Exercises · waist

Cable Twist (up-down)

A standing cable rotation that trains the obliques by twisting the torso diagonally across the body.

waistabscablebeginnercompound

Secondary muscles

obliqueslower back

How to do it

  1. Set the cable handle at about shoulder height and stand sideways to the machine with feet hip-width apart.
  2. Grab the handle with both hands and extend your arms in front of your chest with a soft bend in your elbows.
  3. Brace your core and rotate your torso away from the machine while guiding the handle diagonally down across your body.
  4. Keep your hips mostly still and finish with your hands near the outside of your opposite hip.
  5. Control the handle back to the start, then repeat all reps before switching sides or reverse the path to move from low to high.

Form cues

  • Rotate through your ribs
  • Keep hips quiet
  • Move on a diagonal
  • Brace before you twist

Common mistakes

  • Turning the hips and feet with the cable
  • Bending and straightening the elbows to move the weight
  • Letting the cable yank the torso back
  • Shrugging the shoulders toward the ears

Breathing

Exhale as you rotate and pull the handle across your body; inhale as you return under control.

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