Elbow touches are an ab bodyweight workout exercise that targets oblique muscles in our abdomens. They are a great ab exercise that also challenges your hip stability.
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How to Perform Elbow Touches?
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Start the elbow touches by starting in a plank/push-up position.
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Have your arms extended and your hands under the shoulders.
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If you want less challenging elbow touches, put your feet wider apart.
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If you want more challenging elbow touches, put your feet closer together.
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Have your elbows right in the middle.
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Squeeze your abs and squeeze your butt.
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Stay still except for a nicely controlled hand touching the opposite elbow.
Elbow Touche Variations
- Elbow touches are versatile exercises that engage and strengthen your core.
- By introducing variations, you can focus on specific muscles and aspects of physical fitness.
Here’s a breakdown of some popular elbow touch variations:
Slow and Controlled Elbow Touches
- Purpose: This approach prioritizes form and control over speed.
- How to Execute:
- Ensure a proper plank position with hands under shoulders and a straight line from head to heels.
- Move slowly, touching one elbow with the opposite hand.
- Focus on keeping the core engaged and hips stable throughout.
- Benefits: Enhances muscle activation, especially in the core, and promotes better technique.
Speed and Agility Elbow Touches
- Purpose: This variation focuses on enhancing your speed and agility.
- How to Execute:
- Start in the plank position.
- Quickly touch one elbow with the opposite hand, then swiftly switch to the other side.
- Emphasize moving with speed while maintaining balance.
- Benefits: Boosts cardiovascular fitness, and refines speed and agility.
Elevated Feet Elbow Touches
- Purpose: Elevating the feet introduces a new challenge to the traditional elbow touch.
- How to Execute:
- Begin in a plank position but with feet resting on an elevated surface like a bench or step.
- Engage the core and touch the elbow with the opposite hand, maintaining balance.
- Benefits: Provides an intensified core workout, targeting the abdominal and oblique muscles more aggressively.
Side Plank Elbow Touches
- Purpose: This variation offers an alternative position that deeply engages the obliques.
- How to Execute:
- Start in a side plank with one arm extended overhead.
- While keeping hips lifted and the core engaged, bring the top elbow to the bottom elbow.
- Return to the initial position and switch sides.
- Benefits: It challenges balance and intensely works the side abdominal muscles or obliques.
Weighted Elbow Touches
- Purpose: Adding weight provides resistance that amplifies the exercise’s intensity.
- How to Execute:
- Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell in one hand, begin in the plank position.
- Proceed with the elbow touch using the weighted hand for added resistance.
- Benefits: Increases strength by engaging not just the core but also the arms and shoulders due to the added weight.
Elbow touches, a variation of the classic plank, are a comprehensive exercise that can provide numerous benefits when executed properly.
They’re not just for the core; they engage multiple muscle groups, offering an all-around body workout.
Muscles Worked by Elbow Touches
Elbow touches works on the following muscles:
Rectus Abdominis
- Often referred to as the ‘six-pack muscle’, the rectus abdominis is the primary abdominal muscle that stabilizes your core during the movement.
Obliques (External & Internal)
- Located on each side of the rectus abdominis, obliques help with side-bending and waist-twisting movements.
- They are highly activated as you reach to touch the opposite elbow.
Deltoids
- This muscle group in the shoulders is engaged when lifting and extending your arm to touch the elbow.
Serratus Anterior
- Situated on the sides of your chest, these muscles play a crucial role in keeping your shoulder blades against the ribcage, which is vital for stability in this exercise.
Trapezius and Rhomboids
- Located in the upper back, these muscles stabilize the shoulder blades during movement.
Glutes and Hip Flexors
- Maintaining the plank position and preventing your hips from sagging or rotating demands a lot from your glutes and hip flexors.
Quadriceps
- The front thigh muscles help in holding the plank position by keeping your legs straight.
Benefits of Elbow Touches
Elbow touches, a variation of the classic plank, are a comprehensive exercise that can provide numerous benefits when executed properly.
They’re not just for the core; they engage multiple muscle groups, offering an all-around body workout.
Core Strength and Stability
- One of the most evident benefits of elbow touches is the enhancement of core strength.
- A strong core is vital for almost every movement and can help prevent injuries.
Improved Balance and Coordination
- By alternating touches and stabilizing your body, you train balance and enhance overall body coordination.
Shoulder Strength
- The dynamic movement of lifting your arm to touch the elbow builds shoulder strength and stability.
Flexibility
- Moving in and out of positions increases the flexibility of the spine and hips.
Cardiovascular Boost
- Performing the exercise at a faster pace can increase your heart rate, offering cardiovascular benefits.
Enhanced Metabolism
- Engaging multiple muscle groups at once can increase calorie burn, thus boosting metabolism.
Functional Fitness
- It mimics real-world activities that require bending, reaching, and stabilizing, enhancing your functional fitness.
Full-body Workout
- Despite being predominantly a core exercise, elbow touches work, multiple muscle groups, providing a comprehensive workout.
Summary of the benefits of elbow touches?
- It can build your core, which connects the upper torso to the bottom of your legs.
- It can help your posture; it can help the relationship between your chest and your mid-back and your shoulders and your neck.
- It can keep your head over your spine, so it’s not too forward.
- It can help symmetry between the front part of your body and the back part of the body.
- It strengthens the tendons, the ligaments, and the muscles because you have to hold this position for an extended period.
- It can create a lot of stability in your core, keep your back from being unstable, help your coordination when you walk, and reduce pain in your lower back.
- You can get a workout by doing this exercise, talking about sweating and feeling sore the next day.
Eldow Touches FAQs
What are the elbow touches exercises?
Elbow touches are an ab bodyweight workout exercise that targets oblique muscles in our abdomens.
What muscles are worked in elbow touches?
The elbow touches exercise targets oblique muscles in our abdomens.
George N. is the founder of ArmyPRT.com. While he never actually served in the United States Army, he has a passion for writing about military-related topics.
Born and raised in Bozeman, Montana, he graduated from George State University with an MBA in Actuarial Science. His hobbies include beach volleyball, hiking, fishing, and lifting weights
George is also a certified nutritionist with a passion for health and fitness.
Born and raised in Bozeman, Montana, he graduated from George State University with an MBA in Actuarial Science. His hobbies include beach volleyball, hiking, fishing, and lifting weights
George is also a certified nutritionist with a passion for health and fitness.
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