The cable machine is the most versatile piece of equipment in the gym. It’s our go-to piece of gym equipment for the majority of our accessory and isolation work.
However, it's often underutilized or overlooked for core workouts, which is quite surprising considering how effective it is for ab and oblique exercises. It has several unique advantages that make it a very effective piece of equipment for your core workouts.
This article will look at those as well as the best cable exercises you can do to build your abs and obliques.
Table of Contents:
- Anatomy & Functions of the Core Musculature
- 7 Best Cable Exercises for Abs and Obliques
- Rep Range & Weight Load
- Cable Ab Workouts
- Benefits of Cable Machine for Ab Workouts
- More on Cable Machines
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7 Best Cable Exercises For Your Abs And Obliques
- Cable Crunch
- Pallof Press
- Cable Hanging Knee Raise
- Cable Woodchopper
- Cable Side Bend
- Cable Reverse Crunch
- Cable Explosive Twist
Anatomy and Function of Your Abs & Core
Many people only think of your “abs” when they think of the core. However, it actually consists of a large group of different muscles. Collectively, these muscles wrap your entire mid-section to provide stability and movement.
These muscles are:
- Rectus Abdominis (abdominal muscle)
- Transverse Abdominis (abdominal muscle)
- External Obliques (abdominal muscle)
- Internal Obliques (abdominal muscle)
- Erector Spinae (low back)
As your 6-pack is most visible, most people make the error of only training it directly. This is a mistake and will result in a sub-par core. Therefore, proper core training involves training the entire core.
On that note, let's look at each muscle and what their main responsibilities are. That way you will understand which muscles are being worked when doing cable core exercises.
1. Rectus Abdominis:
When you think of "abs", this is the muscle. The rectus abdominis is the ab muscle that makes up your "six pack" (or 2, 4, 8, or even 10 pack depending on your ab structure, as everyone is different).
It’s a superficial muscle, meaning it is close to the skin, extending from your sternum to the bottom of your pelvis. In addition, it’s divided into two halves (left and right side) by a band of connective tissue known as the linea alba; this is what gives it the 6-pack look.
Its main job is trunk flexion and anti-extension, and it assists in lateral trunk flexion as well.
Because it’s so long, it’s usually divided into your upper abs and lower abs.
- Upper ab muscle fibers will be more activated when you bring your torso towards your hips (i.e. crunches)
- Lower ab muscle fibers will be more activated when you bring your hips up toward your upper body (i.e. leg raises).¹
2. Transverse Abdominis:
The transverse abdominis, also called the tranversus abdominis, is a deep muscle that wraps all the way around your abdomen to your spine, underneath all the abdominal muscles.
In effect, it acts as your body's “corset”, compressing your mid-section to provide spinal and pelvis stability. In addition, this core muscle acts to protect your internal organs by keeping them in place.
Think of this as your deep stabilizer muscle and protector of your guts! It plays an important role in many exercises because of this such as planks and barbell rollouts.
3. External Obliques
The external obliques are a superficial muscle that runs along the sides of the rectus abdominis from the ribs to the pelvis.
Its main functions involve rotational movement in addition to stabilization. Movements include:
- Trunk rotation
- Anti-rotation
- Lateral flexion
- Anti-lateral flexion
4. Internal Obliques:
The internal obliques are located just beneath the external obliques, yet the muscles run in the opposite direction1. This means they work with the opposing external oblique:
- Your left external oblique works with your right internal oblique.
- Your right external oblique works with your left internal oblique.
Regardless, you don’t need to worry about specific core exercise for the internal obliques as they are trained in the same manner as the external obliques.
5. Erector Spinae:
Your erector spinae is the primary core exercise of your posterior (back). It’s composed of two sets of 3 long muscles (6 total), that run from the bottom of your spine, all the way up to the base of your skull.
The “fingers” spread out to provide ultimate stability to your spine. If you want a strong core and decrease back injury, you need a strong erector spinae.
The erector spinae's main responsibilities are:
- Trunk extension
- Lateral trunk flexion
- Anti-flexion
- Spinal stability
Note: While the cable core exercises in this article involve some lower back work, you need to do low back-specific exercises too! Check out the 18 back extension exercises to train your erector spinae and multifidus.
Your core is arguably the most important part of your body leading into old age. Set yourself up for a long healthy future by training your core in its entirety. However, do not exert yourself to the point of injury. It's a marathon, not a sprint!
The Top 7 Cable Machine Exercises for Abs & Obliques
We’re going to list the top 7 cable exercises to train your abs and obliques. Collectively, they will target all of the major movements and functions of the core.
