Cable Front Raise

What is the Cable Front Raise?

The cable front raise trains the front deltoid against the constant tension of a cable, lifting a handle straight out in front to shoulder height from a low pulley. The cable keeps the front delt loaded through the whole range, including the bottom where a dumbbell goes light, making it a clean way to add front-delt volume when pressing alone hasn’t filled it out.

Muscles worked

Primary: Shoulders

The front (anterior) deltoid raises the upper arm forward and up to shoulder height (shoulder flexion) against the cable, loaded from the very bottom of the range.

How to perform the Cable Front Raise

1. Set a single pulley to the lowest position and stand facing away from or beside the stack with the cable running behind the legs.
2. Grip the handle with a pronated grip in front of the thighs, holding a soft bend in the elbow.
3. The low cable keeps constant tension on the front delt from the very bottom, where a dumbbell is nearly weightless.
4. Raise the handle forward and up in front of the body, leading with the knuckles toward shoulder height.
5. Stop at about shoulder height without shrugging or leaning back to complete the rep.
6. Lower under control against the cable pull, keeping tension on the delt all the way down.

Suggested working range: 12–20 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Mechanics

A single-joint isolation on a cable: standing with a low pulley behind or beside you, movement happens only at the shoulder as the arm flexes forward to about shoulder height with a fixed slight elbow bend. Unlike a dumbbell front raise where resistance nearly vanishes at the bottom, the cable line keeps constant tension on the front delt through the whole raise.

Form cues

• •Stand facing away from a low pulley so the cable runs up the back of your legs and stays taut at the bottom.
• •Raise the handle forward to about shoulder height, no higher, with a slight fixed bend in the elbow.
• •Keep the torso still, with no leaning back or swinging the hips to start the rep.
• •Lower slowly against the cable rather than letting the stack yank the arm back down.

Common mistakes

• •Setting the pulley too high, which removes the loaded bottom range the cable is meant to provide.
• •Leaning back to heave the handle up rather than raising with the front delt.
• •Shrugging the traps at the top instead of stopping at shoulder height.
• •Letting the cable snap the arm back down without controlling the eccentric.

Variations & alternatives

• •Dumbbell front raise: the free-weight version with a strong top but a near-weightless bottom.
• •Barbell or plate front raise: both hands on one implement for a heavier, symmetrical raise.
• •Overhead press: the compound that already loads the front delts heavily.
• •Incline front raise: lying back on an incline bench to lengthen the front-delt tension curve.

Overhead Press

Shoulders · Barbell

Dumbbell Overhead Press

Shoulders · Dumbbell

Lateral Raise

Shoulders · Dumbbell

Cable Lateral Raise

Shoulders · Cable

Rear Delt Fly

Shoulders · Dumbbell

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program the cable front raise as a front-delt accessory in the library’s higher 12–20 rep range with light, controllable weight and constant tension. Because pressing already hits the front delts hard, most lifters need only a little direct front-raise work, so add it when the front delt specifically lags, and place it after your compound pressing.

Frequently asked questions