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Chest

Cable Crossover

The Cable Crossover is a strength exercise on a cable machine for your chest. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: mid chest 41%, lower chest 27% and front delts 15%.

Also known as: cable chest cross, cable cross

Level: BeginnerEquipment: CableSingle-joint (isolation)
Cable Crossover demonstration

How to do it

  1. Set both pulleys of a cable crossover at the top and clip a single handle to each.
  2. Grab a handle in each hand and step forward into the middle with a split stance.
  3. Lean your torso slightly forward with the arms out wide and the elbows slightly bent.
  4. Pull the handles down and in until your hands cross in front of your lower chest.
  5. Let the arms return slowly along the same arc until you feel a stretch across the chest.

Tips

  • Cross one hand over the other at the bottom and alternate which hand is on top each rep.
  • Keep the chest proud and the shoulders down away from the ears.

Common mistakes

  • Bending the elbows more and more until the fly becomes a press.
  • Rocking the torso to get the handles moving.
  • Letting the arms drift too far back behind the body at the top.

Muscles worked by the Cable Crossover

  • Mid chest Primary41%
  • Lower chest Primary27%
  • Front delts Secondary15%
  • Upper chest Minor6%
  • Biceps (short head) Minor4%
  • Serratus anterior Stabilizer4%
  • Rotator cuff Stabilizer3%

Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.

A downward line of pull matches the costal fibres. A fly is pure shoulder horizontal adduction with the elbow fixed, so the pec does nearly all the work and the triceps drop out.

Cable Crossover alternatives

Same equipment

Different equipment

Make it harder

Similar exercises

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the Cable Crossover work?

Mainly the mid chest and lower chest. The front delts assist.

Is the Cable Crossover good for beginners?

Yes. The Cable Crossover is rated beginner in the Zulta library: the technique is easy to learn with a light weight.

What is a good alternative to the Cable Crossover?

For example the Decline Cable Fly, High Cable Fly and Cable Fly. They train mostly the same muscles.

How do you make the Cable Crossover harder?

Add weight or reps, or move on to the Decline Cable Fly and Flat Bench Cable Fly.

Sources

  • Welsch et al. 2005, JSCR 19(2):449-452 (bench, incline, fly)
  • Solstad et al. 2020, J Sports Sci Med 19(4):645-651 (bench press vs fly)

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