Cable Incline Pushdown

A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.

Cable Incline Pushdown — Starting position Starting position
Cable Incline Pushdown — End position End position
Difficulty Beginner
Type Strength
Equipment Cable Machine
Primary Muscle Upper Back
AI Rep Counting Log manually

How to Do Cable Incline Pushdown

  1. Lie on incline an bench facing away from a high pulley machine that has a straight bar attachment on it.
  2. Grasp the straight bar attachment overhead with a pronated (overhand; palms down) shoulder width grip and extend your arms in front of you. The bar should be around 2 inches away from your upper thighs. This will be your starting position.
  3. Keeping the upper arms stationary, lift your arms back in a semi circle until the bar is straight over your head. Breathe in during this portion of the movement.
  4. Slowly go back to the starting position using your lats and hold the contraction once you reach the starting position. Breathe out during the execution of this movement.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Muscles Worked

Back

Primary

Where Cable Incline Pushdown does most of its work.

Alternatives to Cable Incline Pushdown

10 movements that train the same primary muscle, closest substitutes first — same kind of training, then variations of the movement itself, then a similar difficulty.

  1. 1 Dumbbell Incline Row

    Dumbbell Incline Row

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  2. 2 Incline Bench Pull

    Incline Bench Pull

    A beginner isolation strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  3. 3 Seated Cable Rows

    Seated Cable Rows

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.

    beginner Cable Machine
  4. 4 Underhand Cable Pulldowns

    Underhand Cable Pulldowns

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a cable machine.

    beginner Cable Machine
  5. 5 Band Assisted Pull-Up

    Band Assisted Pull-Up

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back.

    beginner Not specified
  6. 6 Bent Over Barbell Row

    Bent Over Barbell Row

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  7. 7 Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row

    Bent Over One-Arm Long Bar Row

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using a barbell.

    beginner Barbell
  8. 8 Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row

    Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  9. 9 Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row With Palms In

    Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row With Palms In

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, using dumbbells.

    beginner Dumbbells
  10. 10 Chin-Up

    Chin-Up

    A beginner compound strength exercise that works the upper back, needing no equipment.

    beginner No Equipment

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles do cable incline pushdown work?

Cable Incline Pushdown primarily works the upper back.

What equipment do I need for cable incline pushdown?

Cable Incline Pushdown uses cable machine.

Cable Incline Pushdown: is it suitable for beginners?

Yes. Cable Incline Pushdown is rated beginner. Movements you can learn in a session, with a low skill floor and a forgiving failure mode.

What can I do instead of cable incline pushdown?

Dumbbell Incline Row, Incline Bench Pull, Seated Cable Rows train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.

Can Fitnit count my cable incline pushdown reps automatically?

Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; cable incline pushdown can be logged manually in the app, and tracked movements are added over time.

Photographs and step-by-step instructions from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. Muscle mapping and alternatives by Fitnit.

Track Your Cable Incline Pushdown with AI

Fitnit automatically tracks push-ups, crunches, squats, pull-ups, and curls with advanced body tracking technology — and you can manually input any other workout too. Start free — Pro is $8.99/month.