For each exercise, we'll delve into the specific muscles involved, the correct form, and the level of difficulty (the list is in order from easiest to hardest).
When programming, don’t throw them all in one training session. Instead, spread them out through your program and rotate through them.
Varying your core training is key to achieving optimal results. After we've covered each exercise in detail, we'll also discuss workout strategies, including a few targeted cable ab workouts.
1. Kneeling Cable Crunch
When you think of cable abdominal exercises, this is more than likely the one everyone thinks about. It's the most straightforward and requires the least room to accomplish. Don't think that makes it any less efficient, it will target your abs better than most, especially the "upper abs".
Main muscles worked: Rectus abdominis (upper abs)
How To Do Cable Kneeling Crunches:
- Use a double-grip rope at the highest slot on the machine.
- You may use a mat if you don't want your knees on the bare floor.
- Kneel down on your knees about three feet from the cable machine.
- Grabbing the handles on the rope, keep your back straight and core tight.
- Bend your torso and head all the way down to the floor. Think about pushing your upper abs to the floor rather than curling your upper back down.
- Make sure to slowly return to the starting position, but do not straighten out your torso.
- Repeat.
Note: You can also do a seated version. The same concepts apply except you can do them sitting down. We prefer using a bench to straddle.
2. Pallof Press
The Pallof press is one of the best core stability exercises you can do which is why it’s consistently in our programing.
Unlike other core exercises on this list, the pallof press is an anti-rotation movement meaning you don’t move. Rather, your core stabilizes the core and prevents movement.
Even though most of the popular core movements include movements, such as crunches and Russian twists, the core’s primary job is to actually resist movement and stabilize the core.
They work by having you press a cable away from your body. When you do this, the cable will pull up the weight stack while also increasing the torque on your arms. This will cause rotational pull on your arms that you must fight.
Main muscles worked: Total with emphasis on traverse abdominis and obliques
How To Do Pallof Press:
- Set up a pulley with a single attachment and set it around chest height.
- Grab the handle with both hands and hold to your chest so that the cable is running in line with your shoulders.
- Stand far enough away so that the weight stack is just lifted.
- Take an athletic stance with soft knees and brace your core.
- Push the cable handle straight out in front of you. Maintain the same height and try to mitigate any movement.
- Fully extend your arms, hold, and come back.
3. Cable Hanging Leg Raise
Last but not least is the cable hanging leg raise. This is perhaps the showiest of these exercises, and by far the hardest. A hanging leg raise itself is super hard, so add some resistance and it's next level. The hanging leg raise is often considered the ultimate ab exercise, along with planks and ab rollouts.
If you can't do hanging leg raises with just your bodyweight, don't bother with this one.
Note: Hanging leg raises require a pull up bar, which most cable machines have, but not all.
Main muscles worked: Rectus Abdominis (particularly the lower fibers)
How To Do Cable Hanging Leg Raises:
- Begin by taking an ankle strap and connecting it to a low pulley cable machine. If you don't have an ankle strap, you should be able to stick your shoes through a stirrup handle all the same. Another option is to just connect the two pulley's carabiners together and then place your feet under the line.
- Use an overhand or neutral grip with thumbs wrapped around the pull up bar or neutral grip bar.
- lift your feet off the ground outward in front of you.
- You don’t necessarily have to lift them to the point that they are parallel with the ground, but just enough to challenge yourself.
- Lower your legs back down slowly to the starting position.
- After you have achieved desired reps, be very careful dismounting. If the weights are too much, it might pull your legs from under you.
4. Cable Wood Chopper
The cable wood chopper is one of, if not the best rotational core exercises you can perform. However, you must use the cable pulley since gravity doesn’t allow free weights.
The biggest difference between this one and the standard rotational twist above is that you'll add a bit of knee drive to create more range of motion and power through the movement.
However, like the aforementioned, be sure to move slowly back to the starting position, as this will help you to build strength through both eccentric and concentric contraction.
Now, thanks to the cable pulley, you can perform this exercise with various angles.
- Neutral
- High-to-Low
- Low-to-High
We will rotate all variations throughout our workouts.
Main muscles worked: Total core with emphasis on the obliques.
How To Do Cable Wood Choppers:
- Grasp the handle with the cable pulley being slightly above eye level.
- Position feet wide apart with the furthest foot away from the pulley and nearest foot close to the pulley.
- Turn to one side, away from the pulley, until the near arm is extended straight.
