Cable Pec Fly
Standing cable fly that isolates the chest with constant tension from a deep stretch to a hard squeeze.
How to do it
- Set both pulleys to chest height and take a single handle in each hand with a slight bend in the elbows.
- Step forward into a split stance and lean slightly forward from the hips with your chest up.
- Start with your arms spread wide in line with your chest, palms facing forward.
- Bring both handles together in a wide arc, squeezing your chest and finishing with your hands meeting in front of you.
- Pause at the end with a hard chest squeeze, keeping the elbow bend locked the whole way.
- Slowly open your arms back out over 2–3 seconds and repeat for 12–15 reps.
Key technique cue
Fixed elbow angle — sweep in a wide arc and don't swing the torso.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Bending the elbows mid-rep, which turns the fly into a sloppy press and loses the chest focus.
- ✕ Letting the arms travel too far behind the body, which overstretches the front delts.
- ✕ Rushing the opening phase and losing the slow return, where most of the chest tension lives.
- ✕ Using the torso to swing the handles instead of squeezing with the chest.
Benefits
- ✓ Isolates the chest under constant cable tension.
- ✓ Develops the inner-chest squeeze that presses miss.
- ✓ Loads the chest in a deep stretch for a stronger hypertrophy stimulus.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Cable Pec Fly
- Cable High-to-Low Fly
- Machine Pec Fly
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Step 2 -
Step 3
About the exercise
The cable pec fly is a standing single-joint chest exercise done between two pulleys set at chest height. Hugging the arms together in a wide arc, it isolates the chest and removes the help the triceps and front delts give during presses. The cable keeps tension constant — no rest at the top, and the deep stretch at the bottom is one of the strongest positions for hypertrophy. It is a great fit for chest hypertrophy blocks, push-day finishers and aesthetics programs. It also clearly teaches an isolated chest contraction and helps build the mind-muscle connection.
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