Upper Chest Cable Exercises for Bigger & Stronger Chest

If you are looking for the best upper chest cable exercises, you’ve come to the right place.

Developing a full, muscular chest is a goal for many gym-goers. While exercises such as the bench press and push-ups work the entire chest area, it can be difficult to isolate and target the upper portion of the pectoral muscles.

Upper chest cable exercises are a great way to target and develop the upper portion of your pectoral muscles.

In this post, we’ll look at some of the most effective upper chest cable exercises and how to do them, and pro-tips.

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5 Best Upper Chest Exercises With Cable

If you are looking to build more thickness, muscle, and strength in your upper chest, you should add these upper chest cable exercises to your training regime.

Having a well-developed upper chest helps add fullness to the upper body and also has functional benefits.

Here is the list of the 5 best upper chest cable exercises which help to train the chest at various angles and strengthen and to build a well-developed chest.

1. Cable Incline Bench Press

If you’re looking for straightforward cable machine upper chest exercises to add to your routine, cable incline bench press is a great staple exercise to get you started.

The Incline cable bench press has a unique benefit. In barbell and incline dumbbell bench presses, the resistance is directly downward, and your triceps brachii take over much of the force from your chest at the top of the press.

In contrast, the incline cable bench press maintains more focus on your upper pectoralis major throughout the movement. The resistance comes from an angle, so you have to push the stirrups upward and pull them inward at the top of the movement.

The study found that the most activity for the upper part of the pectoralis major muscle was occurred when the bench was angled at 30 degrees.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Upper pectoralis major

Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps, and biceps brachii

How To Do Cable Incline Bench Press

1. Set an incline bench at a 30-to 45-degree angle.
2. Attach stirrup handles to the low pulleys and lie down on the bench with your feet flat on the floor.
3. Exhale as you extend your elbows up to move your arms up and inwards until your hand meet.
4. Squeeze your upper chest at the top of the movement and then inhale as you slowly release back to the starting position.
5. Repeat as many repetitions as are desired.

Tips

• Vary the position of the bench to hit different angles of the upper chest.
• Hold and contract the chest muscles when hands are together. This one creates bigger tension on your upper chest.
• Set the bench at about 30-45 degrees inclined. Do not go more upright as the stress shifts more to the shoulders rather than the chest area.

2. Low Cable Fly (Low to High Cable Fly)

The standing low to high cable fly is a variation of the cable chest fly and an exercise used to strengthen the pushing muscles of the body including the chest, biceps, and shoulders.

The cable provides constant tension, helping build upper pecs. It is another great cable exercise for your upper chest workout.

Low to high cable fly exercise helps to develop and define upper and inner pectoral muscles. Cable provides constant resistance and helps develop central chest muscles and provides the much-needed stress and inner pecs, for which bodybuilders crave.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Upper chest

Secondary: Anterior deltoid, lower chest and Biceps Brachii

How To Do Low Cable Fly

1. Set both pulleys as low as possible and select the desired weight. In a standing position, grab and hold the handles of overhead pulleys on both sides.
2. Bend slightly forwards, and extend your arms, feeling a good stretch in your chest muscles.
3. Bend your elbows slightly, pull your hands toward each other in wide arcs in front of you. Pause when your hands touch.  Feeling your upper chest working.
4. Slowly lower back to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip

• To keep your balance, stand in a staggered stance.
• Breathe out as you lift the handles up and together.
• Control the weight as you bring your arms back down.

3. Incline Cable Fly

The incline cable fly is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the upper chest muscles. It is performed using a cable machine with an adjustable pulley system and a bench set at an incline angle of around 30–45 degrees.

Unlike Incline dumbbell fly, cables provide constant tension throughout the entire movement. This allows you to keep the upper chest muscles engaged and contracted the entire time and leads to greater muscle growth.

