Cable Fly Techniques
Whether you're performing downward or upward cable flys, there are several techniques you can follow to ensure you maximize the effectiveness of these exercises:
How Can You Get the Most Out of Doing Downward Cable Flys?
The purpose of this exercise is to work your chest muscles. The first technique for getting the most out of this exercise is to focus on only using these muscles to move the cables' weight. While this may sound obvious, many people make the mistake of simply speeding through their cable fly reps as quickly as possible. As a result, they end up using bad form and not maximizing the effectiveness of this exercise. To ensure you use good form throughout this exercise, you want to stand with one foot in front of the other. This will keep you steady so you don't sway as you're doing your reps. You also need to keep your arms straight. Not bending your arms means you won't be taking the focus off your pectoral muscles by using your biceps to pull the cables.
Another important aspect of getting the most out of this exercise is knowing how much weight to use. While too much weight will cause you to use bad form, too little weight means you won't get anything out of doing this exercise. Most people who are knowledgable about fitness will tell you to do exercises in sets of three. For each set, the advice is to do eight reps. When it comes to choosing how much weight to use, you want to be able to fully complete the first two sets. But for the last set, you want to be able to finish most but not all of it. If you can complete every rep of your last set, it means you should choose a heavier weight.
How Can You Maximize the Benefits of Upward Cable Flys?
The same keys of getting the most out of downward cable flys apply to getting the most out of this variation. However, there are some additional factors to consider. A common mistake with this type of cable fly is that people bring the cables too high up in the air. Instead of working their chest, they end up working a combination of their shoulders and lats. There are two main ways to avoid this problem. The first is to make sure you're bringing the cables both up and out. Instead of going straight up, you want to put the cables in front of you as well. At the top of this motion, the cables should be at a level that's between your chest and chin. The other thing you need to do is really focus on using your chest muscles to pull the weight. If you notice a lot of tension in your shoulders or lats, it means you need to adjust the range of motion you're using to pull the cables. By paying attention to what you're doing, you can ensure that you're not wasting your workout.
