How to do an Alternating Heel Touch
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Alternating Heel Touch
Workouts with Alternating Heel Touch
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Alternating Heel Touch is a bodyweight, core exercise that involves laying on the ground and reaching towards your heel on either side. By raising your shoulder blades off the ground, you’re already engaging your core, while reaching towards either side helps to engage your obliques.
- Lay on your back with your feet planted onto the ground and knees pointed towards the ceiling or sky.
- Position your arms to the side.
- Brace your core and raise your shoulders off the ground while keeping your neck in a neutral position.
- Bring one hand as close to the heel of the same side as possible and then repeat the movement for the other side.
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Shoulders Off the Ground
Keep your abs engaged, and shoulders off the ground for the duration of the exercise, especially as you become fatigued. Allowing your shoulders to drop will help you perform this exercise for more reps, but it will reduce the effectiveness.
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Alternative Exercises to Alternating Heel Touch
1. Russian Twist
96.2 mSCORESWAPPED 408 TIMESRussian Twist is one of the more common core exercises. This exercise targets multiple muscles in your core, but the reason for including this exercise is usually to target your obliques. By raising your feet off the ground, engaging your core, and twisting to each side, you can better target this specific muscle in your core.
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2. Crunches
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3. Dumbbell Side Bend
38.8 mSCORESWAPPED 311 TIMESDumbbell Side Bend is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the obliques. The use of a dumbbell adds resistance to the movement, helping to build muscle mass and strength in your sides. This is a simple exercise that aids in improving core stability and can be easily incorporated into any abdominal workout routine.
4. Ab Crunch Machine
96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 301 TIMESAb Crunch Machine is a variation of Crunches performed with a machine. Unlike standard Crunches, the use of a machine gives you more control over your resistance. In addition, the machine will restrict your range of motion allowing you to focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement.
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5. Leg Raise
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6. Bicycle Crunch
91.8 mSCORESWAPPED 272 TIMESBicycle Crunch is a more difficult version of a standard crunch. Instead of raising your torso off the ground for each rep, you keep your torso off the ground, and your core engaged. By cycling your legs, you add more instability to the movement, which leads to better core activation.
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7. Plank
92.8 mSCORESWAPPED 266 TIMESPlanks are one of the most common core exercises out there. This is a bodyweight exercise that is performed for time rather than reps. Planks don’t require any movement, instead they force you to place yourself in a position that requires you to engage your core, and maintain that muscle activation for the duration of the exercise. This is a great way to help build strength and stability in a way that will translate to a variety of other exercises, and your daily life.
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8. Dead Bug
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