Jeff Cavaliere believes you need to do only two chest exercises – one of them being the chest cable crossover.
When optimizing your aesthetics, bulking up your chest is essential to getting into peak physical condition. However, finding the best exercises for this goal can be challenging, with many options – from push-ups and incline dumbbell bench presses – all offering unique advantages in strengthening the same muscles. But which one will give you that powerful chest? One of them is the chest cable crossover. Keep reading to learn why!
Jeff Cavaliere, a physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach, founded the Athlean-X brand aimed at helping people improve their overall fitness. He often shares exercises that build strength and size in specific muscle groups. And regularly tells us his favorites and why he picks them.
Recently, Cavaliere did a video on his two best chest workout routines and some of their variations. He discussed the muscles worked and shared tips on effectively doing these exercises. This article will cover a breakdown of the chest movements he did. Here’s what we picked up from this top trainer and what weightlifters can learn from Jeff Cavaliere’s chest workout.
Bench Press
The bench press is one of the best routines for bigger muscle mass or higher upper body strength. It works muscles like the front delts, the pectoralis major, and the triceps brachii. Two popular variations are the barbell bench press and the dumbbell bench press.
Barbell Bench Press
The barbell bench press works on your pectoralis major, deltoids, and triceps brachii. It’s excellent for using heavy loads and allows you to move more weight through your triceps and chest. Below are the pros and cons of this routine.
| Pros | Cons |
| It allows you to increase your strength by using heavier loads. | It can reinforce asymmetries as your stronger arm will pick up the slack when the load is heavy. |
| Your range of motion is standardized with constant time under tension. | The range of motion is less because the barbell restricts how low you can go. |
| Safer because a spotter can help easily. | Unsafe to use with heavy loads alone or at home. |
Dumbbell Bench Press
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The dumbbell bench press works on your pectoralis major, deltoids, and triceps brachii. It’s a unilateral movement, which can be vital in correcting imbalances and strengthening the lagging side.
| Pros | Cons |
| Loads each arm independently, which is great for correcting strength imbalances. | Those with great asymmetry might need to work with lower weights to prevent injury. |
| You get a greater range of motion through your pecs. | Not the best choice for those who want to work with heavier weights. |
| Your muscles spend more time under tension as there is more instability, and you need to concentrate and control your descent. | The range of motion is not standardized across reps; you can cheat without noticing. |
What Does Science Say?
A study found that the dumbbell bench press is better for the triceps brachii, and it showed that the dumbbell bench press targets the largest chest muscle, the pectoralis major, more due to the extra movement range (1). However, Jeff Cavaliere said it depends on your goals. Cavaliere said:
“If it’s strength and overload that you’re seeking, then, of course, the barbell version gives you the best ability to do that. In truth, I prefer the dumbbells, with dumbbells, we’re going to expose any of that left or right-hand-sided weakness.”
Cavaliere also talks about the correct angle of the bench regardless of which variation you’re using. Setting your bench to a decline targets more of the lower chest line. Inclining the bench upwards by 30 degrees works on your upper chest. For overall size, moving the bench to the flat is the answer.
Chest Flyes
Chest flyes work on your pectoral muscle and anterior delts. They’re effective because they follow a pattern of training that syncs with the direction of your chest muscle fibers which run from left to right. You can perform chest flyes on the floor, bench, or cable machine. Two popular chest flye variations are the chest cable crossover and the dumbbell fly.
Dumbbell Flyes
Dumbbell flyes target and work on your pectoralis major. However, doing this exercise with heavy weights is not advisable since that can place excess stress on your shoulders.
| Pros | Cons |
| It helps to improve shoulder stability. | Greater risk of shoulder injury. |
| Better working your chest muscles at the bottom of the movement is good for hypertrophy. | Harder for beginners to manage. |
| Equipment is readily available and requires less space. | Resistance is not constant during your motion. |
Chest Cable Crossover
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The chest cable crossover works on your chest and shoulders. This isolation exercise is excellent for building your upper, lower, and middle chest.
| Pros | Cons |
| Depending on the cable height, it can target the upper, lower, or middle chest. | Finding a free cable machine at a busy gym can be hard. |
| The tension is continuous, which is great for muscle hypertrophy. | It doesn’t teach you how to balance unstable weight or help you practice isometric control. |
| There is no danger of muscle imbalance with this exercise. | The cable machine needs more physical space and may be unavailable in your home gym. |
Does Research Support This?
Putting your muscles under tension for longer gives more significant gains (2). This favors the chest cable crossover since the cable ensures that your muscles are under stress throughout the entire range of motion. With dumbbell flyes, there is no resistance at the top and a greater risk of injury.
“We have to train adduction. This (chest cable crossover) is not an optional exercise if you want your biggest chest… I don’t like the unsupported dumbbell flyes. It actually creates a lot of instability at the shoulder,” stated Cavaliere.
Cavaliere also says that you can use a resistance band at home or where you don’t have a cable machine available. He advises that you drive your head and shoulders back as you bring your head forward during this movement to ensure that your chest is doing most of the work.
Checkout out Jeff Cavaliere’s full chest workout, where he lays down the best two chest exercises, courtesy of his YouTube channel below:
Final Words
Training your chest is a great way to build muscles and improve your upper body strength. Bench presses and chest flyes both train your chest effectively. Some factors to consider when choosing the variations of these exercises include your training level and equipment availability.
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References
- Farias, D. A., Willardson, J. M., Paz, G. A., Bezerra, E. S., & Miranda, H. (2017). Maximal Strength Performance and Muscle Activation for the Bench Press and Triceps Extension Exercises Adopting Dumbbell, Barbell, and Machine Modalities Over Multiple Sets. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 31(7), 1879–1887. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001651
- Burd, N. A., Andrews, R. J., West, D. W., Little, J. P., Cochran, A. J., Hector, A. J., Cashaback, J. G., Gibala, M. J., Potvin, J. R., Baker, S. K., & Phillips, S. M. (2012). Muscle time under tension during resistance exercise stimulates differential muscle protein sub-fractional synthetic responses in men. The Journal of physiology, 590(2), 351–362. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2011.221200
