What Are Heel Touches? Benefits, Execution, and Variations

Looking for a simple and effective exercise to add to your core workout routine? Look no further than the heel touches. They don’t require any equipment and are sure to give your abdominal muscles a serious workout.

But if you’re still wondering, “What are heel touches?”, you are at the right place. In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know to master this simple exercise: proper technique, common mistakes, main benefits, and more. Keep reading!

What Are Heel Touches?

This exercise is so simple. Heel touches, also known as alternating heel touches or side-to-side heel touches, are a type of abdominal exercise. You lie flat on the floor with your knees bent and try to reach your heels alternating in a side-to-side motion.

They are fairly easy to do and require no equipment, making them a great option for home use or in situations where no gym is available.

Check out this step-by-step:

• Setup: Lay on the floor or exercise mat with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Maintain your arms in a neutral position by your sides and palms facing the floor.
• Engage your core: Lift your head and neck slightly and engage your abdominal muscles.
• Execution: The movement is all in the obliques. Contract your left oblique as you reach your hand towards your left heel, and do it again for your right side.
• Repetition: Repeat for as many reps and sets as you’d like

Common Mistakes

Even though it is a simple exercise, there are still some common mistakes you can make while doing the heel touches that will kill your abdominal gains and possibly get you injured. We’ve highlighted them on the list below>

• Tucking Your Chin: You are supposed to lift your head up during the exercise. Thus, remember not to tuck your chin down since it will put unnecessary tension on your neck, which can lead to injuries. Always maintain your spine neutral while doing the heel touches.
• Not Contracting Your Abs: Engaging your core is essential to properly executing the exercise. Make sure you contract your abs and put those obliques to work during the whole set.

What Muscles Are Worked By Heel Touches?

As stated before, heel touches are going to mainly work on core muscles. But since that name indicates several muscles, here are the main ones engaged in this exercise.

• Obliques: These muscles are divided into Internal obliques and External obliques. Both of them have similar functions in maintaining abdominal pressure and work together, allowing the torso to rotate alongside other trunk movements. Additionally, they are essential to work if you want that coveted abdominal V-line.

• Rectus Abdominis: This muscle almost doesn’t need an introduction: the Rectus Abdominis is responsible for torso contraction and overall strength and stability of the upper body. It is also responsible for the six-pack on people with muscular abs. So, alongside the biceps, it is kind of the poster boy muscle in the weightlifting world.
• Transversus Abdominis: This is the deeper abdominal muscle, located under the Rectus Abdominis. The Transversus Abdominis goes from your belly all the way to the lower back, and its main responsibility is to hold your internal organs in place. Besides that, it also plays a big part in supporting the lower back.

Benefits of Heel Touches

Adding heel touches to your workout routine can bring many benefits to your physique and health:

Core Strength And Stability

Core strength is essential for leading a healthy life since it allows people to perform everyday activities, such as lifting, bending, and twisting, with ease and without injury.

Additionally, studies indicate that improving abdominal strength helps with hip muscle function. This results in better lower leg movement, translating to better walking, running, and jumping.

Aesthetic Physique

Abs training is an essential part of any aesthetic workout. A well-defined six-pack and obliques are objects of desire by many weightlifters everywhere. Of course, it is possible to have a strong core and still not have defined abs since your body fat percentage has a big say on whether your abdominal muscles are visible or not. So remember to also maintain a clean and well-balanced diet.

Injury Prevention

Finally, heel touches can help with injury prevention since a strong core is directly responsible for supporting the lower back, reducing the risk of back pain and injuries. It also helps maintain spinal alignment, guaranteeing musculoskeletal health.

3 Best Heel Touches Variations

Check out some of our favorite heel touches variations:

1. Weighted Heel Touches

Once the traditional heel touch becomes too trivial for you, consider spicing things up with the weighted heel touches. It is basically the same exercise but with the extra challenge of holding a dumbbell in each hand. This weighted ab exercise is sure to fire up your core and get your abs gains going!

2. Resistance Band Heel Touches

If you still want to add some extra difficulty to your workout but don't have access to any dumbbells, consider using a resistance band.

Using a structure (like a pole or the leg of a bench) behind you as an anchor, you can grab one end of the resistance band with each hand and do the same exercise. The band will try to pull your hands back, and the extra tension will give your abs a tough workout.

3. Elevated Heel Touches

Another great way to increase the challenge of the heel touches is elevating your feet by placing them on a bench or, in the case of the video below, on the decline sit-ups bench. This will increase the range of motion of the exercise, and studies indicate that a bigger range of motion has positive effects on muscle hypertrophy.

Heel Touches: Routine Incorporation

Now that you know what heel touches are and how to do them, it’s time to understand how you can incorporate them into your workout routine in a way that makes sense.

You should do heel touches about 2 to 3 times a week, aiming for 3-4 sets of 15-20 repetitions. If you can pair them with other ab exercises like Russian twists, leg raises, planks, and such, that would be even better!

Final Word

If you’re looking to give your abdominal muscles a good workout, the heel touches are an excellent option. Their versatility is almost unmatched and the gains sure are worth it.

You now have everything you need to go after that six-pack and v-lines. However, you should remember to always warm up before engaging in physical activities and to stretch once you’re done. This will prevent you from getting injured and make sure you spend more time working out rather than at home recovering.

Ready to conquer the body of a Greek god? We’ve made it simple to work on customized fitness plans or to introduce a little friendly competition to your fitness community by sharing exercises with your friends. Get started for free through the Flex fitness app.