Cable Fly

Muscles worked by the Cable Fly

Primary

ChestPectoralis Major

Secondary

Front DeltsAnterior Deltoid

Also called: pec, pecs, pectoralis major, pectoralis, chest muscles.

Equipment

Cable Machine

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

How to do the Cable Fly

1. Stand between two cable columns with handles attached to high pulleys.
2. With a slight bend in your elbows, open your arms wide.
3. Bring your hands together in front of your chest in a hugging motion.
4. Slowly return to the starting position.
5. Repeat.

Form tips

• Maintain the same elbow bend throughout; do not press the weight.
• Step one foot forward for a stable, balanced stance.
• Control the stretch; do not let the cables yank your arms back.

At a glance

Cable Fly in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Decline Dumbbell Fly
• Dumbbell Fly
• Incline Dumbbell Fly
• Machine Chest Fly
• Archer Push Ups
• Banded Chest Stretch
• Barbell Bench Press
• Bench Chest Stretch

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-fly",
  "name_en": "Cable Fly",
  "name_de": "Kabelzug Fly",
  "name_es": "Aperturas con Cable",
  "description_en": "An isolation movement for the chest using cable resistance for constant tension.",
  "description_de": "Eine Isolationsübung für die Brust mit Kabelzugwiderstand für konstante Spannung.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de aislamiento para el pecho con resistencia de cable para tensión constante.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "cable",
  "body_part": "chest",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "pectoralis_major"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "anterior_deltoid"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "push_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "chest-fly",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand between two cable columns with handles attached to high pulleys.",
    "With a slight bend in your elbows, open your arms wide.",
    "Bring your hands together in front of your chest in a hugging motion.",
    "Slowly return to the starting position.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Steh zwischen zwei Kabelstationen mit Griffen an den oberen Rollen.",
    "Öffne die Arme weit mit leicht gebeugten Ellbogen.",
    "Führe die Hände vor der Brust in einer Umarmungsbewegung zusammen.",
    "Langsam zurück zur Ausgangsposition.",
    "Wiederhole."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Colócate entre dos columnas de cable con los agarres enganchados a las poleas altas.",
    "Con una ligera flexión en los codos, abre los brazos hacia los lados.",
    "Junta las manos frente al pecho en un movimiento de abrazo.",
    "Vuelve lentamente a la posición inicial.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Maintain the same elbow bend throughout; do not press the weight.",
    "Step one foot forward for a stable, balanced stance.",
    "Control the stretch; do not let the cables yank your arms back."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Beuge die Ellenbogen nicht weiter, sonst wird aus der Übung eine Drückbewegung.",
    "Spanne die Brust in der Endposition kurz bewusst an.",
    "Lass die Arme auf dem Rückweg nur so weit öffnen, wie es deine Schultern zulassen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén el ángulo de los codos constante para no convertirlo en un press.",
    "Aprieta el pecho un segundo cuando las manos se encuentren.",
    "No adelantes los hombros cuando los brazos están abiertos."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/cable-fly-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/cable-fly-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-fly");

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.