Cable exercises

How to train with cables

A cable station is a weight stack with a rope over a pulley. Unlike a dumbbell, which always pulls straight down, the cable pulls along its own line, so you can load a movement from above, from in front or from below. That makes it the natural tool for pull-downs and rows, and for exercises that are awkward with free weights, like the triceps pushdown or the kneeling crunch.

The stack moves in fixed steps and you change the weight with a pin, which makes cables quick to use and easy to progress. Many gyms have several handles: a bar, a rope, a V-grip or single handles. Each changes the grip a little but trains the same muscles.

In Muscla’s plans the lat pulldown is the vertical pull for beginners and anyone returning to training, and the seated cable row is the row for beginners in the gym. Cable exercises for the triceps, the rear delts and the abs follow later in the session as isolation work.

Control the way back: let the weight return slowly instead of letting the stack drop.