Collection: Cable Crossover Machine & Variable Resistance Training Equipment

Thank you for browsing our range of

Cable Attachments, Cable Machines, and Variable Resistance Training Products

Learn more about Cable Resistance Exercises

There really isn't a substitute in the gym for free weights training. Most guys will tell you that they love to grab a barbell, load it up, and start heaving those heavyweights. The feel of heavy barbells or a heavy set of dumbbells really lets someone know that they are in the gym working out for the purpose of getting huge. However, there are a lot of great reasons to use elastic resistance exercise and conventional cable machines as well.

For a start they allow you to use variable resistance to slow down and really isolate a muscle group, which intern greatly improves muscle development over just the use of free weights. This technique can be great for recovering from sporting injuries or whilst undergoing physical therapy.

In this article, I will give you a few great reasons why you should be using cable machines as well as free weights in order to get the best possible results and strength gains from your workout routine. Among the great reasons to use free weight machines like a cable machine, are safety, form, and speed/ease-of-use. They can also be great with lighter exercises that involve a large range of movements like ones undertaken during physical therapy.

Improved Safety from a Cable Machine

Now, I enjoy using free weights because I can set the amount of weight on the bar to be exactly, down to the pound, what I want to lift, and I can lift the weight through the entire range of motion. However, those can be negatives because having too much weight on the bar and, lifting through an inappropriately large range of motion can cause injuries.

Injuries are most often caused by having too much weight on the bar and having too much momentum while lifting the weights. Weight and momentum are definitely the two things that are most dangerous to a bodybuilder. Cable machine training has a better force and power characteristics than free weight training which helps eliminate injuries by allowing the lifter to precisely lift the weight through both the positive and negative ranges of motion and to lift the weight in a very controlled manner with adequate resistance.

Improved Form From Resistance Training

Form is extremely important in order to get the best possible results that you're looking for. Having great form is also important to get the strength gains that you want while, at the same time, avoiding injury. As mentioned above, most injuries are caused by too much momentum and too much weight on the bar.

Cable machine training ensures proper form by forcing a lifter to lift through a much more focused and more specific range of motion. As opposed to when you are lifting free weights, you do not have the same degree of flexibility as to the range of motion while doing cable machine training. And that is a good thing because it prevents injuries from occurring.

Additionally, by maintaining a “strict” form, you will ensure that the proper amount of tension is always being applied to the target muscle and/or muscle group, so the strength gains that you are seeking will come more easily if cable machine training is included in your typical free weight workout.

Speed/Ease-Of-Use over conventional weights

It is very easy to get a good quick, but thorough workout while using cable machines. Cable machine training allows you to get a great workout in much less time because of the amount of time that is wasted while using free weights.

Think about the amount of time that you have to stand around waiting for a squat rack to become free, or the amount of time that it takes to change the amount of weight on a bar while doing bench presses, and it is even more time wasted if your workout partner does not lift as much weight as you.

However, if you are doing cable machine training, changing weights may be as easy as taking a pin out of one slot and inserting it into another. So instead of wasting several minutes to change weights, it may only be a couple of seconds.

Once you get started on the cable weight machines, then you can speed through your workout in a very efficient manner. In addition to being quicker, cable machine training allows you to work different areas of the muscle better than free weight training because you can lift through a different plane so as to change the angle that you are hitting the muscle, which allows a portion of the muscle that may not be as strong or developed to catch up to the other stronger, more developed areas of the muscle.

Another great way to use cable machines to really increase the muscle response, which really takes advantage of the speed/ease-of-use aspect, is that you could very easily add advanced lifting techniques such as integrating supersets and giant sets into the routine. Because of the decreased amount of time that it takes to adjust weights, supersets are a breeze. And, while we are on the subject of supersets and giant sets, don’t forget about how much easier it would be to use cable machine training to incorporate circuit training into your workout routine.

Exercises that are great with a Cable Machine or Resistance Training

Pretty much any exercise that you can do with a free weight, you can do with cable machine training. With the added benefit of a larger and more controlled range of motion, which helps to improve muscle tone as well as a controlling movement that might be required following a sporting injury and any physical therapy.

