Cable crossovers

[CHIQUITITA]

I'm needing a change in my chest rountine and want to take a break from doing DB flyes and using the pec dec machine... it leaves me with a limited range of motion as it starts impinging my shoulders with an unbearable pain. Ive been looking to add a fly movement of a different sort and i've read some articles that cable crossovers are the best type of flys... is this true??

Also, I've studied the guys at the gym in nailing the technique and form down but no matter what I do I always manage to get myself tangled in the cables! Something always seems to the in the way... my big head, boobs or stomach!!!:argh Can someone help a girl out with her form?

T.I.A.

[Adam F]

Man what are you doing to get tangled in the cables lol??? If this is a huge problem why not do Lying cable flys-same as dumbbell flys, using cables. Hard to help on the form. Might want to pull a trainer aside and ask for help real quick. Sounds like the Dec Pec machine you have in your Gym sucks (poor design) the good ones put all the stress on the pecs. Isolation exercises such as the pec deck machine and flys offer complete isolation directly to the pectorals. These exercises are great for shaping and defining the chest. Perform your flying movements with the elbows slightly bent in a fixed position throughout the exercise.

To maximize peak contraction, stop the positive portion of the rep while the cables are still 3-4 inches apart, and squeeze the pecs together for several seconds. To get even more contraction, turn the pinkies in towards each other at the very top of the movement.

Here is what I am talking about Chiquitta.

[CHIQUITITA]

^^^ Thanks for your help Adam, I pulled one of the kids aside that I always see doing the crossovers and asked for a quick critique.... my form was shot in that I either leaned in way to much or too far back... hence the entanglements or rather I should say the cable burns!

P.s.... the pec-dec machine is out of commission! I walked by it today and saw a sign taped to it saying "out of order"!:argh

[hanuri]

perhaps Arnold´s old "hug the tree" (oak of course...lol) saying describes both dumbbell and cable flies . keep that same arc(of arms) through the movement as huggin´a HUGE tree...... btw lucky you to have cables to work w ! haven´t had that luxury in at least 10 yrs ....

[CHIQUITITA]

Originally Posted by hanuri

perhaps Arnold´s old "hug the tree" (oak of course...lol) saying describes both dumbbell and cable flies . keep that same arc(of arms) through the movement as huggin´a HUGE tree...... btw lucky you to have cables to work w ! haven´t had that luxury in at least 10 yrs ....

Thanks for your input Hanuri... it's much appreciated. Well after some research, thought and getting input from others I've decided to rework my chest routine by adding some variation in my grip work for my bench press, hence I'm just going to stick the the basic compound movements for now with pushups, bench/db presses, and dips. I'm going to keep flyes and overhead pullovers for really good stretching of the pecs.

Just were in the stone age do you live that your not able to have a cable station? I thought that was mandatory in EVERY gym... unless you train at home.

[hanuri]

Well I train at work ......
just out of curiosity how much incline work you do for chest? once saw an article by a fem pro who stated women should not waste time for lower chest are , but concentrate on upper part mainly ....... not much to gain on that lower part was the idea perhaps. BUt one could build a nice "river" ( between the muscles)for the upper chest . just a thought.....

[CHIQUITITA]

^^Lucky duck... I wish I could train at work or better yet at home!

Anyway, I would say I put my incline up at least at a 45 degree angle. If you have a link to that article I would like to check it out. I was under the impression that working the lower pecs would help give a little (or at least add to the illusion) of giving the breast a little "lift".

[hanuri]

well breast tissue on women is fat..... one either has it or not( no good news to those women who want to stay in shape ie w little bfat ...). not much can be done to that lower part(but perhaps SOME ) but upper chest is different IMO .
various movements ( perhaps 2/3 of your whole chest work) for upper chest and you should see results .

personally I´ve focused on upper chest for some yrs now and I must say it has helped . Droopy chest is the curse of a man.....

and that link , no luck. It was a bb mag

[CHIQUITITA]

Originally Posted by hanuri

well breast tissue on women is fat..... one either has it or not( no good news to those women who want to stay in shape ie w little bfat ...). not much can be done to that lower part(but perhaps SOME ) but upper chest is different IMO .
various movements ( perhaps 2/3 of your whole chest work) for upper chest and you should see results .

personally I´ve focused on upper chest for some yrs now and I must say it has helped . Droopy chest is the curse of a man.....

and that link , no luck. It was a bb mag

Well like I said, I'm sticking to the basic compound movements... just reworking my grips now. Last nights workout seemed to be pretty effective in that I changed incline and grip positions in my bench and added a twist to the flyes.... did a db drop flye! I'm DOMS now!:bigsmile

Originally Posted by hanuri

Droopy chest is the curse of a man.....

It must be all that droopy fat breast tissue!!! :lol:

[Bogatyr]

talking about grips. i bought newgrips recently and I am very happy