Head to any gym and you’ll most likely see someone occupying the cable crossover machine at ALL times. It’s probably the second most popular spot…second to the water fountain (or now…the shake bar!). Did you ever wonder why the squat rack always seems empty?!?
Anyway, why is this massive configuration of iron and cables such a gym rat favorite? Because it’s believed to be the best place to get that deep line between the chest that so many guys covet and…it’s a heck of a lot cooler looking than the seated pec deck machines! Is it me or is that so 80’s?!?
The Key To Building Massive Muscle – Get On Your Feet!
Well…I’ll give you the best reason to trade in the pec deck for the cable cross. In the latter you’re doing the exercise on your feet! As any of my AthLEAN-X guys can attest, I’m a big fan of that in almost all of your training.
Get off your butt (literally) and on your feet at every opportunity in the gym! That one simple switch in your routine is enough to add at least 5-10 lbs of solid muscle to your frame simply by engaging more of the larger and core muscle tie-ins into the workload.
Now, that said….all cable crossovers are not equal. Not by a long shot. Think about all the variations you see. Guys crossing low to high, high to low, one arm at a time, lying down on a bench like a cable fly, etc.
The thing is…these are all wrong (at least when it comes to maximally developing the lower and inner chest!). Why are these wrong? Because usually the biggest mover of the weights in these exercises is NOT the muscles you’re trying to work, but rather momentum of the body and unwanted contribution of the lats and serratus muscles!
One Exercise to Develop Inner and Lower Pecs FAST
So what to do? Simple…..isolate even further. Or to be exact, ISO Low Cross! That’s what I call the exercise that I regard as the quickest and fastest way to develop inner and lower pecs. It’s actually very easy to perform, but not so easy to complete!
Start by setting up two low pulleys on either side of you. Take the normal weight you use for high to low cable crossovers and cut that weight in at least half. Now, from there grab each handle with your palm facing behind you (very important to activate the internal rotators of the shoulder to pre-activate the chest muscles) and stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and your arms held straight and out to your sides.
Bring the hands a bit in front of the body and now cross them in front of you (no higher than waist height) right over left. You’ll feel the squeeze right down the center of the pecs and from the bottom up. From there, slowly return to the starting position and repeat, this time crossing the left over the right.
Continue to alternate in this fashion until your pecs are starting to feel like a towering inferno….and then do a couple more!
The Cable Crossover Exercise….Fixed!
That’s it. The cable crossover exercise….fixed! You’re getting isolated pec involvement, less momentum, a ground based movement, and two areas of the chest developed for the price of one! What more could you want than that?
Balanced impressive pecs from all angles of course ( I can hear you saying it from here!)! Well, now you can….except don’t let too many people know about the benefits of this exercise, or you’ll have to camp out at the gym the night before your workout to make sure you get your chance at the cable cross station!
Like the hard hitting “call it like it is” approach that celebrity trainer and former NY Mets Physical Therapist/Strength Coach Jeff Cavaliere takes in his training? Well let him get the most out of you by helping you to stop wasting time on popular but marginally effective exercises and trade them in for those that work without a doubt and are actually fun to do! Get his AthLEAN-X Training System and change more than just your exercises in the next 90 days.