Cable External Rotation

Muscles worked by the Cable External Rotation

Primary

Rear DeltsPosterior Deltoid

Secondary

RhomboidsRhomboid MusclesTrapsTrapezius

Also called: rear deltoid, posterior delt, rear delt, back delt, posterior deltoid.

Equipment

Cable Machine

Also called: cable pulley, functional trainer, cable crossover, cable column, cable station, pulley machine.

How to do the Cable External Rotation

1. Set a cable pulley to elbow height and grip the handle.
2. Stand side-on to the machine with your working elbow bent at 90 degrees.
3. Keep your elbow glued to your side and rotate your forearm outward.
4. Pause at the end of the movement.
5. Return under control. Complete reps on one side, then switch.

Form tips

• Use a light weight to keep the rotation strict and controlled.
• Keep your wrist straight and in line with your forearm.
• Avoid shrugging your shoulder or twisting your torso during the movement.

At a glance

Cable External Rotation in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Rear Delt Stretch
• Cable Face Pull
• Dumbbell Reverse Fly
• Rear Delt Fly
• Cable Bent-Over Row
• Cable Chest Press
• Cable Crunch
• Cable Curl

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "cable-external-rotation",
  "name_en": "Cable External Rotation",
  "name_de": "Kabelzug Außenrotation",
  "name_es": "Rotación Externa con Cable",
  "description_en": "A cable exercise rotating the forearm outward with the elbow pinned at the side, strengthening the rear delts.",
  "description_de": "Eine Rotationsübung am Kabelzug für die hintere Schulter, bei der der Unterarm mit fest angelegtem Ellenbogen nach außen dreht.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de rotación externa en polea, con el codo pegado al costado, que fortalece el deltoides posterior y la parte alta de la espalda.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "cable",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "posterior_deltoid"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "rhomboids",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Set a cable pulley to elbow height and grip the handle.",
    "Stand side-on to the machine with your working elbow bent at 90 degrees.",
    "Keep your elbow glued to your side and rotate your forearm outward.",
    "Pause at the end of the movement.",
    "Return under control. Complete reps on one side, then switch."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle den Kabelzug auf Ellbogenhöhe ein und greife den Griff.",
    "Steh seitlich zum Gerät, Ellbogen des Arbeitsarms im 90-Grad-Winkel.",
    "Halte den Ellbogen fest an der Seite und rotiere den Unterarm nach außen.",
    "Kurze Pause am Ende der Bewegung.",
    "Kontrolliert zurück. Alle Wiederholungen auf einer Seite, dann wechseln."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ajusta la polea a la altura del codo y agarra el handle.",
    "Colócate de lado a la máquina con el codo de trabajo flexionado a 90 grados.",
    "Mantén el codo pegado al costado y rota el antebrazo hacia afuera.",
    "Pausa al final del movimiento.",
    "Vuelve de forma controlada. Completa las repeticiones de un lado y luego cambia."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Use a light weight to keep the rotation strict and controlled.",
    "Keep your wrist straight and in line with your forearm.",
    "Avoid shrugging your shoulder or twisting your torso during the movement."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Wähle ein leichtes Gewicht, die Außenrotatoren ermüden schnell.",
    "Halte das Handgelenk gerade und arbeite ohne Schwung.",
    "Lass die Schulter tief, statt sie zum Ohr hochzuziehen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Evita encoger los hombros mientras giras el brazo.",
    "Trabaja con poco peso y de forma lenta y controlada.",
    "Mantén la muñeca firme, alineada con el antebrazo."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/cable-external-rotation-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/cable-external-rotation-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "cable-external-rotation");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.