Exercises with cable
81 exercises you can do with cable. Tap for technique and tips.
The cable machine is arguably the most versatile tool you'll find in a gym. You can move the attachment point high, low, or anywhere in between, swap handles, rotate your body — and suddenly you're hitting the same muscle from a completely different angle. That freedom is hard to replicate with barbells or dumbbells.
This collection features 81 cable exercises. They cover everything from abs and latissimus — 14 exercises each — to shoulders (13), triceps (12), chest and biceps (9 each). Front thighs and traps are also well represented.
Abs, back and core
Cable machines and abs are a natural pairing. Exercises like cable crunches, seated cable crunches, and reverse cable crunches deliver constant tension to the midsection throughout the movement — something a barbell rarely matches. Adding the stability ball cable crunch with side bends and cable wood chops introduces rotation, making the core more functional and complete.
For the back, cable crossover pulls and cable Judo flips demand technical proficiency but effectively integrate the torso and lats in a single pull. Cable deadlifts serve as a heavier, more explosive option when you want to work the entire posterior chain. Rear delt cable rows with rope and rear delt cable flyes target the mid-back muscles that are easily neglected.
Shoulders and triceps
Cable shoulder exercises are unusually versatile. Forward-leaning low-pulley side raises and seated cable side raises isolate the deltoids in ways that are often difficult to achieve with dumbbells. Alternating cable shoulder presses and cable shoulder presses work the movement under constant load — the tension can't drop midway like it does with free weights.
Triceps get twelve exercises to choose from. Incline bench cable pushdowns, incline bench cable extensions, and lying cable triceps extensions vary the angle and emphasize the muscle slightly differently. Single-arm cable extensions and rope overhead extensions are excellent additions when you want to fully engage the long head.
Chest, biceps and more
Cable chest press and cable crossovers are go-to exercises for chest on the cable machine. What sets them apart from bench pressing is that the cable maintains tension throughout the entire adduction — the chest doesn't unload at the top of the movement.
For biceps, cable hammer curls with rope and cable preacher curls offer stable alternatives to dumbbells, with the advantage that you can adjust the attachment height to emphasize different portions of the muscle. And if you want to work the hips too: cable hip adduction and cable internal rotation make the cable machine a complete strength and rehabilitation tool for the lower body as well.