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Cable Chest Press

IntermediateStrengthTier T3

You sit with your back against a pad between two cable pulleys at chest height. You hold a handle in each hand with your elbows bent to about 90 degrees. You press the handles forward, then return slowly.

Targets: Shoulder
Muscles: Pectoralis Major, Triceps

Stop if

Choose an easier exercise if pain reaches 6 out of 10 or becomes sharp. Stop and rest if pain reaches 8 out of 10.

This is the general ClapMove rule. This exercise has no extra stop rule of its own.

  • Pain 6 out of 10 or more: choose an easier exercise.
  • Pain 8 out of 10 or more: stop and rest.

Equipment needed

  • Works at the gym

machines

Gym

  • gym machine (No safe home substitute has been reviewed yet.)

Dosage

3

Sets

8

Reps / Time

60 sec

Rest

controlled

Tempo

Step-by-Step Guide

Set up

  • Keep the seated starting position with the handles held apart at chest height, then press the handles together in front of the chest at full-extension.
  1. A woman seated on a cable machine, back against the pad, holding one handle in each hand at chest height, elbows bent.

    Step 1 of 3

    Sit on the cable station with your back against the pad, upper arms about 45 degrees to your body and elbows bent to about 90 degrees, holding one handle in each hand at chest height.

  2. The same woman, now with both arms extended forward, the two handles brought together in front of her chest.

    Step 2 of 3

    Keeping your shoulder blades drawn back, extend through your elbows and press the handles together straight out in front of your chest.

  3. A woman seated on a cable machine, back against the pad, holding one handle in each hand at chest height, elbows bent.

    Step 3 of 3

    Sit on the cable station with your back against the pad, upper arms about 45 degrees to your body and elbows bent to about 90 degrees, holding one handle in each hand at chest height.

Safety Information

Keep the shoulder blades drawn back and down against the seat's back pad throughout the press, retracted as you execute the movement -- do not let them round forward. Keep tension on the cables through the entire return to the starting position rather than letting the weight stack drop suddenly. If you have a shoulder impingement, rotator-cuff injury, recent shoulder or chest surgery, or an unstable shoulder, ask a physical therapist or physician before attempting this exercise, because it loads the shoulder through a forward press against resistance held in each hand. Stop if the exercise causes pain or you become unwell. Seek appropriate professional advice about symptoms or suitability.