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Exercise library · Chest

Cable fly

Fly for the chest on a cable.

How to do it

1 of 3

Step forward, elbows slightly bent

  1. Starting position

    Stand between cables set at chest height, take one handle in each hand and step forward with slightly bent elbows.

  2. The movement

    Bring the handles in an arc until your hands meet in front of your chest, then return them slowly to the sides.

Most common mistake

Don't bend your arms so the movement becomes a press, keep the same slight bend in your elbows throughout.

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Muscle group
Chest
Equipment
Cable
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The cable fly isolates your chest. The chest muscle brings your arms in across your body, with the front of your shoulders helping. Because your elbow angle does not change, your triceps have almost nothing to do. Unlike dumbbells, the cable keeps resistance on even when your hands meet. Pulley height changes the direction of the pull. Set high and pulled downwards, the cables tend to put more emphasis on the lower chest, and set low and pulled upwards, more on the upper chest.

Common mistakes

  • Your arms go too far back. With your hands well behind your body, the front of your shoulders takes much of the load. Stop where you feel a clear stretch in your chest with your shoulders still held back.
  • Your shoulders roll forward and up. Your shoulders and neck then take over from your chest. Keep your chest up and your shoulders down, away from your ears, through the whole set.
  • You rock your upper body. Momentum makes the set easier but takes work away from your chest. Stand with one foot in front of the other, lower the weight and move the handles at a calm pace both ways.

Variations and alternatives

  • The pec deck is a machine with a fixed path, easy to learn and fully focused on your chest.
  • The dumbbell fly does the same movement on a bench, if the cable station is busy.
  • The band chest fly with a resistance band works at home.
  • The standing cable chest press is a press on the same machine, where your triceps help and you can push harder.

Sets and reps

The cable fly is not suited to heavy sets of few reps. The weight is light and the hard part is holding your form, so train strength with your presses. To build muscle, most people do 2 to 4 sets of 8 to 15 reps, often after a press. It also works for endurance at 15 to 20 reps. The guide to sets and reps explains how to choose.

The weight steps on a cable stack can be large compared with the light weight you use. Add reps first, and move up when you reach the top of your range with the same controlled movement on every set. That is how progressive overload works in an isolation exercise. Note the pulley height too, so you can compare sessions.

Also called

  • cable crossover
  • crossover
  • kabel-flyes låg till hög
  • kabelflyes låg till hög

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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