- Keeping arms straight, pull diagonally downward around shoulders by rotating torso and gradually lowering arms downward until the cable is just above shoulder
- Gradually bend knees as it makes its way around the body and approaches the bottom.
- Slowly return to the original position and repeat. Continue with the opposite side.
5. Cable Side Bend
The cable side bend is a lateral flexion exercise. It's often neglected by most gym-goers, but it's important for stability and building some strong obliques. It will also help target those pesky love handles.
Main muscles worked: Upper Obliques and abdominal muscles
How To Do Cable Side Bends:
- Use a single-grip handle at a low slot.
- Stand sideways parallel to the pully.
- With feet shoulder width apart and chest up, bend your torso sideways until you feel the muscles contract.
- Pause, and inhale as you return to the starting position.
- Repeat and then do the same number of reps on the other side.
6. Cable Reverse Crunch
The reverse crunch, which is a form of a leg raise, targets the lower abdominals that often get ignored. It's difficult enough by itself, but with the weights, it's going to be a bitter-sweet nightmare.
Main muscles worked: Rectus Abdominis (lower)
How To Do Cable Reverse Crunches:
- Begin by taking an ankle strap and connecting it to a low pulley cable machine. The stirrup handles should also work just fine to place your feet in them if no ankle strap is available.
- Sit down in front of the machine and attach the cable to your ankles, then lie down and elevate your legs up, bending your knees at a 90-degree angle.
- Keep your hands behind your head or under your butt and bring your knees inward towards your core until you feel tension on your abs.
- Hold this position for a count, then slowly bring your hips and legs back to the 90-degree angle and repeat for as many reps and sets as desired.
7. Cable Explosive Twist (Low to High Angle)
Continuing to take advantage of angles, the cable explosive twist low to high is very similar to the wood chopper, but it is more dynamic and explosive. The difference with this one is that you will go into a bit of a squatting motion for your starting point. It will incorporate your hips and legs into the workout, which your core is needed for explosive work. It is a very athletic movement.
Main muscles worked: Total core with emphasis on the obliques.
How To Do Cable Explosive Twists Low to High:
- Connect any handle of preference to the tower, and move the cable to the lowest pulley position.
- With your side to the cable, grab the handle with one hand and take a step away from the tower approximately an arm's length away.
- Your outstretched arms should be aligned with the cable. With your feet positioned shoulder-width apart, squat down and grab the handle with both hands.
- In one fluid, explosive (yet controlled and safe) motion, pull the handle up and across your body until your arms are fully extended above your head.
- Keep your back straight as you pivot your back foot and straighten your legs to get the full range of motion.
- Return to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner.
- Repeat till desired reps are hit.
- Repeat on the other side.
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Rep Range & Weight Load For Cable Ab Exercises
The cable machine is best used for lighter loads and higher reps but you should include some ab training with heavier weight.
Most people who train abs always use high reps. This is good but they miss out on this entire end of the rep range and muscle function. Therefore, train your abs with some exercises in the 4-6 rep range.
Concerning high reps, a good variety of 8-15 would do well. Regardless of the rep scheme, the main priority would be that you’re training close to failure.
Ab & Core Training With Progressive Overload
Another key failure seen with many people’s core training is not using progressive overload with their core. They do some exercises as an afterthought at the end of their session, do some reps to “feel the burn” and are done.
If you want your abs to grow, you still need to use progressive overload just like any other muscle. This is another benefit of the cable machine as it’s easy to increase the load of your ab exercises week-after-week.
CABLE AB WORKOUTS
If you want to do a core workout using only a cable machine, we have two great, well-rounded cable ab workouts for you.
The first is designed to be a proper core workout (like you would any other muscle group) and the second is more of an "ab finisher".
And since we typically recommend variety in both exercises and equipment, we will also run through a core workout that includes bodyweight ab exercises and other common gym equipment and machines.
