Cable crossover with dumbbells how to#
Cable crossover with dumbbells free#

Set up the elbow pads as far back as your mobility will allow.Set up the height of the pec deck seat so that your elbows are at mid to lower chest level.This completely removes tension away from your biceps and triceps, so they no longer need to stabilize the movement. Rather than holding onto the machine arms with your hands, you press against elbow pads.

The pec deck is the simplest alternative to the cable crossover and can isolate the pecs more than the machine pec fly. However, it is important to note that during the execution of the machine pec fly, all the pec fibers are still activated regardless of how high you adjust the seat. If you adjust the seat so that the handles are roughly lower than chest level, you’ll feel more tension in the lower chest fibers. If you adjust the seat so that the handles are roughly at shoulder level, you’ll feel more of a stretch in your upper chest fibers. You can adjust the height so that the handles are higher or lower, which enables you to work more of the upper or lower chest depending on which area you want to target. Most machine pec fly machines will allow you to adjust the seat height. Repeat for desired repetitions as prescribed in your program.Ensure that you keep your back flat up against the back pad and that you are not cheating by pushing your legs too hard in the ground so you are no longer sitting.Slowly control the machine’s arms back towards the starting position while breathing back in.Take a deep breath in, then exhale as you bring the machine’s arms together in front of you and squeeze the pecs.Set the arm handles as far back as your shoulder mobility will let you.Hold onto the handles with a slight bend in the elbows and keep the elbows in line with your hands.Set up the seat of the machine pec fly so that the handles of the are roughly mid to lower chest level.This makes the machine pec fly a good exercise to push closer to failure as there is less demand on focusing on stabilization. The cable handles in the cable crossover exercise have a lot of freedom of movement, and it requires more effort to stabilize them during execution. This is because the movement of the machine pec fly is through a fixed path. The machine pec fly is an easier alternative to the cable crossover that can be used as a regression.

This is ultimately useful for making both sides more symmetrical in strength and size. This stops the stronger arm from taking over and reducing the subjected tension on the weaker arm. This means that one arm is not assisted by the other and has to work harder if the weaker arm struggles. Loads each side independentlyĭuring the whole execution of a cable crossover, the control and loading on the arms on each side are independent. This is because the bench press works a lot more than just the pecs, as we discussed in our guide on the muscles worked in the bench press. You might be surprised to see that I don’t include bench pressing movements in the list below. A good cable crossover alternative will work the same muscles by following a similar movement pattern. They work whenever you bring your shoulder blades forward in an exercise.Įven though these secondary muscles assist the exercise through stabilizing the larger muscles, the cable crossover movement comes through the squeezing of the pectorals with minimal involvement of the triceps at the elbows. The secondary muscles used in the cable crossover are the front deltoids (the front of your shoulders) and the serratus anterior, the striated muscles underneath your armpit and between your pecs and abs. The pectoralis minor assists in the stabilization of the scapula (your shoulder blades) and helps you bring your shoulders down and forward. The pectoralis major helps you move your arms across your body and, when you’re doing vertical pulling motions, works together with the back muscles to pull your body up. The primary muscles used in the cable crossover are the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, which are the main chest muscles that you can see on a body. What Makes A Good Cable Crossover Alternative?Ī good cable crossover alternative will be able to satisfy the following conditions:

Cable crossover with dumbbells free#

I have included alternative exercises that use machines, dumbbells, Olympic rings, suspension trainers, free weight plates, and your own bodyweight so you can isolate the pecs regardless of what kind of equipment you have.

Cable crossover with dumbbells how to#

In this article, I will go through what makes a good cable crossover alternative, how to perform each exercise, and how to make the most out of each variation.