Cable chest exercises are a good way to tone your chest. They help build strength, define your chest, and improve your posture.
Cable chest exercises are an excellent way to work your upper chest muscles. To start, stand in the center of cable towers and pull each cable in a sweeping motion with your elbows bent. Then, slowly return to the starting position.
The basic motions of cable chest exercises include the Low pulley cable fly, High pulley cable fly, Decline cable crossover, and cable press. Here are some examples.
How to Do Cable Chest Exercises
Cable chest exercises are a great way to increase size and strength in the chest. They work the chest musculature while also strengthening the shoulders and core. For the best results, you should do these exercises with proper form and weight.
To begin, hold the handles in each hand with your elbows bent and your shoulder blades slightly retracted.
Stand with your feet flat on the floor. Position your hands near your chest and your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle. Press the cables together until you feel them work your upper chest.
Then slowly return to the starting position. To perform the cable chest exercise, you need an exercise ball that is the appropriate size for your chest and cable towers.
Cable chest raises work the muscles in the upper chest, one of the most difficult areas of the body to develop. Standard incline presses place too much stress on the anterior delt, making it difficult to target the muscle fibres surrounding the collarbone.
By using a low pulley cable cross-over, you can focus on working the inner pectoral muscles while still avoiding the clavicular pectoral area.
When performing a cable pullover, it is best to start by assuming an athletic position. This will help your chest muscles work their main function. Then, bend your elbows and reach your arms across the midline of your body. When you’ve done that, lean forward at the hips and step one foot forward.
Examples of Cable Chest Exercises
Low pulley cable fly
The lower pulley cable fly is an excellent exercise to work your lower chest and shoulders. It is performed by holding the handles with your hands slightly bent or extended.
Depending on your strength level, you can perform the exercise with a slight bend in your elbows. This exercise is perfect for beginners and intermediate-level trainees.
The lowest cable pulley is usually placed below your head. The cable towers should be high enough to reach your head. Stand between the two cable towers while maintaining an upright posture. Be sure to place the handles at about shoulder height. Do not touch the rest of the stack.
To start, stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Hold the handles with an overhand grip. The knuckles should be facing forward. Maintain a slight arch in your lower spine. Keep your elbows slightly bent.
During the exercise, you should maintain a slight bend in your elbows. Then, bend at the waist. This will ensure a proper trajectory.
High pulley cable fly
A high pulley cable fly is a chest exercise that requires the arms to be extended and the hands to be bent. Pulling the cables close to your chest will tone the inner pectoral muscles and tone the chest. This exercise is also beneficial for developing left/right strength.
This exercise targets the pectoralis major, the triceps, and the anterior deltoids. You can perform this exercise with one tower, which is helpful if you only want to isolate one side of the chest.
While performing the exercise, hold the handle of the high pulley cable fly with an overhand grip with a slight bend in your elbow. Make sure that you pause at the mid-point of the exercise.
To perform this exercise, set the pulleys to their highest position. Stand in the middle of the machine, elbows slightly bent. Maintain a slight arch of the lower back.
Bend at the waist to make your upper body parallel to the floor. Then, keep your arms close to your chest and keep your elbows slightly bent.
Here’s how it’s done, step by step:
- Step 1: Place the cable fly handles on the highest notches.
- Step 2: Take a handle in each hand.
- Step 3: Step out with your right foot forward so that your feet are in a staggered stance.
- Step 4: With your elbows slightly bent pull the handles forward and together meeting in the center of your chest.
- Step 5: Bring your hands back to the starting position. This completes one repetition.
Decline cable crossover
Decline cable chest exercises target the muscles of the chest. They are an excellent choice for beginner gym goers because they target a new set of muscle fibers while minimizing stress on the joints and tendons.
Plus, they give you more volume than standard chest exercises. To perform these exercises, you’ll need a cable machine and a bench that has a decline of 15 to 30 degrees.
Cable chest exercises can be performed in a variety of positions, including standing, seated, and prone positions. They can target all major muscle fibers in the chest. To begin, you’ll want to use a bench that has a low pulley handle.
Alternatively, you can use a bench with a horizontal, inclined, or negative slope. Remember to keep the slope low enough so the load is on the upper chest.
When performing this exercise, make sure to drop your lower shoulders to avoid injury. You can also elevate your feet into the air to make the exercise easier.
The high fly is another exercise that targets the upper chest. The high fly is similar to the middle fly, but uses a higher pulley anchor point. This exercise works the front deltoids and the pecs.
The handle position should be slightly lower than shoulder height. Once the handle is in a stretched position, step forward and bend the elbows. Then, slowly bring the arms back to shoulder level.
Low pulley cable press
The Low pulley cable press can be used to strengthen your shoulders. The two handles on the machine are attached to each side.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and grab the handles. Pull them toward your waist while bending your elbows. Hold for a count, then slowly return to the starting position and repeat for desired number of reps.
The Low pulley cable press is a common workout for the upper chest and front shoulders. When you perform this exercise, your core, upper arms, and forearms are engaged.
For optimal results, you must have a good foundation of strength to perform this exercise. Once you’ve mastered the basic movements, you can move on to more complex variations of this exercise.
A Low pulley cable press can also be performed with free weights. Free weights are usually loaded in a vertical position. If you want a more efficient exercise, you can choose one that uses a cable pulley machine.
This type of equipment allows you to load weights diagonally as well as horizontally. You can also use it as a pre-exhaust move.
Is Cable Exercise Good For Your Chest?
Cable machines are a great way to build the upper torso. They place intense stress on key muscle groups like the deltoids, pectorals, and triceps.
According to Muscular Strength, cable machines provide continuous tension on your muscles, which allows you to gain amazing triceps and pumps.
While they can’t compete with other gym equipment, they can provide an effective upper-body workout. The best cable chest workouts involve single-arm exercises, which ensure that both sides get equal attention.
To begin a cable chest workout, you should start by positioning your feet shoulder-width apart. Once you are in the correct position, you can then begin the exercise. Hold the handles at the chest and slowly lower them back. Try to feel a stretch in your lats and chest as you lower them.
If you want to add cable chest exercises to your workout, try combining them with push-ups and crossovers. This way, you can maximize the stretch of your rib cage. As with any exercise, you can also add sets to increase the load and volume of your workouts.
Another exercise that works the chest is the pull-up. This exercise is similar to a push-up, but the arm position is different. This means you will have to hold the cable with your elbow at a slight angle. This will engage your front delts, whereas the back delts will be inactive during a pull-up.
