Exercise description of the incline bench cable fly.  Learn about the incline bench cable fly with video and pictures.  Also learn how the incline bench cable fly can improve your sports performance.

Primary muscles worked:  Pecs

Synergist Muscles:  Deltoids, Forearms

Mechanics:  Isolation

Equipment:  Incline Bench and Dual Cable Tower with low setting and hand attachments

How to perform the exercise:  First the athlete must set up an incline bench between a dual cable tower machine. The position of the incline bench should be in the middle of the two towers and slightly offset to the front of the two units. The athlete will then utilize a neutral or hammer grip on both hand attachments. The athlete will first grab one attachment, walk over, and then grab the other attachment. Once the athlete has both attachments in hand, he/she will take a seat on the incline bench and lay with their back flat. During this, the athlete's arms will be extended to the sides in the direction of each of the cable towers. The athlete will maintain a slight bend in the elbows and then bring the outstretched arms together. The athlete will do this in an arc-like path that will bring the arms and hands right in to the athlete's natural line of sight from the position they are in, on the bench. The palms will be facing each other at this point. Once the athlete has both of the hand attachments touching each other, the athlete will slowly lower the weight until the arms are in line the bench and a straight line can be made from one hand, across the back, and then to the other hand. After this position is reached, the athlete may begin another rep and attempt to bring the arms back together again.

Spotting the exercise:  The spotter for the incline bench cable fly should stand in front of the athlete or behind the athlete depending on his/her strengths and weaknesses for this particular exercise. If the athlete is week at the bottom portion of the lift (when the arms are closest to the cable tower) then the spotter should stand behind the athlete and apply force above the elbow assisting the athlete in bringing the arms together. If the athlete is weaker as the top portion of the lift (when the arms are closest together) the spotter should stand in front of the athlete and apply force on the wrists attempting to bring the arms together. The spotter should only assist the athlete with the actual workload of the exercise if the athlete can not perform the desired number of repetitions on their own. The spotter may also assist the athlete with the intial grabbing of the weight and unracking of the weight.

Sport specific application:  As with all fly variations, the cable incline fly most resembles passing in overhand sports. What separates the incline bench cable fly from other fly variations is the constant tension and strengthening it provides for the upper chest. This makes it an exceptional exercise and one that should at some point be part of the athlete's routine.