, looping figure-8 patterns across your body, letting the shoulders and torso rotate fluidly. Keep it continuous to warm up the shoulders and upper back.
- 1Your shoulders and upper back loosening through the looping motion
- 2A light, fluid swing with the towels guiding the path
- 3Gentle rotation through your trunk as the arms cross over
Common mistakes
- Don't tense up or move in sharp, jerky lines
- Avoid shrugging your shoulders toward your ears
- Don't rush; keep the figure-8 smooth and controlled
Muscles worked
The figure 8 with towels works the forearms, upper traps, mid traps, obliques, front delts, side delts, and rear delts.
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Mid TrapsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- Side DeltsSupport
- Rear DeltsSupport
- LatsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
- External RotatorsMinor
- Internal RotatorsMinor
Kovo programs the figure 8 with towels 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 shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.