For people who experience discomfort in their joints during the Incline bench press, Incline cable chest fly exercises are a great alternative.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Upper chest

Secondary: Anterior deltoid, triceps, lower chest and biceps brachii

How To Do Incline Cable Fly

1. Set an incline bench at a 30-to 45-degree angle.
2. Attach stirrup handles to the low pulleys and lie down on the bench with your feet flat on the floor.
3. Lift your arms straight up from your shoulders and hold the cable directly over your upper chest.
4. Slowly lower the cable attachments outward to your sides.
5. Remember to keep your arms slightly bent until your arms are parallel with the ground horizontally
6. Bring your arms back toward the midline of your body, focusing on using your pec muscles to draw them back together.

Tips

• Use a weight that challenges you but allows you to maintain proper form.
• Vary the position of the bench to hit different angles of the upper chest.
• Hold and contract the chest muscles when hands are together.
• Exhale as you bring the handles together, and inhale as you lower them back down.

4. Standing Cable Chest Press

The Standing cable chest press is the another great exercise for your cable chest workout. It can increase the range of motion to where your hands meet as compared to the convention bench press.

The standing bench press engages your core and stabilizer muscles far more, as you are having to control every angle that the weight can potentially move in.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Pectoralis (upper and lower chest)

Secondary: Anterior deltoid, latissimus dorsi (back), Biceps Brachii, rhomboids (back).

How To Do Standing Cable Chest Press

1. Stand with your feet in the center of the two pulleys, and grip the stirrup one handles on both sides.
2. Step forward a couple of foot in front of the cable machine with one leg in front of the other to form a staggered stance or as comfortable for you.
3. Move the handles forward through, extending via your elbows, until your hands meet in the centre.
4. Briefly squeeze before slowly bring back to the starting position.

Tip

• Ensure your head is up, your core is engaged, and the rest of your body is stable and stationary.
• Breathe in on the relaxation phase and breathe out when contracting, keeping your head up at all times.
• Squeeze your chest at the end of the movement.

5. Cable Incline Fly On Stability Ball

If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your upper chest cable workout, why not try Cable Incline Fly On a Stability Ball?

It can be performed by lying on the stability ball with cable handles in your both hand. This is an advanced exercise but extremely important.

Muscles Worked

Primary: Upper chest

Secondary: Anterior deltoid, Lower chest, Biceps Brachii, Core

How To Do Cable Incline Fly On Stability Ball

1. Start off by sitting on an exercise ball, gripping cable handles in each hand.
2. Slowly roll down on the exercise ball, making sure that your head and neck are on the ball with your feet planted on the floor ahead of you.
3. Lift with the cables and bring them straight up above your chest, squeezing throughout the entire motion.
4. Hold on to this position for a few seconds, then return down to the starting position.
5. Repeat for as many reps and sets as desired.

Tips

• Perform the exercise properly and make sure they don’t lose their balance and fall.
• Do the exercise slowly and do not use momentum.

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Frequently Asked Question

How do you work your upper chest on cable?

There are several excellent cable exercises for the upper chest. Cable Incline Bench Press, Low Cable Fly, Incline Cable Fly, Standing Cable Chest Press, Cable Incline fly on stability ball. You should add one or two of these exercises to your chest workout.

Do chest flys work upper chest?

The standing low to high cable fly is one of the best variations of the chest fly and an exercise used to strengthen and build the upper chest.

What part of chest does high to low cable work?

High to low cable fly work on the lower chest.

Does low cable fly work upper or lower chest?

Low cable fly work on the lower chest. The low cable fly exercise provides constant tension, helping build upper pecs. It is a great exercise for your upper chest.

Is cable crossover good for chest?

The cable crossover is a great chest exercise because it stretches the pecs from the start position, hitting the outer pec muscle fibers. Cable crossover exercise is an isolation move, meaning that it targets one specific group of muscle, instead of a group of different muscle.

Takeaway

Doing the exercises provided in this article will give your upper chest a complete workout. For anyone interested to build body strength and gaining muscle on the upper chest, this Best cable Chest Exercise and Workout plan is highly recommended.

Let us know, in the comment section below, your favorite cable exercise!

Thanks for reading.

10 Best Upper Chest Exercises For Mass And Strength