Cable crossover alternative

The cable crossover is one cable crossover alternative the most commonly performed exercises for isolating the chest muscles. It is great for keeping constant tension in the pecs throughout the range of motion. However, you may want to choose an alternative if you get bored or do not have access to a cable machine because your gym does not have one or you train at home.

April 12, 9 min read. For those of us chasing gains, there are some myths that come back again and again… and again. But you may still find yourself believing that the only way to achieve a chiselled chest and beast-like upper body strength is by spending your days and nights at the cable crossover. There are many other moves that will carve out your pecs and bulk up your upper body. Ready to make chest day the best day of the week? Read on. Changing up the angle of your cable crossover exercises lets you target your lower and upper pecs as well as other muscle groups.

Cable crossover alternative

More often than not, an effective chest day workout includes the cable crossover. And why not, using a cable machine is a great way of isolating your chest muscles so you can build bigger and stronger pecs. Three key things stand out the most for us when doing the cable crossover and are what make it such a great exercise. This means you can properly target those chest muscles without much involvement from other muscle groups like your shoulders, back, and biceps. This can help you work more on the definition of your pectoral muscles and focus on certain parts of the chest that might get overlooked during other exercises like the bench press. When you compare the cable crossover to some free weight exercises, the resistance gets more challenging as you bring the cables together with your muscles working their hardest at the top of the movement. This is different from something like dumbbell flyes and other exercises that involve free weights as the resistance tends to drop off either at the top or bottom of the exercise. When tension is applied to your muscles throughout the entire range of motion this will lead to greater strength gains and muscle hypertrophy. By setting up the cables to move at different angles you can place emphasis on certain parts of your chest. For example, if you set the cables lower down and then pull them up, this will put more emphasis on your upper pecs. On the other hand, setting them high and pulling them down will increase activation of the lower portion of your chest.

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The cable crossover is a pulley machine based exercise commonly found in many bodybuilding training splits for the purposes of inducing muscular hypertrophy in the chest muscles , especially in the capacity of an isolation exercise. However, despite its relative safety and ease of performance, the cable crossover may require substitution in a training program due to a variety of issues either characteristic of the exercise itself, or of that related to the exerciser and their training goals. The cable crossover has a variety of similar alternative exercises that do not possess the same issues commonly complained about by cable crossover performers, allowing for its alternating out with little to no change in training stimulus or end results. As such, a majority of intermediate to advanced level gymgoers and athletes will often seek out a more intense free weight exercise capable of overloading the pectoral muscle group in a manner otherwise difficult to achieve and maintain with just the cable crossover exercise. In certain instances, the cable crossover may be impossible to perform for certain exercisers due to their lack of access to a cable machine — requiring that an exercise of similar training stimulus but different equipment usage act as a substitute. However, for individuals seeking a specific training stimulus, increase in training intensity or athletes looking for a more practical alternative exercise — the most important factor to pay attention to is the muscle group activation set and the intensity therein of any potential alternative exercise candidate.

Home » Alternatives. Firstly they rely on a cable machine which is an expensive and often not practical indulgence for lots of home gym owners. There are more functional and effective exercises out there. A full-range crossover allows you to go from a wide pectoral stretch to the full contraction of the muscle. The internal rotation at the shoulder can be very useful for some people — throwers and swimmers in particular. They also engage the pectoral muscles effectively without using the anterior deltoid as much as other exercises, making it useful for those who are trying to reduce stress on the shoulders. The stretch is also an important element of the lift. Most lifters have tight pectoral muscles, so an exercise that helps to eccentrically contract the muscles and pull them into a full stretch can have potential shoulder pain benefits. Research shows us that a pectoral stretching protocol can help ease discomfort in people with shoulder pain. Internal rotation at the shoulders is a problem if you have chronically tight pectorals.

Cable crossover alternative

Garagegympower is reader-supported. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. These 9 cable crossover alternatives will help you build mass and definition in your pecs, without the need for an expensive and space-hogging cable crossover machine. The resistance band low fly is an alternative to low pulley cable crossover, which focuses on your inner upper pecs. This move uses two resistance band with handles, like this one. The benefit of resistance bands for this exercise, as opposed to using dumbbells is they provide continuous tension through the entire move, just like a real low cable crossover does.

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Home » Alternatives. Free Weight Cable Crossover Alternatives 4. Shift up on the bench so that your head is right at the end of it. Lie back on the bench with your arms slightly bent and above your chest with palms facing inwards. This lowers your body angle and tips more of your body weight onto your pecs, which makes the exercise harder. All of the exercises above are suitable for a home gym and amazing alternatives to cable crossovers, but it is vital that you perform them safely. Use the hours of research, testing and experience inside the ultimate guide to build a home gym. Assisted Dips An assisted dip machine is a cable crossover alternative exercise that allows you to perform high rep finishers. Rest-pauses refer to breaking down one larger set into smaller sets with to second rest periods in between. Want to improve your home gym? As such, the cable machine fly is the most suitable alternative exercise for individuals simply wishing to try a new but similar exercise, or for exercisers wishing to alter the mechanics of the cable crossover due to certain injuries or specific biomechanical related training goals. This dip variation has a forward lean to emphasize the pecs and should be distinct from the more vertical tricep dip variation. Pec Deck Machine.

Updated On: April 04, You've knocked out your bench press sets and are looking to finish off your chest workout with a serious burn. Cable crossovers are always a great option, but what are the alternatives?

Benin XOF Fr. Doing the fly on an incline will elicit a better response from your upper chest whereas performing them on a decline bench so your head is lower than your chest will target more of your lower chest. Set the bars wide if the machine allows this and grab hold tight. It will hit the chest the same way and target your core as you move. Pull your arms apart, like you would for a normal cable fly. This can help you work more on the definition of your pectoral muscles and focus on certain parts of the chest that might get overlooked during other exercises like the bench press. The reason for the wider grip is because it engages the pectorals more and takes some of the emphasis off the triceps. You can use these for heavy shrugs, squats and bench press etc. This stops the stronger arm from taking over and reducing the subjected tension on the weaker arm. Still, they do play a pivotal role and have to be strong enough to keep your arm and elbow in position so you can target your chest. Uzbekistan UZS. Only personally used or thoroughly researched products are recommended. Controlled protraction of the scapula is very important during chest exercises. The chest muscles have serious functional importance, helping you lift, pull, and throw heavy weights, as well as improving posture and shoulder motion.