Exercise guide · Intermediate · Compound

Cable Lying Fly: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The cable lying fly is a chest isolation exercise performed on a bench using cable machines. It targets the pectoral muscles and also engages the deltoids and triceps as secondary muscles. The movement involves lowering the arms in a wide arc and then bringing them back together, focusing on squeezing the chest.

Primary muscles
Chest
Secondary muscles
Triceps , Shoulders
Equipment
Cable
Level · type
Intermediate · Compound
Demonstration of the cable lying fly
Front view: muscles worked by the cable lying fly. Primary: chest. Secondary: triceps and shoulders.
Back view: muscles worked by the cable lying fly. Primary: chest. Secondary: triceps and shoulders.
Primary Secondary

How to do the cable lying fly

  1. Step 1: Attach the handles to the cables and lie flat on a bench with your feet flat on the ground.
  2. Step 2: Hold the handles with your palms facing each other and your arms extended straight above your chest.
  3. Step 3: Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, lower your arms out to the sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch in your chest.
  4. Step 4: Pause for a moment, then squeeze your chest muscles to bring your arms back to the starting position.
  5. Step 5: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the cable lying fly by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Cable Lying Fly alternatives

More exercises that train the chest as their main target:

More chest exercises

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Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.