Chest · Cable
Cable Standing Fly
How to do the cable standing 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 two cable pulleys to chest height and grip a handle in each hand, stepping forward with arms opened out to the sides and a slight bend in the elbows. Bring the handles together in front of your chest in a wide hugging arc, squeeze, then return to a stretch with control.
- 1Chest stretching at the open position and contracting as the handles meet
- 2A slight constant bend held in the elbows throughout
- 3Pecs doing the work, not your arms or front delts
Common mistakes
- Bending your elbows more to press instead of fly
- Letting your shoulders roll forward at the squeeze
- Using momentum to swing the handles together
Muscles worked
The cable standing fly mainly works the mid chest, with the front delts, upper chest, lower chest, and internal rotators assisting.
- Mid ChestPrimary
- Front DeltsSupport
- Upper ChestSupport
- Lower ChestSupport
- Internal RotatorsSupport
- ForearmsMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Lower AbsMinor
Kovo programs the cable standing 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.