Sculpt Your Chest with Cable Crossovers

You’ve likely spotted a cable crossover machine at your gym. It’s that tall apparatus which is either in a T shape or has plenty of attachments sticking out of it—whatever it may be, it’s a machine that’s hard to miss. This piece of equipment can work your whole body from head to toe with cables, or pulleys with handles that you can pull down, up, across or on a diagonal. It allows you to hit all levels of your chest and upper body (and glutes) without a lot of hassle, and is one of the few workout machines ACTUALLY worth your time.

The cable crossover might be just the thing you need if you don’t enjoy laying down on a bench and pressing plates or dumbbells up and down. Let’s take a look at the benefits of incorporating the cable crossover machine into your workout and also how to perform a cable crossover ladder workout.

Super customisable: The cable crossover machine can be adjusted to best suit your height and strength abilities, with an option to progress in weight as you get stronger. It’s super versatile for doing a large number of exercises.

Extremely safe: You’re never in a position where the weight comes down on you in a cable crossover, so there’s an element of safety involved there. Since you’re always pulling the weight towards you or pushing it away from your body, you can let go of the handles when something goes wrong or the rep is straining. If you’ve ever stayed away from heavy weights for fear of dropping them and injuring yourself, the cable crossover is your new best friend.

Works the core: The cables force you to engage so many small, specific muscles, effectively working out your core. If you work out only the big muscles, you’re opening yourself up to muscle fatigue and injury. A stronger, more developed core will help keep all your muscles stable. Using a cable crossover machine also increases your range of motion and improves shoulder stability.

Cable Crossover Ladder Workout

Pick a weight you are able to do between 8-12 reps and stick to it throughout your workout.

Start with the handles at the lowest position in the cable machine.

Start with incline cable crossovers and continue until you can hold the rep.

Rest for 15 seconds and then move the handles up a notch.

Repeat the exercise, pulling your hands in front of you until you can hold the rep.

Move the handles up the notch.

Repeat the process until the handles reach the highest point on the machine and you’re performing a decline crossover.

This exercise does not take very long and it works hard to build the muscles of the chest and upper body.