7 Highly Effective Cable Machine Workouts for Shedding Pounds
If you haven’t explored the cable machine at your local gym yet, it’s time to start. Cable machines provide a form of resistance training, meaning they can help sculpt muscle mass and burn fat. Having more muscle increases your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which means you burn more calories at rest, which helps you lose weight. So, we did the hard work for you and rounded up some of the best cable machine exercises for weight loss, according to Domenic Angelino, CPT from International Personal Training Academy (IPTA)and Amanda Capritoa certified personal trainer and functional training specialist from PTPioneer.com.
Cable machine exercises are a great addition to your overall fat burning routine. Make sure to choose movements that engage as many muscle groups as possible, Angelino emphasizes. “You’ll burn more calories doing a cable exercise that involves your biceps and your back muscles than you will doing just a cable exercise for just your biceps,” he explains.
1. Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown (3 sets of 12 reps)
- Sit down at the lat pulldown machine and make sure the supports keep your legs firmly in place.
- Take a wide grip and grab the outer ends of the lat pulldown bar.
- Bend and drive your elbows down to lower the bracket.
- Slowly raise your arms to return to the starting position.
2. Close Grip Seated Cable Row (3 sets of 12 reps)
- Sit on an exercise bench.
- Hold a cable clamp with a close grip with your palms facing inward.
- Drive your elbows back as you row the bracket toward your upper abdomen.
- Slowly straighten your arms to return to the starting position.
3. Kneeling Cable One Arm Press (3 sets of 12 reps)
- Bend down so that your body is perpendicular to a cable tower with your stomach turned to the side.
- Grab a pulley with the arm closest to the tower.
- Press the arm up until it is fully extended.
- Lower the arm.
- Do all repetitions on one side before switching to the other.
4. Cable pull-through (3 sets of 15 reps)
- Stand tall, face away from a cable tower, and hold a rope attachment between your legs.
- Make sure your feet are planted wider than shoulder width apart.
- Bend forward and squat down.
- Rise back to standing as you pull the rope attachment forward between your legs and squeeze your glutes.
5. One-arm cable chest press (3 sets of 12 reps)
- Stand perpendicular to a cable tower.
- Hold a pulley at chest height.
- Press the arm forward towards the midline of your torso, making sure your torso does not rotate.
- Return the arm to the starting position.
- Complete all reps before switching to the other side.
6. Cable Bicep Curl
- Adjust the cable machine so that the pulley is at the bottom.
- Attach a rope or straight bar to the cable machine and adjust the weight.
- Stand tall, feet shoulder-width apart, facing the weight stack.
- Grab the rope or bar, keeping your core tight and spine neutral.
- Bend both elbows to bend the weight upwards.
- Pause briefly at the end of the range of motion and lower the weight.
- Perform your chosen rep scheme so that the sets are taken to a point of near failure.
7. Cable Goblet Squat
- Adjust the cable machine so that the pulley is at the bottom.
- Attach a V-bar or rope attachment and adjust the weight.
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, facing the weight stack.
- Grab the rope or bar and bring the bracket to your chest.
- Stand tall and keep your core tight and spine neutral.
- Take a step back and place your feet in a comfortable squat position.
- Get down into a squat.
- Get back up and repeat.
- Perform your chosen rep scheme so that the sets are taken to a point of near failure.
Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa