Cable machine exercises: a beginner's guide to the cable stack

The cable machine looks complicated: pulleys that move, a box of handles, numbers on a stack. But it's one of the most useful pieces of kit in the gym. Cables keep tension on the muscle through the whole rep, let you pull from any angle, and change weight with a pin. Once you know three settings, you can use it for almost anything.

The three settings

• Pulley height: low for curls, kickbacks and low-to-high flies; chest height for rows, presses and Pallof presses; high for pushdowns, face pulls and crunches.
• Attachment: a single handle for one-arm work, a rope for face pulls, pushdowns and hammer curls, a bar for pulldowns and curls.
• Weight: stacks vary between machines, so the number on one won't match another. Find your weight once per machine, and log it so you can repeat it.

Cable exercises worth learning

• Cable face pullRear delts
• Cable flyChest
• One-arm cable rowLats
• Cable lateral raiseSide delts
• Rope pushdownTriceps
• Cable curlBiceps

For your core and hips

• Pallof pressObliques, Abs
• Cable woodchopObliques
• Cable crunchAbs
• Cable pull-throughGlutes, Hamstrings
• Cable glute kickbackGlutes

The Pallof press is a favourite: you press the handle straight out and resist the cable pulling you round, which trains your core to stay still, exactly its job when you squat and deadlift.

Tips for better cable sets

1. Step away until the stack lifts at the start of the rep, so tension never drops.
2. Stand in a split stance for presses and flies, so you're braced instead of being pulled over.
3. Pause at the squeeze, then lower slowly. The plates should never clank between reps.
4. Use cables after your big lifts, not instead of them: they're ideal for the second half of a workout. See compound vs isolation exercises.

Let Liftsmith pick them

Add a cable station to your gym in Liftsmith and it can pick from over 20 cable exercises to fill the muscles you still need this week, each with setup, cues and a 3D demo. Your last weight on each one is filled in next time, so you never have to remember which pin you used.