How many reps of the cable crossover should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Two or three sets of 15, run as the last thing you do on a chest day. Pick a weight that lets you pause for a second with the hands crossed at your hips; if the stacks pull your arms back before you are ready, drop a plate. Add the pause first, then the reps, and only then the weight.

What can I do instead of the cable crossover at home?

Anchor a band high on each side, over a door frame or around a rail, and draw the ends down and together in front of your hips. With no band, set both hands on a low step and do push-ups; the same lower-chest area gets the work, though as a press.

What is the cable crossover good for, and when is it a poor choice?

The high line of pull matches the lower chest fibers and the cable holds tension where dumbbells go slack, which makes it a strong finisher for chest detail. As your main chest exercise it fails: nothing here builds pressing strength, and the load is limited by how well you can stay planted. Leave it out on days when the shoulder dislikes the stretched start position.

Intermediate

Cable Crossover

With the pulleys set high, you press the handles down and across the body, which lines the resistance up with the lower sternocostal fibers. Unlike dumbbells, cables load the chest through the entire range, including the fully squeezed position where free weights go slack. It is a favorite finisher for chiseling the lower and inner chest.

Equipment: Cables
Body part: Chest
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Pectoralis Major Sternocostal
Browse by movement: Horizontal Adduction

How to do it

1
Set both pulleys above head height and select a moderate weight on each stack.
2
Grab a handle in each hand, step forward into a staggered stance, and lean slightly at the hips.
3
Start with arms out to the sides, elbows slightly bent, feeling a stretch across the chest.
4
Draw both handles down and together in front of your hips, squeezing the chest hard.
5
Return under control to the stretched position without letting the stacks yank your arms back.

Tips

Cross the handles slightly at the bottom for an extra inner-chest contraction.
Keep the elbow angle fixed and lead with the hands rather than pressing.
Hold a shallow forward lean so the line of pull matches the lower chest.

Variations

Common mistakes

The handles are dragged down to the hips on straight arms, which makes this a straight-arm pulldown and gives the work to the lats.
Standing level with the pulleys leaves the arms nowhere to travel; step forward past the uprights so the cables run behind you and the chest gets a stretch at the top.
Once fatigue arrives, the torso pumps up and down to help the arms finish, so the last reps come from your hips.
The elbows are allowed to drift well behind the line of the shoulders at the stretch, which hangs the load on the front of your shoulder rather than the chest.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the cable crossover should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Two or three sets of 15, run as the last thing you do on a chest day. Pick a weight that lets you pause for a second with the hands crossed at your hips; if the stacks pull your arms back before you are ready, drop a plate. Add the pause first, then the reps, and only then the weight.
What can I do instead of the cable crossover at home?: Anchor a band high on each side, over a door frame or around a rail, and draw the ends down and together in front of your hips. With no band, set both hands on a low step and do push-ups; the same lower-chest area gets the work, though as a press.
What is the cable crossover good for, and when is it a poor choice?: The high line of pull matches the lower chest fibers and the cable holds tension where dumbbells go slack, which makes it a strong finisher for chest detail. As your main chest exercise it fails: nothing here builds pressing strength, and the load is limited by how well you can stay planted. Leave it out on days when the shoulder dislikes the stretched start position.

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