Cable Core Workout:
- Hanging Cable Knee Raised: 3 x 6
- Kneeling Cable Crunch: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Pallof Press: 2 sets x 10-12 reps (each side)
- Cable Side Bend: 2 sets x 10-12 reps (each side)
- Woodschopper: 1 set x 6-10 reps (each side)
- Woodchopper (Up-Down): 1 set x 6-10 reps (each side)
- Woodchopper (Down-Up): 1 set x 6-10 reps (each side)
Cable Ab Workout Finisher:
- Kneeling Cable Crunch x 10 reps (come to failure)
- Cable Reverse Crunch x 10 reps (come to failure)
- Woodchopper X 10 (both sides) (come to failure)
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Rest 30-60 seconds then repeat 2-3 more times
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Total Core Workout (Mixed Equipment):
- Barbell/Ab Roll Out: 3 sets x 5-10 reps
- Hanging Leg Raise (or Lying Leg Raises): 3 sets x 5-10 reps (10-15 reps if lying leg raises)
- Woodchopper: 2 sets x 8-12 reps (each side)
- Cable Kneeling Crunch: 3 sets x 8-12 slow reps
- Back Extensions: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Note: Ab Rollouts are one of the best core/ab exercises because it works you for trunk flexion (hitting both the upper and lower fibers of the abs effectively), anti-flexion (great for your low back) and anti-extension (again, great for your abs)1.
Like the hanging leg raise, it is difficult and hits many muscles at once. We highly recommend adding ab rollouts and hanging leg raises to your routine when you build up enough core strength to perform them safely and correctly. The good news is the cable machine is a great tool to build up to that strength level!
Here are some ab stretches for before and after your workout!
Are cable machines good for abs?
Yes! Cable machines allow for consistent time under tension, incremental progression, greater range of motion, and the ability to work your core through many different angles. Something as simple as cable crunches can greatly enhance your core strength and stability.
4 Benefits of doing cable abdominal exercises:
- Versatility & Angles: You can manipulate the motion of the cable to add resistance to virtually any natural bodily mechanic2. This means you can work your core through all of its actions (trunk flexion, extension, lateral flexion, anti-flexion, anti-extension, anti-lateral flexion, rotation and anti-rotation).
- Attachments & Variables: Cable machines come with a plethora of grips for you to utilize (rope, v-bar, straight bar, handle, etc.). Switching up the grip and holding position allows you to target muscles differently. It can also create a greater range of motion, which allows you to play around with different weight loads3.
- Smooth, Consistent Resistance: Thanks to the pulley system and weight stack, you will have consistent time under tension. In other words, the resistance remains the same throughout the entire movement. This isn't possible with gravity-based exercises (i.e. bodyweight or free weight exercises). This is only possible with cable machines and bands.
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Easy Adjustments: If you really want to exhaust a muscle, the cable machine is the best. You can quickly adjust the weight and get right back into the set. This takes "going to failure" to another level.
Understanding The Cable Machine and How to Best Use It
The cable pulley machine is one of the most popular machines in the gym, largely due to its extreme versatility.
Even though we call the cable pulley a “machine’, it’s actually a bit of a hybrid between a machine and free weight. While the load is attached to a cable, the movement is only semi-fixed as there is still instability to overcome.
As such, it allows one to use significant loads while making it a bit easier to target certain muscle groups.
What Exercises Are Good For Cable Machines?
You can perform a variation of just about any exercise on the cable machine. However, we primarily use it for accessory work and isolation exercises. In addition, we will almost always use moderate loads of at least 6, but generally 8 or more.
Variation Of Exercises
A crucial benefit to take advantage of is the use of exercise variations. You could take one exercise and perform it dozens of different ways. For example, look at a cable row:
- Cable row
- Cable row (with rope)
- Cable row (close grip)
- Cable row (high-to-low)
- Cable row (low-to-high)
That’s just 5 and we could easily list more. The main point is you can utilize this with your core training.
Related:
- Cable Leg Exercises
- Cable Chest Exercises
- Cable Back Exercises
- Cable Shoulder Exercises
- Cable Arm Exercises
Most people don't have a cable machine at home, but there are plenty of options that are affordable and high quality. Checkout the best cable machines for home gyms.
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
References:
- Escamilla RF, Babb E, DeWitt R, et al. Electromyographic analysis of traditional and nontraditional abdominal exercises: implications for rehabilitation and training. Physical Therapy. 2006;86(5):656-671. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16649890/
- Signorile JF, Rendos NK, Heredia Vargas HH, et al. Differences in Muscle Activation and Kinematics Between Cable-Based and Selectorized Weight Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2017;31(2):313-322. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001493
- Rendos NK, Heredia Vargas HM, Alipio TC, Regis RC, Romero MA, Signorile JF. Differences in Muscle Activity During Cable Resistance Training Are Influenced by Variations in Handle Types. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 2016;30(7):2001-2009. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001293
- Mandroukas A, Michailidis Y, Kyranoudis AE, Christoulas K, Metaxas T. Surface Electromyographic Activity of the Rectus Abdominis and External Oblique during Isometric and Dynamic Exercises. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology. 2022;7(3):67. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk7030067
Sam Coleman
Author