Shoulders · Cable
Cable Shoulder Press
How to do the cable shoulder press, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- VerticalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Set two low cable pulleys and grip a handle in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forward. Brace your ribs down and press the handles overhead in a smooth arc, stopping just short of a hard lockout. Lower slowly until you feel a stretch in the shoulders, then repeat.
- 1Front and side delts driving the press, triceps finishing the lockout
- 2Trunk staying stable with a clean overhead path
- 3A controlled stretch through the shoulders at the bottom
Common mistakes
- Overarching the low back or flaring the ribs
- Bouncing out of the bottom of the press
- Letting the elbows drift too far behind you
Muscles worked
The cable shoulder press mainly works the front delts, triceps, and side delts, with the forearms, upper chest, upper traps, and upper abs assisting.
- Front DeltsPrimary
- TricepsPrimary
- Side DeltsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower TrapsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
Kovo programs the cable shoulder press 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 shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.