Cable Pull-Through

Muscles worked by the Cable Pull-Through

Primary

GlutesGluteus MaximusHamstringsHamstring Muscles

Secondary

Lower BackErector Spinae

Also called: glute, glutes, gluteus maximus, buttocks, butt, hamstring.

Equipment

Cable Machine

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

How to do the Cable Pull-Through

1. Attach a rope to the low pulley and stand facing away from the machine with the rope between the legs.
2. Step forward until the cable is taut, then brace the trunk and soften the knees.
3. Push the hips back while keeping the spine neutral and the arms long.
4. Drive the hips forward and squeeze the glutes to stand tall.
5. Reverse into the next hinge without letting the weight stack slam down.

Form tips

• Think hips back and hips through; the arms only hold the rope.
• Keep the shins nearly vertical so the movement stays a hinge rather than a squat.
• Finish tall without leaning backwards at lockout.

At a glance

Cable Pull-Through in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Banded Good Morning
• Banded Romanian Deadlift
• Barbell Deadlift
• Bodyweight Good Morning
• Deficit Deadlift
• Double Dumbbell Kickstand Deadlift
• Dumbbell Deadlift
• Dumbbell Kickstand Deadlift

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-pull-through",
  "name_en": "Cable Pull-Through",
  "name_de": "Kabelzug-Pull-Through",
  "name_es": "Pull-Through en Polea",
  "description_en": "A cable-resisted hip hinge performed facing away from a low pulley, loading the glutes and hamstrings without placing a bar across the spine.",
  "description_de": "Eine Hüftbeuge am tiefen Kabelzug mit dem Rücken zum Gerät, die Gesäß und Beinrückseite belastet, ohne eine Hantel auf der Wirbelsäule abzulegen.",
  "description_es": "Una bisagra de cadera con resistencia de polea, de espaldas a una polea baja, que carga glúteos e isquiotibiales sin colocar una barra sobre la columna.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "cable",
  "body_part": "upper_legs",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "leg_day",
    "glute_focus",
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "deadlift",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Attach a rope to the low pulley and stand facing away from the machine with the rope between the legs.",
    "Step forward until the cable is taut, then brace the trunk and soften the knees.",
    "Push the hips back while keeping the spine neutral and the arms long.",
    "Drive the hips forward and squeeze the glutes to stand tall.",
    "Reverse into the next hinge without letting the weight stack slam down."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Befestige ein Seil am tiefen Kabelzug und stell dich mit dem Rücken zum Gerät, das Seil läuft zwischen den Beinen.",
    "Geh nach vorn, bis das Kabel gespannt ist, spann den Rumpf an und beug die Knie leicht.",
    "Schieb die Hüfte nach hinten, die Wirbelsäule bleibt neutral und die Arme lang.",
    "Drück die Hüfte nach vorn und spann das Gesäß an, bis du aufrecht stehst.",
    "Geh kontrolliert in die nächste Hüftbeuge, ohne den Gewichtsblock aufschlagen zu lassen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Coloca una cuerda en la polea baja y ponte de espaldas a la máquina con la cuerda entre las piernas.",
    "Avanza hasta tensar el cable, activa el tronco y flexiona ligeramente las rodillas.",
    "Lleva las caderas hacia atrás manteniendo la columna neutra y los brazos largos.",
    "Empuja las caderas hacia delante y contrae los glúteos hasta quedar erguido.",
    "Vuelve de forma controlada a la siguiente bisagra sin dejar caer el bloque de pesas."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Think hips back and hips through; the arms only hold the rope.",
    "Keep the shins nearly vertical so the movement stays a hinge rather than a squat.",
    "Finish tall without leaning backwards at lockout."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Denk an Hüfte zurück und Hüfte vor; die Arme halten nur das Seil.",
    "Halte die Schienbeine fast senkrecht, damit die Bewegung eine Hüftbeuge und keine Kniebeuge bleibt.",
    "Beende die Bewegung aufrecht, ohne dich im Lockout nach hinten zu lehnen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Piensa en caderas atrás y caderas adelante; los brazos solo sujetan la cuerda.",
    "Mantén las tibias casi verticales para que siga siendo una bisagra y no una sentadilla.",
    "Termina erguido sin inclinarte hacia atrás en el bloqueo."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/cable-pull-through-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/cable-pull-through-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-pull-through");

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.