How to do the cable crossover

The cable crossover is a chest fly done standing between two cable stacks. Its big advantage over a dumbbell fly is that the cables pull from the side, so your chest is working even when your hands are together in front of you, which is exactly where dumbbells go slack. You can also move the pulleys up or down to change the angle of the fly. It's a finishing exercise rather than a strength builder, and it suits anyone who wants more chest work after their presses without more load on their shoulders and elbows.

How to do a cable crossover

1. Set both pulleys at the top of the tower. This is the classic high-to-low version. Clip a single handle to each cable and pick the same weight on both sides.
2. Grab the handles and step forward. Take one step out from between the towers, until the cables are pulling your arms back and the weight stacks are lifted a few inches off their rest.
3. Set a split stance and lean forward slightly. One foot in front of the other, knees soft, and your torso tipped forward about 15 to 20 degrees from the hips. Brace your stomach so your body stays still for the whole set.
4. Open your arms wide with a slight bend in the elbows. Your hands should be out to the sides, a little higher than your shoulders, with a soft bend of about 10 to 20 degrees at the elbow. You should feel a stretch across your chest, not a pull at the front of your shoulder.
5. Pull your hands down and together in an arc. Move as if you're hugging someone wider than you. Your hands meet in front of your lower chest or belt line.
6. Cross your hands and squeeze. Let one hand pass over the other by a few inches and hold for a second. Switch which hand is on top each rep so both sides get the same range.
7. Let your arms open back to the start over two or three seconds. Stop when your hands are roughly in line with your body and your chest is stretched. The stacks shouldn't touch down between reps.

Your elbow bend stays the same from the first rep to the last. The motion comes from your shoulders; your elbows are just along for the ride.

Cues worth trying

"Hands on a big circle." Picture your hands tracing the edge of a wide hoop in front of you. It keeps the movement a fly and stops you pushing forward like a press.

"Chest stays proud." Keep your breastbone up and pointing slightly forward as your hands come together. If your chest caves and your shoulders round, the squeeze moves into your shoulders.

"Freeze everything below the shoulders." If your torso rocks with every rep, this reminds you that only your arms move.

If you still can't feel your chest, try one arm at a time with the other hand on your chest. Feeling the muscle contract under your hand is often the thing that makes it click.

Common mistakes

Throwing your body into it. You'll see it as the torso rocking forward on each rep and back up on the return, using bodyweight to drag the handles down. It usually means the weight is too heavy for the stack you've chosen. Set your lean, lock it and pick a weight you can move with only your arms, even if that's a lot lighter than you expect.

Changing your elbow angle mid-rep. Arms that start straight and then bend as they come together turn the fly into a cable press, and your triceps take over. The opposite (bent at the stretch, straight at the finish) puts extra strain on the elbows. Set the bend at the start of the set and hold it until you rack the handles.

Rushing the way back. Letting the cables yank your arms back open throws away the most useful part of the rep, the stretch, and it's the part that can strain a shoulder if it happens fast. Count two or three seconds on the return.

Standing too close to the towers. If you're level with the pulleys, there's no tension at the start of the rep and the stacks clank at the end of every one. Take the extra step forward.

Hunching at the finish. Rounding your shoulders forward to cross your hands further feels like a harder squeeze, but it's your shoulders and upper back doing it. Cross a few inches, not a foot, and keep your chest up.

Changing the pulley height

The angle of the cables changes which part of your chest works hardest. Your chest fibers fan out from your breastbone toward your shoulder, and the ones in the upper chest angle upward, so pulling your arms along that line gives them more to do.

• High to low (pulleys at the top): your hands finish around your belt line. Our default, and the easiest version to learn.
• Mid height (pulleys at shoulder level): your hands move straight across in front of your chest. A good middle ground.
• Low to high (pulleys at the bottom): your hands sweep up and finish around chin height, with more work for your upper chest.

There's no need to do all three every session. The differences are real but modest, so pick the one that you feel most in your chest, or rotate them every few weeks.

Breathing

Breathe in as your arms open and out as your hands come together. Keep your stomach braced as you breathe so your torso doesn't rock with the breath.

Sets, reps and weight

Do 2 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps, near the end of your chest work, with 60 to 90 seconds of rest. High reps suit this exercise well: the load is light, the stretch is long, and form gets sloppy before your chest does at heavy weights. Stop each set when you can't keep the same elbow angle or when your torso starts rocking.

Start lighter than you think (on most stacks, one of the first few plates per side) and add weight only once every set reaches 20 reps with a clean squeeze. Most stacks go up in fairly big jumps, so it's normal to spend weeks on the same weight while you add reps. If your gym has small add-on plates, they help here. Logging your weight and reps in Helthy is the easiest way to know whether you beat last week, since cable stacks from different gyms can feel completely different.

Variations and alternatives

• Chest fly machine: a seated pec deck. Same idea with a fixed path, so it's easier to push to failure without your form breaking down.
• Dumbbell fly: the version you can do with only a bench and dumbbells. Tension drops off at the top, so focus on the stretch.
• Single-arm cable fly: one handle at a time. Lets you cross further over your body and helps even out a weaker side.
• Resistance band fly: loop a band behind a post or door anchor and do the same movement. A decent swap when you're training at home.

Cable crossover questions

Is the cable crossover better than dumbbell flys?

For most people, yes. The cables keep your chest loaded through the whole movement, including the squeeze, where dumbbells go slack. Dumbbell flys still work well if they're what you have.

Should my hands cross or just touch?

Crossing a few inches gives a slightly harder squeeze at the end of the rep, which is where cables are strongest. Just touching is fine too. What matters more is that your hands travel in an arc and your chest, not your shoulders, finishes the movement.

Why do I feel cable crossovers in my shoulders?

Usually because your hands are opening too far behind your body, your shoulders are rolling forward at the finish, or the weight is heavy enough that your front delts are helping. Shorten the stretch, keep your chest up and drop the weight. Sharp pain in the joint is a reason to stop and back off, not to push through.