Who Should Do?
Individuals Wanting Larger Chest Muscles
The cable chest fly, depending on its angle, can be used to target the entire pectoralis major muscle. This makes it an effective exercise for individuals wanting to enhance the strength and size of their chest muscles. Especially when paired with progressive overload, which involves progressing weight or reps steadily over time.
Athletes
Shoulder injuries are common among athletes practicing sports that involve throwing and other overhead motions. In a study that tested 20 healthy subjects, consistent usage of a cable chest exercise was shown to strengthen and improve shoulder mobility by 20%–30%.
Who Should Not Do?
Anyone With Pre-Existing Shoulder Injuries
Cable chest flys can be used to strengthen the shoulder joint and improve joint mobility.
However, individuals with pre-existing injuries like rotator cuff tears or bursitis are at risk for further injuring their shoulders. They should avoid cable chest flys until fully healed and given the go-ahead by their doctor or rehab specialist.
Beginners Without Proper Guidance
Most beginner weight lifters struggle with proper form and choosing the best weight for their experience level.
During cable chest flys, this lack of understanding can lead to muscle strains and more serious shoulder injuries. Therefore, it’s best to practice with a certified trainer while you gain a better understanding of proper technique.
Individuals With Limited Mobility
Over time, practicing cable chest flys can help increase shoulder mobility. However, this exercise requires a full range of motion in the shoulder joint. Therefore, limited mobility can restrict this range, leading to improper form and reduced effectiveness at targeting the chest muscles.
Individuals working with limited upper body mobility should use a combination of other chest-building exercises and frequent stretching instead.
Benefits Of The Cable Chest Fly
Minimal Joint Strain
It wouldn’t be safe to say that cable chest flys don’t put any strain on the shoulder joint. Nonetheless, they can be a better alternative when compared to other strength-building exercise types.
When compared to variable resistance machines, cable pulley exercises were shown to distribute force on the joint more effectively. Making it the better option for beginners and people recovering from a shoulder injury.
Better Posture
The pectoral muscles play an important role in good posture. Weak chest muscles can cause the back muscles to overcompensate, leading them to be overworked and tight.
When strengthened, the chest muscles help to balance muscular forces between the front and back of the upper body. In turn, this contributes to an overall better and more comfortable posture.
Improves Strength
Research shows bench press limits core involvement, making it better for solely building chest strength. However, cable chest flys can be used to build strength in a greater variety of muscle groups than bench presses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely, cable chest flys are excellent for increasing chest muscle strength. Depending on the angle of your cable chest fly, you can better target the upper, lower, or middle chest muscles.
There are three different cable chest fly angles, including the high-to-low, mid-level, and low-to-high. Each is suited to target a different pectoralis major muscle. The mid-level cable chest fly provides the most balanced engagement throughout the entire chest.
During the lowering phase of your chest fly, continue extending until you feel a mild stretch through your chest muscles. Pain or pins and needles are signs that you’ve gone too far.
You might not feel cable flys in your chest for multiple reasons. Likely, it’s due to improper form, using too much weight, insufficient mind-muscle connection, or an incorrect cable angle.
Resources
Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.
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