All of the common exercises like bench press (flat, incline, and decline), bicep curls, leg press, etc. can all easily be accomplished using a cable machine. What about some of the more nuanced exercises?

Tricep kickbacks (Triceps)

Kickbacks are a great exercise for developing the tricep portion of the upper arm. The Tricep gets neglected because everyone wants to have bulging biceps; however, I would argue that it is more important to develop that Tricep due to the fact that the Tricep occupies ⅔ of the muscle mass of the upper arm, and the bicep is only ⅓ of the arm.

The easiest way to perform Tricep kickbacks on a cable machine is to go to a machine with an overhead grip and pulley, pull down on the handgrip with one hand, and pull it down to where your arm is bent at the elbow, and your handgrip is at chest level.

With a slight bend in the knees and while keeping your elbow “pinned” to your side, pulldown on the grip to where you cannot go any farther (arm should be fully extended and slightly behind you). Hold and slowly return to where handgrip is back at chest level. Make sure that the elbow remains “pinned” to your side through the movement. Repeat for the opposite Tricep.

Shoulder Raises (Front & Middle Deltoid - Shoulder Muscles)

On the cable machine, lower the hand grips or the bar attachment to where you can hold onto it without bending over to pick it up. Select a low but still challenging amount of weight, while keeping your arms straight out in front of you (do not bend your arms at all throughout the movement), raise your arms up to just above your head, hold the weight for a couple of seconds, then slowly lower the weight. Remember that your shoulders are doing the lifting, so keep your arms in an extended position during the entire movement.

Trap Raises (Trapezius - Upper Back/Neck Muscles)

The Traps are a great muscle to work out because they look very impressive when they are developed. The Traps connect the shoulders to the upper back. This is a very simple exercise. Adjust the handgrips or the bar attachment of the cable machine to where the grips or bar are at a natural level of where your hands would be if they are just hanging at your side. Put a low but still challenging amount of weight on the machine, and raise your shoulders so that the shoulders move the weight up and down. Do not move your arms, only lift your shoulders. When the weight is up (using only the shoulders), hoild it for a few seconds, then slowly lower the shoulders so that the weight is back at its starting position.

Bent-Over Rows (Upper Back & Lats)

Bent-Over Rows are fantastic exercises for strengthening the muscles of the upper back, which, in my opinion, are neglected far too often. It is important to have a strong, think back and this exercise will do a good job of accomplishing that.

Adjust the handgrips or bar attachment so that they are at the lowest or near the lowest level of the machine. Adjust the weight to a comfortable but challenging setting. Bend the knees slightly, bend forward to about a 45-degree angle, then with the grips or bar in hand, pull it towards your chest in a slow controlled motion. The grips or bar should end up at chest level with elbows bent behind you. Hold for a couple of seconds, then slowly return to starting position.

Cable Pec Flyes (Chest Muscles)

This is a great exercise to do in order to strengthen the muscle inner Pectoral muscles. It is very simple but also very effective if done properly. It is very important to maintain a strict form so do not use too much weight because you will not end up with the desired results.

While seated at a cable weight machine, adjust the handgrips so that they are slightly behind you and at chest level. Adjust the weight so that it is a comfortable but still somewhat challenging weight. Grab the grips with a slight bend in your elbows and with the chest muscles doing the work, slowly press the handgrips to where they are together in front of you. Remember to keep a slight bend in the elbows because if the arms are straight out then the shoulders will be pressing the handgrips together instead of the chest muscles. Hold the handgrips in front of you for a couple of seconds, then slowly return to starting position with elbows slightly bent. At the end of the exercise, you should feel it in the inner chest. If not, then your elbows were not bent enough and the shoulders were doing too much of the pressing.

Cable machine training is a great way to add a change to your routine so that your muscles do not adapt. If your routine becomes "routine", then your muscles are going to get bored, and they will stop growing. Occasionally, use cable machine training to do some of the exercises that you normally do with free weights in order to prevent your muscles from getting bored and adapting. Also, throw in some supersets and giant sets to add an extra dose of intensity to your workout. At the end, using cable machine training will make your workouts so much more interesting and productive.

 See our products for a great range of elastic resistance equipment and elastic resistance devices to gain muscle, burn calories, and reduce body fat.