The cable pulley system is a versatile and comfortable choice for strength training at home or the gym.
These machines allow for a wide range of motion and a seamless adjustment of resistance levels.
As a certified personal trainer, I’ve seen how pulley system exercises work the whole body and promote proper form.
This complete guide will tell you about the best pulley system exercises and how to use them effectively. It covers all the exercises, from compound to isolation exercises.
- 12 Best Cable Pulley Exercises for Your Home Gym
- 1. Standing Cable Chest Press
- 2. Cable Pulley Chest Fly
- 3. Cable Shoulder Press
- 4. One Arm Cable Lateral Raise
- 5. Single Arm Cable Front Raise
- 6. Cable Upright Row
- 7. Lat Pulldown
- 8. Straight Arm Lat Pulldown
- 9. Triceps Pushdown
- 10. Cable Bicep Curl
- 11. Cable Squat
- 12. Pallof Press
- Cable Pulley System Workout Routine
- Beginner Routine
- Upper Body Routine
- Takeaways
12 Best Cable Pulley Exercises for Your Home Gym
Cable pulleys are a versatile and effective way to train multiple muscle groups from the comfort of your home gym.
Here are 12 exercises to challenge your strength, improve your flexibility, and help you get a well-rounded body.
1. Standing Cable Chest Press
The Standing cable chest press is another great exercise for your cable chest workout. Compared to the convention bench press, it can increase the range of motion.
It also engages your core and stabilizer muscles far more, as you must control every angle at which the weight can potentially move.
2. Cable Pulley Chest Fly
If you’re looking for straightforward cable pulley exercises to add to your routine, cable crossover is a great staple exercise to get you started. It provides constant tension in helping build a massive chest.
Standing cable crossover Exercise helps to develop and define the lower and the Inner pectoral muscles.
The cable provides constant resistance and helps the lower and inner chest muscles develop.
Know More: 14 Best Cable Chest Exercises To Build Bigger And Stronger Chest
3. Cable Shoulder Press
It is a variation of the shoulder or overhead press, and it’s one of the best exercises for building size and strength.
Although you may not see many people doing cable machine shoulder presses, it is a great way to add more variety to your shoulder workout.
The angle of the cable overhead press can help recruit new muscle fiber that’s not engaged much with other types of shoulder presses because the force is pulling down behind you.
4. One Arm Cable Lateral Raise
The one-arm cable lateral raise is an isolated shoulder exercise that targets the deltoids while increasing stability in both the wrists and the core.
It works the lateral head of the deltoid muscle, which is the rounded muscle at the very top of each shoulder.
An advanced version of this exercise involves standing, so the cable is behind you when you lift. This can prevent your shoulders from rounding forward and also activate the rear delts.
5. Single Arm Cable Front Raise
You can add plenty of single-arm exercises to correct potential imbalances when doing a shoulder workout with a cable machine.
It is one of the most effective front raise variations that works the front deltoid muscles.
It’s a unilateral exercise, so you only work one shoulder at a time.
6. Cable Upright Row
The cable upright row works many of the big muscles in your upper back and shoulders. It is key for many strength, power, and fitness sports movements.
Upright row activates all major shoulder muscles, making it excellent for upper body stability and conditioning. It is important to do this regularly to improve your posture and protect yourself from injury.
7. Lat Pulldown
Do you want a strong back with a V-shaped shape that gives you strength and stability? Look no further than the Lat Pulldown exercise.
It is a great starting point if you’re looking for a straightforward pulley exercise to add to your back workout routine.
Lat pulldown is a compound exercise that targets the upper back muscles, including the latissimus dorsi, Rhomboids, biceps, and rear shoulders.
8. Straight Arm Lat Pulldown
The straight arm lat pull-down is one of the best cable exercises for strengthening your lats (back). This isolation exercise can also help improve your posture and build a bigger back.
The exercise primarily targets the lats, but you will also notice many biceps activations. This is a great cable exercise that can really help you widen your upper back.
Over time, strengthening these muscles can help with posture and pulling power.
Know More: 20 Best Cable Machine Back Exercises For Wider And Strong Back
9. Triceps Pushdown
The triceps pushdown is the best cable triceps exercise for adding muscle mass to the upper back side of the arms.
Unlike barbell or dumbbell exercises, cable exercises provide uniform resistance throughout the movement, while the resistance varies during the lift.
- Using the straight bar, a pronated grip (palms down) emphasizes the outer lateral head of the triceps,
- whereas a supinated grip (palms up) focuses effort on the inner long head.
- An angled V-shaped bar switches the hands into a neutral grip (thumbs up), equally targeting all three triceps heads.
10. Cable Bicep Curl
If you want to build a bigger and stronger bicep, you should add cable bicep curls to your arm workout routine.
Why are cable curls so vital? Cable curls have many advantages over traditional bicep curls.
The ability to target different parts of your biceps and constant tension throughout the movement are some of the things that make these curls so effective.
11. Cable Squat
Cable Squats are an excellent alternative to barbell squats to build quality muscle mass in the legs. These leg exercises are done standing with a cable machine.
One benefit of the cable squat over the barbell squat is that it is more evenly distributed, and you have a more constant load on your legs throughout the whole range of motion.
12. Pallof Press
The Pallof Press is a full-body exercise that can increase overall stability and activate many large muscle groups in the body.
It is an anti-rotation hold exercise that will work wonders in helping you develop a stable core.
The Pallof press is a valuable movement prep and core strengthening exercise. It helps establish proper spinal alignment under load and increases core stability.
Know More: Most Effective Abs And Oblique Cable Exercises & Workout Plan
Cable Pulley System Workout Routine
Beginner Routine
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Cable Lat pulldown | 3 | 8-10 |
| Cable Chest Press | 3 | 8-10 |
| Bicep Cable Curl | 2 | 12-15 |
| Tricep Pushdown | 2 | 12-15 |
| Cable Shoulder Press | 2 | 10-12 |
| Cable Squat | 2 | 12-15 |
Upper Body Routine
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Seated Cable Row | 4 | 8-10 |
| Cable Chest Press | 4 | 8-10 |
| Cable Bicep Curl | 3 | 10-12 |
| Cable Tricep Extension | 3 | 10-12 |
| Cable Lateral Raise | 3 | 12-15 |
| Cable Front Raise | 3 | 12-15 |
| Cable Upright Row | 3 | 10-12 |
| Cable Shrug | 2 | 15-20 |
Takeaways
You can target muscles from different angles and challenge your body in different ways with cable pulley systems.
It is an efficient and compact way to add exercise variety to your home gym setup.
Try incorporating these pulley exercises into your routine. If you have any favorite pulley exercises, tell us in the comments.
Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.
Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.