Have you ever heard of cable shoulder workouts? If not, you’re missing out on an excellent way to build muscle and increase strength in your shoulders. This type of workout will give you better results than many others since it gives you an extra dimension to challenge yourself with as well as hitting more muscles in the process. If you have never tried these types of cable shoulder workouts before, we are here to provide some information that will help you get started. Here are the 1o best cable shoulder workouts of all time!
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Your shoulders are one of the most frequently used muscle groups in your body, so it’s important to maintain their strength and stability in order to avoid injuries. Thankfully, a set of resistance cables can be an excellent option for targeting your shoulder muscles and developing your shoulder muscles if you’re trying to avoid working out with free weights. Check out this collection of ten cable shoulder workouts that will keep your shoulders strong, healthy, and well-developed no matter what you do.
10 Best Cable Shoulder Workouts
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Low-Pulley Upright Row
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Low-Pulley Lateral Raise
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High-Cable Rear Lateral Raise
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One-Arm Seated Low-Cable Side Raise
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Wide-Grip Bench Press
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Standing Low-Pulley Deltoid Flye
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Standing Low-Pulley Front Raise
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T Bar Row
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Face Pulls
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Sidearm Cable Shrugs
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1) Low-Pulley Upright Row
Starting from a standing position, take hold of an upright-row handle and step forward with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Keep your shoulders pulled back as you bend at your hips, keeping your knees slightly bent until your torso is about 45 degrees to the floor. Raise your upper arms in front of you until they are parallel to the floor. Hold for one to two seconds at the top of each rep and repeat 12 times.
2) Low-Pulley Lateral Raise
To perform a Low-Pulley Lateral Raise, grab a pulley handle in each hand and face away from a cable machine. With your elbows slightly bent and arms at your sides, slowly raise both arms out to each side until they’re parallel with your shoulders. Pause, then slowly lower back down to starting position. That’s one rep. For an even greater challenge, try keeping one arm extended straight out while lifting just one arm with the other arm. Do 10 to 12 reps on each side for three sets, resting 30 seconds between sets if necessary.
3) High-Cable Rear Lateral Raise
This single-joint movement isolates your posterior deltoid muscle, giving you an intense pump. Before starting your cable shoulder workout, engage in a brief warmup with light weights for 3 sets of 10 reps each to make sure that you’re ready for heavier weights. Once you’re warmed up, grab an EZ-curl bar using a shoulder-width grip and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Position yourself in front of a cable machine and keep your core tight as you raise your arms toward the ceiling while squeezing your upper back muscles as if trying to squeeze water out of a sponge. Lower slowly. Do three sets of 10 reps.
4) One-Arm Seated Low-Cable Side Raise
Sit at a cable station and grab one handle in each hand. Pull your shoulder blades back as you straighten your arms out to your sides and raise them up until they’re parallel with the floor. Try to keep your shoulders square—not rounded forward or hunched back—as you lift. It’s important to feel a stretch in your chest, not pain in your shoulders, so stop when you feel tension through that area.
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5) Wide-Grip Bench Press
If you want to develop your triceps, a wide-grip bench press is your best bet. Wide-grip benches force you to stabilize with your shoulders and create tension through your triceps, making it one of our top cable shoulder exercises of all time. Stand facing away from a low pulley machine with a wide grip. Keeping your chest up and abs engaged, press up towards midline while focusing on fully extending through each rep. We recommend using an overhand grip (thumbs facing forward) as opposed to an underhand grip (hands perpendicular to the body) since it’s safer on shoulder joints and makes pressing down easier than pulling back up. Make sure you have enough weight; 10 pounds is more than enough for most people!
6) Standing Low-Pulley Deltoid Flye
Grab a rope handle from one of your low-pulley stations and stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Pull the handle straight out to your side (without rotating at your waist) so that it’s parallel to floor. Hold for one second, then slowly return back to start. That’s one rep. Do 12 reps total per set, resting 60 seconds between sets (you should finish all 12 reps within 4 sets). Next, do 3 sets of 10 lateral raises with a slight bend in your elbows while holding a light dumbbell in each hand; do those back-to-back with three more sets of 12 standing cable reverse flyes. Rest 60 seconds between exercises in these two supersets and again after each superset is finished.
7) Standing Low-Pulley Front Raise
Also known as a reverse fly, standing low-pulley front raises work your shoulder by holding a weight with both hands in front of your body. They are a great starting point for beginners who want to learn how to perform their first cable shoulder workout. To begin, attach a D-handle to a low pulley machine and grab it with both hands, elbows bent at 90 degrees. Stand facing away from the machine with feet staggered as if you were performing one-leg squats. Clench your abs and raise your arms straight out in front of you while squeezing your shoulder blades together.
8) T Bar Row
This exercise primarily targets your middle deltoid, which is at the top of your shoulder. Using a barbell and an adjustable bench, face away from a weight rack and grab a barbell with an overhand grip (palms facing up). Then, hold it straight down at arm’s length in front of you. Keeping your elbows tucked against your body throughout, draw back with one arm to full extension; then lower under control until your elbow touches your side again. Keep alternating arms for 20 reps total. Repeat using dumbbells. Targets: middle deltoids, triceps Mechanics: isolated movement Equipment: barbell/dumbbells
9) Face Pulls
Face pulls are excellent for building strength in your posterior (back) deltoids, upper traps, and rhomboids. This exercise is also particularly effective at strengthening your rotator cuff muscles. To perform face pulls with a cable machine, stand sideways to your cable stack and grab hold of a straight bar attachment. Keeping your elbow slightly bent, pull it across your body until it touches your forehead. Be sure not to allow any rotation throughout the movement; you want a perfectly linear path from start to finish. You can choose between using an underhand or overhand grip, but make sure that you’re using whichever one feels most comfortable and natural for you—even if it means going against what fitness experts recommend.
10) Sidearm Cable Shrugs
Stand in front of a cable machine and adjust it so that it is at chest height. Take one end of a straight bar attached to a cable in your right hand and let it hang by your side, using an overhand grip. Let your arm hang straight down from your shoulder. Keeping your elbow bent at 90 degrees, move your arm up toward your head so that you feel a good stretch in your traps. Hold for a second and then slowly return to starting position. That’s one rep; do two or three sets of 10 reps per set or more as needed.. To modify, use less weight or stand closer to make it easier; stand farther away for greater difficulty (and vice versa).