Free weights versus cable machines is one in all the oldest debates in fitness. Nevertheless, most often, it is not an either-or discussion. You may have your cake and eat it too. That said, what about cable machine-only workouts? Are they a viable approach to train? I believe so.
Whether you are a beginner getting into the gym for the primary time or a seasoned vet, the cable machine offers a plethora of exercises to focus on every muscle group. You may hit your chest, back, shoulders, arms, and legs with enough tension to stimulate growth. And tension is all that matters. Your muscles don’t care what variety of resistance there may be so long as it’s heavy.
Having a go-to cable-only workout routine in your back pocket is extremely beneficial. Unlike traditional bulky machines that may dominate gym space, cable machines are compact and adjustable, making them an ideal fit for home gyms, apartments, or hotel fitness centers. If that’s what you’ve available, this program is true up your alley. So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
Cable Machine Workout Plan
Playing to cable machines’ strengths is crucial when performing a cable-only workout program. Cable machines are great at constructing muscle. So, the workout here is an old-school bodybuilding “bro split” with an arm emphasis. In this system, you’ll hit each muscle group once per week but train the triceps and biceps twice. What’s more fun than that?
Day #1: Chest and Triceps
- Cable Chest Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
- Cable Crossover: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- One Arm Cable Pressaround: 3 sets x 10-12 reps on both sides
- V-Bar Cable Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Cable Triceps Kickback: 3 sets x 12-15 reps on both sides
Day 1 is a classic chest and triceps workout. Set the attachment up for the cable chest press at shoulder height so you’ll be able to press straight out. This setting will maximize the quantity of weight you’ll be able to press. Depending in your preference, you’ll be able to set the attachment high or low for the cable crossover. I like doing cable crossovers high to low, ending with the handles at waist height.
The one-arm cable pressaround is a novel exercise that may feel awkward at first. It is a single-arm variation that mixes a fly and a press. The bottom line is to establish at an angle and press around your body past the midline. If done appropriately, you’ll get a nasty chest pump. Finish out the workout with a few triceps exercises.
Day #2: Back and Biceps
- Lat Pulldown: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
- One Arm Seated Cable Row: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Straight Arm Pulldowns: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Standing Cable Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Behind The Back, One Arm Cable Curl: 3 sets x 12-15 reps on both sides
Day two is back and biceps. Every little thing is easy on this one. Nevertheless, there are various variations you’ll be able to throw in based in your preference. For instance, on lat pulldowns, you should use a large grip, close grip, neutral grip, and underhand grip, to call just a few. The identical goes for seated cable rows. The behind-the-back, one-arm cable curl is likely to be a recent exercise for you. These are also called Bayesian curls. With these, we wish to get a deep stretch within the biceps. Start together with your elbow behind your torso and stop it from drifting forward throughout the set.
Day #3: Legs, Calves, and Abs
- Cable Squat: 4 sets x 12-15 reps
- Cable Romanian Deadlift: 4 sets x 12-15 reps
- Cable Pull Through: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- One-Legged Cable Kickbacks: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Single Leg Cable Standing Calf Raise: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Cable Crunches: 3 sets x 15-20 reps
- Cable Palof Press: 3 sets x 15-20 reps on both sides
Although this leg day looks barely different from most lower body workouts you’re used to, it could actually still be highly effective if pushed hard. You do not need back squats and deadlifts to construct big legs.
Mess around with the cable squat to search out the right foot placement. If it doesn’t feel right, try taking a small step forward or backward to see if that feels higher.
PS – Don’t skip the ab work at the tip! And should you want more ab options, click here.
Day #4: Shoulders and Traps
- Cable Side Raise: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
- Cable Front Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Rope Facepull: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Straight Bar Cable Shrug: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Upright Row: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
Day 4 will probably be the quickest of all of the workouts. This workout should only take you about half-hour. Many of the shoulder exercises work well with drop sets. To up the intensity, perform a drop set on the last set of the primary three exercises. The important thing with drop sets is to keep up range of motion. Don’t cut the range of motion when the set gets hard to squeeze out more reps.
Day #5: Triceps and Biceps
- Rope Hammer Cable Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Rope Overhead Cable Triceps Extension: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Crucifix Curls: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Reverse Grip Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Reverse Curls: 3 sets x 15-20 reps
- Single Arm Crossbody Triceps Pressdown: 3 sets x 15-20 reps
The last day of the week is arm day. I set this workout as much as superset a biceps exercise with a triceps exercise. So, the primary two exercises go together, as do exercises three and 4 and five and 6. This workout is the day to wear your favorite sleeveless t-shirt to the gym.
Are Cable Machine Workouts Effective?
Let’s debunk a myth: cable machine workouts are indeed effective for muscle constructing. The important thing lies within the principles of muscle growth. In a nutshell, muscles grow after they’re subjected to stress or tension beyond their current capability. This stress triggers a series of adaptations within the body that strengthen the muscles, preparing them for future high-stress situations. Adaptation is why progressive overload is crucial. The muscles won’t have to adapt should you keep providing the identical stress.
