# Standing Cable Chest Press: how to do it

- Main muscles: chest
- Also works: triceps, front delts
- Equipment: cable
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/cable_chest_press/f6aff728a3/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Set both pulleys at chest height and face away from the machine.
2. Take a long split stance, leaning slightly forward, handles beside your chest.
3. Press both handles straight ahead until your arms are straight.
4. Pause briefly, then let the handles return slowly to your chest.

## Cues

- Brace your trunk, stay still
- Push straight ahead, not up
- Control the return

## Common mistakes

- Getting pulled backwards: lengthen your stance and brace harder.
- Twisting or leaning to push: keep hips and shoulders square.
- Letting the stack drop: return slowly and keep tension.

## Starting position

Two pulleys set at chest-to-shoulder height, so the cable runs about level with the hands and roughly parallel to the floor during the press. The pulleys are closer together than arm span (a narrow cable-column setup or a dual-pulley station). Split stance: feet hip-width apart, one foot forward and one back, front-to-back distance about the height of the hip joint from the floor (about 90 cm on a 1.75 m person). Front knee bent about 20–30°; back leg nearly straight with the heel down or just raised; both feet pointing forward. Overhand grip (palms down), wrists straight.

## The movement

The hands push forward in a straight line with a slight inward arc, finishing a little narrower than where they started. Only the arms move. The trunk, hips and legs hold the split stance and the forward lean; the trunk does not rotate or sway, and the feet do not move.

## End position

(turnaround point): Arms straight ahead, elbows about 170–175° (soft), hands at chest-to-shoulder height and about shoulder-width apart, arms roughly parallel to each other and to the floor (shoulder flexion about 90°). Hands do not touch or cross. Shoulder blades stay set; the shoulders do not roll forward.

## Tempo

1.5 s press, 1 s pause with the arms extended, 2 s return under control.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pulley height | chest to shoulder height | nipple line to top of shoulder |  |
| Stance length (front to back) | hip-joint height (about 90 cm) | 0.8–1.0× leg length |  |
| Stance width | hip-width | hip to shoulder width |  |
| Front knee flexion | 25° | 15–35° |  |
| Upper arm from torso at start | 60° | 45–70° |  |
| Elbow flexion at start | 90° | 80–100° |  |
| Elbow at end | 172° | 165–180° |  |
| Hand spacing at end | 1.0× shoulder width | 0.8–1.0× |  |
| Press / pause / return | 1.5 s / 1 s / 2 s | 1–2 s / 0.5–1 s / 1.5–3 s |  |

## Sources

1. [[ExRx.net: Cable Standing Chest Press (Wayback copy)](](https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/CBStandingChestPress)
2. [[ACE: Single-arm Chest Press](](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/338/single-arm-chest-press/)
3. [[Santana, Vera-Garcia and McGill 2007, J Strength Cond Res, standing cable press vs bench press (author PDF)](](https://www.backfitpro.com/medical-scientific-articles/2007/Santana-and-McGill.pdf)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/cable-chest-press