Are you ready to take your shoulder routine to the next level? Then these shoulder cable workouts may be your secret weapon to achieve your training goals. Whether you want to tone up or build shoulder boulders, the best cable column exercises will help you achieve your fitness goals. Just don’t forget to include exercises to protect yourself from shoulder injuries. This will prevent you from missing valuable training time.
Shoulder cable workouts
As a physical therapist, shoulder injuries are among the most commonly treated conditions. Believe it or not, many of these injuries could have been prevented with a proper workout routine. The information in this post will go over the best shoulder cable workouts to give your shoulders the appearance that will turn heads. Equally important, these exercises will also protect you from unintended shoulder injuries.
Benefits of cable exercises
Why is the cable column so good? For starters, unlike free weights cable columns provide your shoulder muscles with constant tension. This constant tension is necessary for overload to promote muscle growth for strong shoulders. It also reduces your ability to cheat. These are just a couple of reasons why any fitness enthusiast will agree that shoulder cable exercises are a great option to build upper body strength.
Second, a cable column allows you to train your muscle fibers from different angles. These subtle changes are a great way to address muscle imbalances. Slight adjustments in the angle of pull are also helpful to increase shoulder strength for complete shoulder development.
Finally, cable shoulder workouts keep your training program fresh. First, doing the same exercises every time is boring. It is also one of the biggest reasons for training plateaus. So give your deltoid muscles the gift of variation and take your shoulder training to the next level the the best shoulder cable workouts.
Shoulder anatomy
Before getting into the best cable machine shoulder exercises, it is a good idea to have an understanding of your shoulder anatomy. While most people think the shoulder joint is one joint, it is more complex than that. The shoulder consists of separate 4 joints with many muscle groups that allow for proper shoulder movement.
The four joints of the shoulder are:
- The glenohumeral joint
- The acromioclavicularr joint
- The sternoclaviucular joint
- The scapulothoracic joint
The major muscle groups of the shoulder include:
- The rotator cuff (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis)
- The trapezius (upper, middle, and lower)
- The rhomboid muscles (major and minor)
- The three deltoid heads (anterior, middle, and posterior)
- The biceps (short and long heads)
Most of you are familiar with training the three heads of the deltoid, but it is unlikely you are training your shoulder’s primary muscle group. The best shoulder workouts will include exercises to strengthen your rotator cuff. If you are, chances are you are not training them correctly.
The rotator cuff muscles are considered stabilizer muscles. The best way to train them is to use lighter weights with higher repetitions. Strong rotator cuff muscles will protect you from injury when you up the resistance level during compound exercises. Now let’s get started.
Shoulder cable workouts
The best cable machine shoulder workouts will begin with a good dynamic warm-up of the shoulder followed by activation of your rotator cuff muscles. After this, you are ready for all of those conventional exercises. As a physical therapist and former strength coach, here is a list of exercises I recommend.
Shoulder cable workouts: rotator cuff
External shoulder rotation
External rotation is an effective exercise to activate your teres minor and infraspinatus. Set the cable column height to midway. When your elbow is bent to 90 degrees the height cable should be at the same level as your forearm. Position yourself so the cable runs across your body. Place a towel between your body and your elbow. Now rotate your arm outward away from your body. Just be sure not to let the towel drop. Keel the weight light and shoot for 20-30 repetitions.
Internal shoulder rotation
In addition to other larger muscles in your shoulder, internal rotation will target your subscapularis. To make sure the subscapularis is the primary target, use light weights. The starting position is identical to shoulder external rotation except the cable and weight stack are on the other side of your body. With the same towel tucked between your elbow and body, rotate your arm inward. The target repetition range should be 20-30.
Shoulder cable workouts: deltoid
Anterior deltoid
The anterior deltoid is in the front of your shoulders. This portion of the deltoid begins on your collarbone and attaches to the same place as the other heads of the deltoids. Here are some of the best shoulder cable exercises to strengthen and develop your anterior deltoid
- Overhead presses. Shoulder presses on the cable column are an excellent exercise to target the front of your shoulder. Place the column adjustment to the lowest position to set up a cable shoulder press. You can use either a single handle or a straight bar attachment. Start with the attachment in the front of the body at the level of your shoulder. Now with control press overhead to straighten your arms. Slowly, with control, return to the starting position.
