Cable Fly
Muscles worked: Chest.
How to do it
- To get yourself into the starting position, place the pulleys on a high position (above your head), select the resistance to be used and hold the pulleys in each hand.
- Step forward in front of an imaginary straight line between both pulleys while pulling your arms together in front of you.
- With a slight bend on your elbows in order to prevent stress at the biceps tendon, extend your arms to the side (straight out at both sides) in a wide arc until you feel a stretch on your chest.
- Return your arms back to the starting position as you breathe out.
- Hold for a second at the starting position and repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Slight elbow bend, locked through the rep
- Hug a barrel - squeeze at the midline
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 10 to 15 rep range, progressing in 2.5 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Barbell Bench Press - chest
- Dumbbell Bench Press - chest
- Incline Dumbbell Press - chest
- Incline Barbell Press - chest
Track the cable fly properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
Get IronPack free on the App StoreFree download, iPhone. Currently on the New Zealand App Store, wider rollout to follow.
Photos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.