How many reps of the tall-kneeling cable chop should you do per side when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per side using a light to moderate weight, since the tall-kneeling base limits how much you can safely move. Add weight only once the hips stay locked forward and the trailing knee stays down for the whole set.

What can I use instead of a cable machine for the tall-kneeling chop?

A resistance band anchored high on a rack or door works the same high-to-low diagonal path with no cable stack needed. Without any equipment, a tall-kneeling medicine-ball chop, swinging the ball down and across by hand, trains a similar rotational pattern.

What does the tall-kneeling cable chop train, and when should I skip it?

It teaches pure trunk rotation with the hips locked out of the movement, which makes it a good bridge between rotation drills and standing, hip-driven rotational power work for throwing or swinging sports. Skip it, or use a lighter load, if kneeling itself bothers your knees, since the tall-kneeling position puts steady pressure through them for the whole set.

Intermediate

Tall-Kneeling Cable Chop

Kneeling on both knees removes the hips and legs from the equation, so the obliques do the rotating rather than your stance. The high-to-low path trains the trunk to accelerate and then decelerate a diagonal pull, which carries over to throwing and swinging patterns. It is a clean teaching tool for grooving pure thoracic rotation before adding standing power.

Equipment: Cables
Body part: Abs
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Abdominal External Oblique
Browse by movement: Rotation

How to do it

1
Set a cable at its highest setting and kneel tall beside it, hips extended and knees under you.
2
Grab the handle with both hands up by the shoulder nearest the anchor.
3
Brace your abs, then pull the handle down and across to the opposite hip.
4
Let your torso rotate away from the anchor while your hips stay locked and facing forward.
5
Reverse the path slowly, controlling the cable back to the start.
6
Complete your reps, then kneel facing the other way and chop to the other side.

Tips

Drive the rotation from your ribs and obliques, not by yanking with straight arms.
Keep your hips fully extended so the movement stays in the trunk, not the low back.
Own the return; the eccentric is where much of the oblique work lives.

Variations

Common mistakes

The hips sway sideways to help pull the cable across instead of staying locked and facing forward, letting the low back share work meant for the obliques.
The trailing knee lifts off the floor as the torso rotates hard, breaking the tall-kneeling base the drill depends on to isolate the trunk.
The path drifts into a straight side-to-side pull instead of the diagonal high-to-low line, missing the rotation the setup is built to create.
The head turns to watch the handle travel across the body, adding neck rotation on top of the trunk rotation the drill is meant to isolate.
Rushing straight from one side to the other without a pause at the hip skips the moment where the obliques finish the rotation.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the tall-kneeling cable chop should you do per side when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps per side using a light to moderate weight, since the tall-kneeling base limits how much you can safely move. Add weight only once the hips stay locked forward and the trailing knee stays down for the whole set.
What can I use instead of a cable machine for the tall-kneeling chop?: A resistance band anchored high on a rack or door works the same high-to-low diagonal path with no cable stack needed. Without any equipment, a tall-kneeling medicine-ball chop, swinging the ball down and across by hand, trains a similar rotational pattern.
What does the tall-kneeling cable chop train, and when should I skip it?: It teaches pure trunk rotation with the hips locked out of the movement, which makes it a good bridge between rotation drills and standing, hip-driven rotational power work for throwing or swinging sports. Skip it, or use a lighter load, if kneeling itself bothers your knees, since the tall-kneeling position puts steady pressure through them for the whole set.

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