Shoulder workouts are some of the most dreaded by gym-goers, but they can also be some of the most rewarding. Packed with muscles, the shoulder is a crucial area to target to improve your physique. This guide will show you seven different shoulder workouts that you can do with cables. Each one is designed to work for another muscle group in the shoulder and produce results. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!
You can do so many different exercises with cables to work out your shoulders. Shoulder workouts with cables allow for various movements and variations, which is great because it’s important not to get bored or burned out! Here are 7 shoulder workouts with cables that will challenge your muscles in new ways:
Table of Contents
7 Best Shoulder Workouts with Cables
1. Cable Shoulder Press
The cable shoulder press is an excellent alternative to the traditional overhead lift. You have more control due to its use of cables, and it’s also easier on your arms because there’s less weight being thrown at them!
Once you have the straight bar attached, adjust it to your lowest point at about shoulder height. Then follow these steps:
- Keeping your shoulders square, breathe out as you slowly lift the weights into position. Keep your arms rigid at shoulder level or above, and don’t move them until we say so!
- With a big exhale, push up straight over your head.
- Make sure you’re not arching your lower back or using your legs as leverage to help push the bench up.
- Now, inhale and return to the starting position.
2. Cable Upright Row
Upright rows recruit more muscle fibers than any other upper body exercise and target the front part of your shoulders.
You can use either a straight bar attachment or rope when doing this exercise. The cable must be at its lowest point for both options, so adjust accordingly and grasp tight before taking one step back onto it to put some tension on there!
Follow here for doing this exercise:
- As you breathe out, bend at the elbows and pull up on a bar or rope so that it’s level with your chest.
- Stop when the arms are at shoulder level.
- Inhale and jump back to the starting position
3. Rear Delt Crossover
The rear delt crossover is a great way to work your upper back, and it’s similar to the cable machine flyes, except you start with cables higher up on the pulleys. This allows for more tension, leading to more significant growth if done consistently over time!
With both hands, grasp a cable in front of you. Make sure they cross and form an “X” between them before starting to pull back on one side while pushing forward with your other hand until it feels comfortable doing so or has reached its limit- whichever comes first!
Follow here for doing this exercise:
- Open your arms and pull them down to your side on the inhale.
- Take a deep breath and return to the starting position.
- Don’t arch your back and let momentum take over.
4. Cable Shrug
Shrugs are a great way to target your trapezius muscles and should be done every day. They will also create an additional stimulus for the shoulders, leading you to sculpt better upper body structure overall!
Follow here for doing this exercise:
- Shrugs are designed to be done in groups, so it’s best if you have more than one person doing them at once.
- You can also add weight while performing this exercise by wearing ankle weights or step complexes, which will make your cables work even harder!
- Make sure that the weighing pulls evenly on both sides, and try pushing away from yourself when lowering down as well–this helps build major shoulder stability muscles.
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5. Bent-Over Rear Delt Flyes
If you want your shoulders to look good from every angle, make sure that you include rear delt flyes in workouts. This exercise targets the back part of a shoulder muscle and defines them!
When doing bent-over rear delt flyes, you’ll need to stand in the center of your cable machine and grasp a strand with each hand. Before starting, make sure that they are adjusted, so it’s at its lowest point – following these cues:
Follow here for doing this exercise:
- Hold the cables together, crossing their shapes like an “X” for extra strength.
- Bring your chest to the front of a sturdy chair, then twist at your hips as though you were about to perform an ideal row.
- One inhale, then raise your arms straight up to the sky on an exhale.
- Inhale and lower your arms back down
- Keep your elbows locked and bend them slightly to keep from swaying.
6. Single-Arm Lateral Raises
If you’re looking to grow your shoulders, lateral raises are a great move. You can do them with either dumbbells or cable machines, and they’ll be different exercises depending on what equipment is available at whichever gym rack it could possibly be found in!
Follow here for doing this exercise:
- The first step of this exercise is adjusting the side rail on a cable machine, so it’s at its lowest point, which makes room for us as we’re going into positions from here!
- Grasp the handle in one hand, then turn your arm to one side, and cable runs behind you.
- As you breathe out, raise your arm straight up into the air until it’s parallel concerning the floor.
- Inhale and lower your arm back down
- Keeping your elbow slightly bent will protect you from injury. But don’t let it flex or extend too much, otherwise the joint won’t get targeted with exercise.
- You can make the exercise more challenging by isolating your arm and shoulder muscles not bouncing, or using momentum to swing weight up.
- To ensure you’ve got this in tip-top shape, try making the same move on both sides.
7. Anterior Raises
The cables are a great way to add an extra dimension of difficulty and focus. The front part of the shoulder should be addressed when doing these exercises, so make sure you’re focusing on that area!
To perform this exercise with a straight bar attachment, hook it onto your cable machine and adjust the cable so that it’s at its lowest point. Follow these steps:
- Lie on the floor grasping both handles firmly in each hand while keeping arms extended out from the body like airplane wings;
- Keeping legs flat against the ground contract glutes by tensing spinal muscles — don’t worry if they shake! Emphasize contracting the outer thigh first, then inner thighs as much as possible (don’t forget About those quads!).
- Return hands back overhead, making sure not to see fingertips touch chest before returning them forward again
You can do all of these exercises with just one weight stack or a combination of stacks that make sense for each activity (for example, if doing two-handed bent over rows on a single stack machine, you would use the heaviest weight available on each arm).