Incline Cable Flye

Also called incline cable fly, low to high cable fly and cable incline flye.

Works

Chest, plus shoulders

Equipment

Cable

Level

Intermediate

Type

Isolation

How to do it

Setup. To get yourself into the starting position, set the pulleys at the floor level (lowest level possible on the machine that is below your torso).

1. Place an incline bench (set at 45 degrees) in between the pulleys, select a weight on each one and grab a pulley on each hand.
2. With a handle on each hand, lie on the incline bench and bring your hands together at arms length in front of your face. This will be your starting position.
3. With a slight bend of your elbows (in order to prevent stress at the biceps tendon), lower your arms out at both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch on your chest. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: Keep in mind that throughout the movement, the arms should remain stationary. The movement should only occur at the shoulder joint.
4. Return your arms back to the starting position as you squeeze your chest muscles and exhale. Hold the contracted position for a second. Tip: Make sure to use the same arc of motion used to lower the weights.
5. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

Cues

• Bench at 30-45 degrees.
• Soft elbows, fixed the whole rep.
• Open wide to a chest stretch.
• Bring the hands together over the face.

Common mistakes

• Pressing instead of sweeping.
• Dropping the hands too low.

Where to start

A starting point, not a law. Pick a weight you could lift two or three more times than the top of the range. Tempo is seconds down, pause, up. When every set hits the top of the range, add a little weight.

Go easy, or pick an alternative, if you have a sore shoulder. Pain that's sharp or gets worse set to set means stop.

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