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Fitness: 5 great cable machine workouts
Summary
It is always a good idea to know workout variations so that your muscles are always challenged. Here, we look at five great cable machine workouts
It feels rewarding when you find a way to workout with as little equipment as possible, and still hit your goals. But make sure that knowing the secrets of how to workout with less does not stop you from trying different ways to exercise when you have more equipment available.
The idea should be to not get stuck in any one way to workout. If you are using only resistance bands but also have dumbbells available, use them too. If you are using only dumbbells and have a barbell available, include that too. And specific to this article, if you have access to a cable machine, then you might want to get creative with that.
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Chest: I prefer to perform the flat bench press by switching between the smith machine and floor dumbbell press. But over the past few weeks, I have started using the cable machine for this. The challenge for the muscles has felt different because chest muscles can get used to certain moves. In order to keep your progress from stalling, you need to occasionally refresh your workouts. When I use the cable machine, the resistance is radically different, because the cables make sure that I spend a longer time under tension.
The cable flat bench press does not need to replace the traditional barbell and dumbbell version. But it works very well as a variation, because now you can hit your chest muscles from three different angles (flat, incline and decline) using three kinds of presses.
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An article on the golf-specific performance website myTPI, titled Why To Choose Cable Press Over Bench Press, their performance head Lance Gill talks about how the move affects golfers. But the science he mentions can be applied to anyone. “I believe strongly that the bench press does not create as much kinesthetic awareness of similarity to press/push motion in the golf swing as compared to the cable press. I also believe strongly that the cable press does not create as much strength as the bench press," he writes.
Drop sets: Apart from longer time spent under resistance and more shoulder-friendly angles, using the cable provides a massive drop set advantage. A drop set is when you choose a weight and rep it out until failure, then lower the weight by 10% (or by one plate on the cable stack), then rep that out until failure, and so on till as low a weight as you can go. Doing this on barbells kills the momentum of a drop set because you will be loading and unloading plates so many times. You can also do single-arm versions of the chest press with the cable machine.
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Biceps: Next is the cable drag curl. The hidden gem of bicep exercises is more fun to perform using the cable machine. “The drag curl, unlike a lot of other biceps curl variations, takes the deltoids out of the movement to focus more on the biceps. Plus, during the peak contraction, your elbows are behind your body which sets you up for an intense bicep contraction," states a muscleandfitness.com article titled Try The Drag Curl When You Want To Make Major Gains To Your Guns Routine. Another advantage of doing the drag curl with cables is the freedom to change the grips with various handles.
Triceps: For the triceps, the skullcrusher can be done using a single cable with a bigger handle attached to it. This is the exercise in which the difference in time under tension is quite apparent. There is a more complex—and better—way to do the standing triceps extensions using the cables. Called as the overhead cross-cable triceps extension, You would need to wait till the gym is emptier to do it, because you will need to use both the cables.
You will be facing away from the cables. You don’t need any grips/handles for this. There is usually an attachment at the end of cables that will be held. The right arm will be on the left cable and the left arm grips the right cable. The video below is an excellent demonstration.
“The overhead cross-cable triceps extension provides you with unparalleled muscular tension and doesn’t require excessive shoulder mobility either," states a barbend.com article titled Try These 6 Unique Bodybuilding Arm Exercises To Spark New Muscle Growth.
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Squat and row: The last exercise on this list is the squat and row. Adding a squat is always a challenge on cables but this one is perfect as you stand with enough resistance with a rowing handle attached. Now in a squat hold with resistance pulling you towards the weight, then add a row to the mix to work the back and core together. You can also do squats as you pull in the weight for a higher challenge, and get into deeper holds as you progress. With the choice between isometric and movement, this is an exercise that works on your hamstrings and quadriceps as well as your lats and traps and biceps. It can also be done using a resistance band attached to a strong fixture.
Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator, podcaster and writer.
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