Arm workouts with cables
A cable arm workout: curls and pushdowns from one cable station, in supersets.
An arm workout trains the biceps and triceps together, usually by alternating them. Pairing a curl with a triceps exercise as a superset saves time, because each muscle rests while the other works, and the triceps is the bigger muscle, so give it at least as much work as the biceps.
A cable keeps tension on the muscle through the whole range, including the ends of a movement where a dumbbell goes slack, and moving the pulley up or down changes the angle of resistance. Cables make it easy to add a little weight at a time.
Cable arm workout
Set two attachments on the same pulley and alternate.
Cable CurlSuperset with the next exercise.- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10–12
- Rest
- —
Cable Pushdown- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 10–12
- Rest
- 90 s
Cable Hammer Curl (With Rope)Superset with the next exercise.- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 12
- Rest
- —
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension (Rope Attachment)- Sets
- 3
- Reps
- 12–15
- Rest
- 90 s
Cable Overhead Curl- Sets
- 2
- Reps
- 15
- Rest
- —
Cable Kickback- Sets
- 2
- Reps
- 15
- Rest
- 60 s
Can’t do one of these?
Machine taken or training somewhere else? Each of these has substitutes that work the same muscles.
Tips
- Superset biceps and triceps exercises and rest 60 to 90 seconds after each pair. You get the same work done in about half the time.
- Start with the heaviest moves, a close-grip press and a barbell or EZ-bar curl, while you are fresh.
- Arms recover quickly. Training them two or three times a week tends to work better than one long arm day.
- Step far enough from the stack that the weight never touches down between reps; that keeps the tension on the whole set.
Run this workout in SPLYT
Every exercise here is in SPLYT’s library. Save the workout as a template, log your sets on iPhone or Apple Watch, and next time your weights are already filled in from what you lifted.
55 arm exercises with cables
Every one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration. Swap any of them into the workouts above.
Biceps
Questions
How many arm exercises can you do with cables?
SPLYT’s exercise library has 55 arm exercises you can do with cables, including Cable Curl, Cable Overhead Curl and Preacher Curl (Cable). Each one links to step-by-step instructions and a demonstration.
How do I make my arms bigger?
Train the triceps as hard as the biceps (it is two thirds of the arm), use a full range of motion, and add a little weight or a rep most weeks. Eating enough to gain weight matters as much as the exercises.
Is one arm day a week enough?
It can be, if your back and pushing days already train the arms. Most people grow faster splitting the same sets over two or three shorter sessions.
Are cables as good as free weights?
For building muscle, yes. Free weights let you go heavier on the big lifts, while cables keep tension through the whole movement. Most good programs use both.