Ryan Douglas
"The cable machine offers an incredibly diverse range of benefits to every lifter. Not only can they optimize hypertrophy training, but cables give you more joint stability than free weights or other machines–making them great for getting a pump without causing too much stress on your joints.
The cable system also offers a consistent challenge that allows for a more accurate and efficient training stimulus than many other devices in the gym.
In this article, we’ll break down the best cable exercises for muscle building and strength and give you tips on how to execute each movement correctly.
Seated Cable Row
The seated cable row is a great cable exercise that is very popular. At my gym, the machine is almost in constant use. The movement primarily works the latissimus dorsi, traps, and rhomboids. It also even works the biceps, traps, and rear delts.
How to do a Seated Cable Row
- Sit with your legs straight and your back straight. Grab the handle with an overhand grip, ensuring your hands are shoulder-width apart.
- Keep your core engaged and lean back slightly, keeping a slight bend in your knees. This is your starting position.
- From here, row the handle back towards your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together as you do so.
- Pause for a moment at the top of the contraction, and then slowly return to the starting position.
You can use many different handles for the seated cable row with various widths and hand positioning. The best one is the one that you feel works the best for you; give them all a try and pick what you like best.
Lat Pulldowns
Looking for a wide back? Lat pulldowns can help!
Lat pulldowns are another great cable exercise that works the lats, biceps, traps, and rear delts.
You can do the lat pulldown in various ways, such as wide or narrow grip and the behind-the-neck variation.
I personally prefer the wide grip lat pulldown as it works my lats better than the other variations.
The lat pulldown is also a great way to work and strengthen the lats for people who can’t do pull-ups.
How to do a Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
- Sit down on a lat pulldown machine and grab the bar with an overhand, outside shoulder-width grip.
- Exhale and bring the bar down to your chest.
- Squeeze your back muscles and hold for a second.
- Slowly return to the starting position as you inhale.
Triceps Pushdowns
Want a horseshoe triceps? Pushdowns can help you get them.
This cable exercise primarily works the triceps, but all three heads of the muscle group are worked to some extent.
The triceps pushdown can be done with a rope, straight bar, or V-bar attachment. I personally like using the rope as it feels better on my joints, and I feel it hits my triceps more.
How to do Triceps Pushdowns
- Start with the cable stack placed in the highest position and select the desired grip attachment.
- Standing upright with the chest up and the shoulders back, take hold of the cable attachment and bring your elbows close to your sides.
- Keeping your upper arms stationary, exhale as you extend your forearms and flex your triceps until your arms are fully extended.
- Slowly return to the starting position as you inhale by allowing the triceps to relax and the cable attachment to raise back to the starting position."
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Ryan is a former college wrestler and lifelong fitness fanatic. He has run half marathons, done mud runs, placed in body transformation contests, coached wrestling, and now coaches girls’ soccer. Not to mention he has also tried literally hundreds of supplements over the years and has a vast and thorough supplement knowledge. He has written for Muscle & Strength, Testosterone Junkie, The Sport Review and other publications. He is also the editor-in-chief of this website and has over 25 years of experience in the fitness industry. Feel free to connect with him on his LinkedIn page below.