- Frontal raises. Cable front raises are a great way to challenge your front delt. To begin, set the cable column to the lowest setting. Attach the single-hand attachment to the cable column. With a slight bend in your elbow raise your arm upward. Make sure to work through the entire range of motion. Then slowly return. Select the number of repetitions that match your training goals.
- Upright row. The cable upright row uses the rope handle set to the lowest height. Stand facing the pulleys and grab onto each side of the rope. With control pull the cables upward toward your chin. This will require you to bend at the elbows. It is important to go slow with control and not create momentum.
These 3 exercises will also work the other heads of the deltoid muscle. Based on the shoulder anatomy, it is impossible to completely isolate each head of the deltoid. For the same reason, other exercises like a cable incline bench press also work the anterior deltoid.
Middle deltoid
Your medial deltoids begin at the acromion on the top of your shoulders. Its main action is to raise the arm to the side. The cable lateral raise is one of the most well-known and popular exercises to target your lateral deltoids. However, it is also the worst. Even with good form, it puts too much pressure on the rotator cuff. Here is a better alternative.
- “Thumbs up” cable lateral raise. This lateral raise variation will slightly change deltoid activity from the side delt to the front of the shoulder. However, this variation could save your rotator cuff from harm. Set the cable column to the lowest setting and select the single-handle attachment. Grab on and keep a slight bend in your elbow. With your thumb pointed up to the ceiling raise your arm upward through its full range of motion. It is important to avoid shrugging as you raise your arm upward.
Although this is the only exercise listed here, the middle deltoid will also be used with shoulder presses, upright rows, and posterior delt fly (see below).
Posterior deltoid
Your posterior deltoids begin on your shoulder blades in the back of your shoulders. The primary action includes extension, external rotation, and horizontal abduction. The rear deltoids are the most neglected part of the shoulder. These cable exercises will target the rear delts and help you become a training unicorn.
- Cable face pull. Think of face pulls as an upright row with the cable position set to shoulder height. Here you will also use the rope attachment. After you select an appropriate weight pull the rope toward your face. At the end of the movement squeeze your shoulder blades together.
- Rear delt fly. This cable variation can be done free-standing or with a bench. Here I will go over the free-standing position to challenge your core muscles. Use the single-handle attachment. With your right arm reach across the grab the left pulley. Do the opposite with your left arm to form a cross. Now with control move your arms away from your body. At the end of the movement squeeze your shoulder blades and pause briefly before slowly returning to the starting position.
- Cable row. There are so many different variations of a cable row. This one will use a single-handle attachment with the pulley height set to a height just below your chest. With control pull the weight back so your elbow is even with your body. To finish squeeze your shoulder blades together.
- Cable extension. The cable extension is similar to the cable row except your elbow remains straight. Set the cable height to the level of your shoulders. Use a straight bar attachment with an overhead grip. Now with control, pull the weight toward your body. Be careful not to shrug your shoulders. To finish add a squeeze of your scapular muscles.
- Cable Y. There are many variations of the cable Y exercise. This one you will stand facing the pulley. Set the height to the bottom of the machine. Select the single-handle attachment or hold onto the pulley itself. To train the right side the pulley will be on your left. Raise your arm upward and outward as if you are drawing a sword. To target the shoulder, use caution to minimize movement at your elbow.
Best shoulder cable workouts: putting it all together
The best shoulder cable workouts will have you turning heads with your well-developed shoulders. Even better, the proper form you practice with a comprehensive program will lower your risk for shoulder injuries. For those looking to take it further, try advanced training methods like combined sets, supersets, pyramids, and drop sets. Don’t forget to work through the full range of motion and use your mind-muscle connection to get the most out of your session.