Incline Cable Fly

How to perform the Incline Cable Fly

1. Set a bench to about 30 degrees between two low pulleys and lie back with a handle in each hand.
2. Press the handles up over the upper chest with a soft, fixed bend in the elbows.
3. Low pulleys firing up an incline load the upper chest and keep peak tension at the stretched bottom position.
4. Open the arms out and down in a wide arc until you feel a deep stretch across the upper chest.
5. Sweep the handles back up and together over the collarbones, squeezing the upper pecs at the top.
6. Respect the shoulder capsule at the bottom, where the stretch and cable tension are both greatest.

Suggested working range: 12–15 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Common mistakes

• •Bending the elbows into a pressing motion instead of holding the fixed fly arc.
• •Dropping into the bottom stretch abruptly, where the incline loads the shoulder capsule hardest.
• •Setting the pulleys too high so the movement no longer bias the upper chest.
• •Letting the shoulders roll forward off the bench during the stretched position.

Variations & alternatives

Swap in a related movement if equipment, recovery, or progression demands it.