Chest · Cable
Cable Middle Fly
How to do the cable middle fly, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- HorizontalPush
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Set both pulleys to roughly chest height and grip a handle in each hand. Stand tall in the center with arms out to the sides and a slight elbow bend, then bring your hands together in front of your chest in a wide arc. Open back up under control to stretch the chest.
- 1Mid-chest contracting as your hands meet in front
- 2A stretch across the chest as your arms open wide
- 3A steady elbow bend held throughout the movement
Common mistakes
- Bending your elbows more to press instead of fly
- Letting your shoulders round forward at the squeeze
- Swinging the handles together with momentum
Muscles worked
The cable middle fly mainly works the mid chest, with the front delts, upper chest, and internal rotators assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- Front DeltsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Internal RotatorsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Lower ChestMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
Kovo programs the cable middle fly for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More chest exercises
- How to do the archer push-up
- How to do the assisted dip
- How to do the resistance band chest flyes
- How to do the resistance band push-up
- How to do the barbell bench press
- How to do the paused bench press
Last reviewed June 2026.