On the muscular level, tension is tension. It doesn’t matter if it comes from barbells, dumbbells, sandbags, or cable machines. Nevertheless, the flexibility of cables allows for a wide selection of exercises that focus on every a part of your body with adjustable resistance. This variety lets you hit muscles from multiple angles and perform exercises through a full range of motion. Plus, cables provide constant tension, effectively engaging the movement’s concentric and eccentric phases.
One other factor that makes cables effective for muscle growth is safety. We all know the most effective approach to construct muscle involves pushing sets near failure. You haven’t got to push sets to finish failure, but inside three reps is good. The issue is that you simply need immaculate form to push barbell sets that tough without your technique breaking down. For many beginners and intermediates, going hard on cable exercises is safer. At the opposite end of the spectrum, many advanced lifters are beat as much as the purpose where their joints cannot take heavy barbell work anymore. For people like that, cable exercises allow them to go hard without beating their bodies up anymore.
Common Concerns With Cable-Only Routines
Although cable exercises are highly effective, they are usually not without some concerns. Listed here are just a few things to think about when jumping on an entire cable program.
1. Not Great For Strength Development / Lack of Weight
First, there are higher bets than a cable-only program if you should be a powerlifter. That is to not say you’ll be able to’t get stronger with cable work, but strength is particular. What this implies is that you simply get stronger within the exercises you perform. It is smart. In the event you take two people, one who only bench presses and the opposite who only does cable flys, the one that bench presses may have a stronger bench press.
That said, should you are a powerlifter on vacation and the hotel gym only has a cable machine, don’t fret. A routine just like the one outlined above is enough stimulation to keep up strength for per week or two.
The opposite issue by way of strength is that should you are a freak, you’ll be able to literally max out the machine and run out of weight. I actually have yet to see someone run out of weight on a barbell, but plenty of individuals have maxed out a seated cable row. If that is you, first off, congrats. But you’ll be able to still get an excellent workout by slowing down the tempo, pausing at essentially the most difficult a part of the lift, and minimizing momentum.
2. They Break
This concept might seem to be an odd concern, nevertheless it’s an actual one. Cable machines break. In the event you’ve hung out in a gym, you have likely seen the dreaded ‘out of order’ sign on a cable stack. Actually, it looks as if cable machines break twice as often as every other equipment within the gym. While gym maintenance is not your responsibility, it’s something to take into account should you’re considering a full cable machine workout or plan to include lots of cable exercises into your routine.
3. Limited Lower Body Exercises
A cable machine lets you do an almost limitless amount of upper-body exercises. Nevertheless, that is different for the lower body, where the choices are much more limited. The excellent news is you can still hit the quads, hamstrings, and calves on a cable machine with some creativity. Moreover, you’ll be able to add body weight exercises to enrich your cable program for some variety, corresponding to lunges, split squats, step-ups, glute bridges, etc.
Advantages of Cable Machine Exercises
We discussed why cable machines work, but listed below are just a few more advantages of using a cable-only workout program.
1. Perfect When You Are Hurt
It sucks, but should you lift long enough, you’re sure to get hurt. Overall, lifting weights remains to be safer than most sports. Nevertheless, nagging injuries to joints occur occasionally. Considered one of the most important mistakes you’ll be able to make is using pain as an excuse to stop training. I’m talking little bumps and bruises, not significant injuries. You may generally work around minor issues.
After I feel pain during an exercise, my first step is lowering my weight. From there, I’ll look to shorten the range of motion. If that also doesn’t work, I go for a recent exercise. At this point, a cable movement will likely be a protected bet.
In the event you are banged up, do what you’ll be able to. Doing productive work is significantly better than staying home on the couch. It would keep you in the sport and make it easier to ramp back up while you feel higher.
2. Saves Time
Considered one of the primary things that may jump out at you when following this program is how quick the workouts are. These sessions should only take you about 30-45 minutes. You might be out and in of the gym very quickly. You save time in a few areas. So simple as it sounds, you save time by not needing to load plates on and off. Moreover, cable exercises typically only require a little bit rest between sets. About 60 seconds is all you would like.
3. Easy to Incorporate Super Sets and Drop Sets
If cable workouts are usually not fast enough, we are able to make them faster. My two favorite intensity techniques are super sets and drop sets. Each of those techniques work well with cable exercises.
Supersets involve performing two different exercises back-to-back with little to no rest in between. These exercises can goal the identical muscle (corresponding to doing two several types of curls back to back) or opposing muscle groups (like pairing chest presses with rows). By minimizing rest periods, supersets keep the muscles engaged for longer durations, resulting in increased metabolic stress and muscle fatigue.
However, drop sets involve performing a set until failure (or close), then immediately reduce the burden and continuing with additional reps. This process will be repeated multiple times, step by step decreasing the burden every time.
Conclusion
A cable machine-only workout plan is an amazing approach to train. Don’t let the gym bros let you know different. Cable machines offer many exceptional exercises to construct muscle across your entire body. Higher yet, they’re easy to make use of and allow you to work around injuries while still getting in productive training. Whether recent to figuring out or a seasoned pro, I can argue why cable machines are an excellent option. So there you’ve it. In the event you end up in a situation where it is smart to do a cable-only workout program, you now have one. All that’s left to do is get after it.
For more content on cable machine workouts, try my article on the most effective 18 cable machine exercises: https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/cable-machine-exercises
