Flat Bench Cable Flyes

What it is

This exercise isolates your pectoral muscles, allowing you to build definition and strength in your chest. You perform this fly movement on a flat bench using a cable machine. It effectively targets the pectorals through a controlled pushing motion, promoting muscle engagement across the chest.

Technique tips

• Maintain a slight, consistent bend in your elbows throughout the entire movement.
• Align your chest precisely with the cable pulleys when positioned on the bench.
• Squeeze your pectoral muscles forcefully as your hands meet at the top.
• Control the descent slowly to maximize muscle engagement and tension.
• Exhale as you bring the cables together, inhale returning to the start.
• Ensure your arms are perpendicular to your torso at the top.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.