Incline Cable Flye

An intermediate isolation strength exercise that works the chest, using a cable machine.

Incline Cable Flye — Starting position Starting position
Incline Cable Flye — End position End position
Difficulty Intermediate
Type Strength
Equipment Cable Machine
Primary Muscle Chest
AI Rep Counting Log manually

How to Do Incline Cable Flye

  1. To get yourself into the starting position, set the pulleys at the floor level (lowest level possible on the machine that is below your torso).
  2. Place an incline bench (set at 45 degrees) in between the pulleys, select a weight on each one and grab a pulley on each hand.
  3. With a handle on each hand, lie on the incline bench and bring your hands together at arms length in front of your face. This will be your starting position.
  4. With a slight bend of your elbows (in order to prevent stress at the biceps tendon), lower your arms out at both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch on your chest. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: Keep in mind that throughout the movement, the arms should remain stationary. The movement should only occur at the shoulder joint.
  5. Return your arms back to the starting position as you squeeze your chest muscles and exhale. Hold the contracted position for a second. Tip: Make sure to use the same arc of motion used to lower the weights.
  6. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

Muscles Worked

Front
Back

Primary

Where Incline Cable Flye does most of its work.

Secondary

Assisting and stabilising muscles.

Alternatives to Incline Cable Flye

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 Incline Cable Chest Press

    Incline Cable Chest Press

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

    beginner Cable Machine
  2. 2 Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip

    Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip

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

    beginner Barbell
  3. 3 Flat Bench Cable Flyes

    Flat Bench Cable Flyes

    An intermediate isolation strength exercise that works the chest, using a cable machine.

    intermediate Cable Machine
  4. 4 Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Press

    Hammer Grip Incline DB Bench Press

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

    beginner Dumbbells
  5. 5 Incline Dumbbell Bench With Palms Facing In

    Incline Dumbbell Bench With Palms Facing In

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

    beginner Dumbbells
  6. 6 Incline Dumbbell Flyes

    Incline Dumbbell Flyes

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

    beginner Dumbbells
  7. 7 Incline Dumbbell Flyes - With A Twist

    Incline Dumbbell Flyes - With A Twist

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

    beginner Dumbbells
  8. 8 Incline Dumbbell Press

    Incline Dumbbell Press

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

    beginner Dumbbells
  9. 9 Incline Push-Up

    Incline Push-Up

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

    beginner No Equipment
  10. 10 Incline Push-Up Medium

    Incline Push-Up Medium

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

    beginner No Equipment

Frequently Asked Questions

What muscles do incline cable flye work?

Incline Cable Flye primarily works the chest. The shoulders assist as secondary muscles.

What equipment do I need for incline cable flye?

Incline Cable Flye uses cable machine.

Incline Cable Flye: is it suitable for beginners?

Incline Cable Flye is rated intermediate. Movements that assume you already own the basic pattern and are ready to load it.

What can I do instead of incline cable flye?

Incline Cable Chest Press, Barbell Incline Bench Press - Medium Grip, Flat Bench Cable Flyes train the same primary muscles and are listed with 7 more alternatives above.

Can Fitnit count my incline cable flye reps automatically?

Not automatically yet. Fitnit's AI rep counting covers push-ups, squats, dumbbell curls, crunches and pull-ups today; incline cable flye 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 Incline Cable Flye 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.