Just like I mentioned in my Dumbbell Only Leg Exercises blog, cable only exercises can be extremely helpful when the gym is busy. It’s easy to claim a cable and stay put, rather than trying to navigate a busy gym, especially if you’re still a little anxious at the gym.
These exercises can be performed together to have an entire cable only leg workout or can be added in to other leg workouts. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, prioritizing progressive overload is a must for strength gains. With cables, just like dumbbells, you’ll be limited to just how much weight you can add. Eventually you will need to add in dumbbell and barbell exercises too. But, when you’re new to the gym and/or lifting, just getting to the gym and picking up a weight is intimidating. Cable only and dumbbell only exercises by themselves are an excellent starting point for your fitness journey.
1. Cable Front Loaded Squats
Start by making sure the cable hook is at the ground. Find a bar or rope attachment and get it hooked up to the cable. Like any exercise, the weight you choose should be challenging without compromising form. Because you’re doing a front loaded squat, the resistance may make it easy to lean forward on to your toes or begin to hunch forward, especially if the weight is too high. If you can find a cable that is in front of a mirror, pick that one! That way you can keep an eye on your form.
2. Crab Walks
You can use either the bar or rope attachment that you used in the front loaded squats. For these, you hang on to whatever attachment you chose, get in a squat position and walk backwards for a number of steps. And then forward the same number of steps while remaining in the squat position throughout the entirety of the exercise.
3. Cable Deadlifts
So these are kind of a combination of a deadlift and a good morning. Cable deadlifts are a great way to get the feel of a regular deadlift. You feel the hamstring stretch and tension on the glutes so you’re better able to correct your form in a dumbbell or barbell deadlift. Grab a bar attachment and take a few steps back. With slightly bent knees, you’re going to push your butt back and bend over while keeping your back neutral. The motion should be slow and controlled with slightly more explosiveness when you’re standing back up. I also like doing these single leg because it allows you to correct any strength imbalances if you have them (I do!)
For the single leg, use your back leg as a type of “kick stand.” Your back leg should be relatively relaxed and just be used to help keep your balance. Do your best to keep your hips squared up/facing forward.
4. Cable Abductors
These are a great accessory exercise to add to any leg day. Take a step away from the cable frame and keep your balance by holding on to the frame with one arm. Keep both legs slightly bent. I struggle with mind muscle connection on my left side during this exercise. If you have a hard time “feeling” the muscle, consider doing the same exercise but with a resistance band.
5. Glute Kick Backs
You definitely want to use an ankle strap, rather than just a handle attachment for these. Maximizing the mind muscle connection on these is hard to do when a handle attachment is moving around on your leg and/or causing pain. Line up the working leg with the cable and then lean forward and hang on to the cable frame. Keep the knee slightly bent and think of the exercise more like a swinging motion rather than a kicking motion to emphasize the use of glutes rather than quads. When you’re bringing the working leg back down to the ground, keep the movement controlled. The main form “error” I see with these (that I was doing myself too) is your upper body and core moving too much. You shouldn’t be hunching at the beginning of the motion and arching at the end. Your back and core should stay relatively neutral throughout the entirety of the exercise.
6. Cable Pull Throughs
My best tip? Wear pants, not shorts for these. The rope attachment will rub on your inner thighs. On a real note though, the biggest mistake I see is people moving their arms and the rope attachment too much. There will of course be some movement but for the most part your hands should stay in one spot. Grab the rope between your legs, take a couple steps away from the cable frame and perform a similar motion to a deadlift.
I hope you found these videos helpful and are fired up to go get those leg and booty gains! If you incorporate them in to your workout tag me (@TheRelatableRed) on Instagram to let me know.
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