How to do a Cable Crossover Fly

Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

About Cable Crossover Fly

Sets Logged
2,633,208
Popularity Rank
48th
Difficulty
Beginner
Chest Strength
95 mSCORE 8th
Equipment Required

Target muscles worked

Primary Muscles
Chest
Secondary Muscles
Shoulders

Instructions for Proper Form

Cable Crossover Fly is an isolation exercise that targets the chest. It’s a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly, and can easily be adapted to further isolate specific areas of the chest. Using cables to add resistance allows you to keep more consistent tension on your chest, as well as control the angle that the resistance is coming from.

  1. Place the pulleys to just above head height.
  2. Stand in an upright staggered stance while holding the pair of dual pulley handles with arms laterally extended at shoulder height and palms facing forward, slightly angled down.
  3. Brace your core to keep your spine in a stationary neutral position.
  4. Keep your arms extended and create a wide arc to flex the handles together at the bottom of your ribcage.
  5. Return back to the starting position.

Common Form Mistakes

  • High Resistance

    Extending your arms away from your body increases the tension placed on your joint’s and muscles. Keep the resistance for this exercise fairly light, and focus on moving slowly, and controlling the movement before you add more resistance.

Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator

Average Cable Crossover Fly standards by male, female, weight, age and height

Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.

  • beginner
    8
    reps
    20
    lbs
    1 Rep Max
    25
    lbs
  • intermediate
    8
    reps
    22.5
    lbs
    30
    lbs
  • advanced
    8
    reps
    30
    lbs
    40
    lbs

Enter your stats to calculate your Reps & Weight

How is this calculated?

Alternative Exercises to Cable Crossover Fly

Filter By

  1. 1. Machine Fly

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    98.2 mSCORESWAPPED 24,570 TIMES

    Machine Fly is a variation on the more standard Dumbbell Fly. This isolation chest exercise primarily targets the chest, but also recruits the shoulders. The use of a machine makes the exercise more stable allowing you to focus on exertion or learn the movement with minimal risk of injury. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to learn the movement, or advanced lifters looking to push this movement to it’s limit.

  2. 2. Dumbbell Fly

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    98.3 mSCORESWAPPED 11,750 TIMES

    Dumbbell Fly’s are one of the most common isolation chest exercises, and for good. It primarily targets the muscles in the chest, but also recruits the shoulders for stability. The use of dumbbells ensures that you’re targeting each side of the body independently, and prevents compensating for any weaknesses between sides. In addition the isolated nature of this exercise is a great way to fatigue your chest, and focus on building both muscle mass and increasing strength in your chest.

  3. 3. Dumbbell Bench Press

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    99.7 mSCORESWAPPED 6,981 TIMES

    Dumbbell Bench Press is a variation on the standard Bench Press. Like Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets the chest, while also training the triceps and shoulders. The use of dumbbells allows for greater instability which can help you become more stable on pushing movements in general, while also isolating each side of the body to prevent you from compensating for any weaknesses between sides.

  4. 4. Hammerstrength Chest Press

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    Hammerstrength Chest Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Bench Press. Similar to Bench Press, this compound exercise primarily targets your chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a Hammerstrength machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion. This can help you either learn the movement, or focus your efforts on exertion rather than stability.

    • Beginner
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    • Hammerstrength (Leverage) Machine (all forms)

  5. 5. Machine Bench Press

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    93.5 mSCORESWAPPED 4,571 TIMES

    Machine Bench Press is a compound exercise the primarily targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps. The use of a machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which can be a great way to learn the movement, or to focus your effort on exertion rather than stability.

    • Beginner
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  6. 6. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

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    99 mSCORESWAPPED 4,458 TIMES

    Dumbbell Incline Bench Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound exercise primarily targets the chest, but the incline also places more emphasis on the shoulders. The use of dumbbells makes this exercise more unstable than its barbell counterpart, while also forcing you to address any strength discrepancies between sides.

  7. 7. Hammerstrength Incline Chest Press

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    96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 3,712 TIMES

    Hammerstrength Incline Chest Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Incline Bench Press. This compound movement primarily targets your chest, shoulders and triceps. The incline allows you to further emphasize your upper chest and shoulders. The use of a Hammerstrength Machine forces you to use a fixed range of motion which adds stability, and allows you to focus more on exertion.

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  8. 8. Barbell Bench Press

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    99.2 mSCORESWAPPED 3,663 TIMES

    Bench Press is one of the three Powerlifting movements, and one of the most common upper body exercises. It’s a fantastic compound exercise that can help you build strength in your chest, shoulders, and triceps. It’s a staple in most fitness programs, and is often used as a metric for tracking upper body strength in general.

  9. 9. Hammerstrength Decline Chest Press

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    Hammerstrength Decline Chest Press is a variation on the more standard Barbell Decline Bench Press. This compound movement primarily targets your chest, focusing more on the lower pecs. The use of a Hammerstrength Machine restricts your range of motion and adds stability to the movement, allowing you to focus more on exertion rather than stabilizing the movement. This is a great exercise for getting consistent tension and improving muscle activation.

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  10. 10. Low Cable Chest Fly

    Photo of Low Cable Chest Fly being performed
    86.8 mSCORESWAPPED 2,913 TIMES

    Low Cable Chest Fly is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the chest. By using a low pulley setup, you emphasize the lower part of the chest more than other Fly variations. The cables provide consistent tension throughout the movement, and allow for greater control over the angle of resistance, enhancing muscle activation.