EXERCISE GUIDE

Horizontal Cable Chest Fly

The Horizontal Cable Chest Fly is a beginner cable fly that primarily trains the chest, with the shoulders assisting. It is useful for training the chest through horizontal adduction with less triceps involvement than a press.

Primary muscles
chest
Secondary muscles
shoulders
Equipment
cable
Difficulty
beginner

TARGET AREA

Muscles worked

Primary muscles

chest

Secondary muscles

shoulders

THE MOVEMENT

How to perform

  1. Set the pulleys to match the chosen fly angle and take a stable split or square stance.
  2. Brace the torso and set the shoulder in a stable position before starting the rep.
  3. Sweep the hands inward in a controlled arc while keeping a soft elbow bend.
  4. Open the arms slowly until you reach a comfortable chest stretch, then repeat.

IRONYOU / CORE

Core cues

  • Keep a small, consistent bend in the elbows instead of turning the rep into a press.
  • Move through a chest-focused range you can control without forcing the shoulders too far back.
  • Think about bringing the upper arms together rather than just moving the hands.

STAY SHARP

Common mistakes

  • Changing the elbow angle throughout the rep.
  • Going so deep that the shoulders lose a stable position.
  • Using momentum or too much load and turning the movement into a press.

YOUR PROGRESS

Your strength

Use your best set to calculate your current IronYou rank and see what comes next.

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IRONYOU RANK SYSTEM

Standards

Published reference points from the production IronYou rank system.

IronYou has 13 strength ranks: Copper I–III → Silver I–III → Gold I–III → Titanium I–III → IRON. IRON is the highest IronYou rank. The public standards tables show the estimated 1RM required to enter Silver I, Gold I, Titanium I, and IRON. Standards vary by sex and bodyweight.

Logged load: machine or cable stack load. Public value: total stack/load.

Horizontal Cable Chest Fly Strength Standards — Male

Male

Published estimated 1RM thresholds by bodyweight. Load is recorded as total stack/load.

Horizontal Cable Chest Fly estimated 1RM strength standards by bodyweight and IronYou rank — Male.
Bodyweight (kg)Silver IGold ITitanium IIRON
50 kg19.6 kg25.9 kg32.2 kg45.4 kg
60 kg21.7 kg28.7 kg35.7 kg50.4 kg
70 kg23.6 kg31.2 kg38.9 kg54.8 kg
80 kg25.3 kg33.5 kg41.7 kg58.8 kg
90 kg26.9 kg35.6 kg44.3 kg62.4 kg
100 kg28.3 kg37.4 kg46.6 kg65.7 kg
110 kg29.5 kg39.1 kg48.7 kg68.7 kg
120 kg30.7 kg40.7 kg50.6 kg71.3 kg

Horizontal Cable Chest Fly Strength Standards — Female

Female

Published estimated 1RM thresholds by bodyweight. Load is recorded as total stack/load.

Horizontal Cable Chest Fly estimated 1RM strength standards by bodyweight and IronYou rank — Female.
Bodyweight (kg)Silver IGold ITitanium IIRON
40 kg8.4 kg11.1 kg13.8 kg19.5 kg
50 kg11.2 kg14.8 kg18.4 kg26 kg
60 kg12.9 kg17.1 kg21.3 kg30 kg
70 kg14 kg18.6 kg23.1 kg32.6 kg
80 kg14.7 kg19.4 kg24.2 kg34.1 kg
90 kg15.1 kg20 kg24.9 kg35.1 kg
100 kg15.4 kg20.4 kg25.3 kg35.7 kg
  • IronYou-specific standard; resistance can vary between machines/equipment.
  • Values are estimated 1RM thresholds required to enter the named IronYou major rank tier.
  • Standards are derived from the production IronYou Rank V1 model.
  • IronYou-specific standard; resistance can vary between machines/equipment.

KEEP EXPLORING

Variations

  • Related variations: Single Arm Machine Chest Fly, Chest Fly Machine, and Flat Dumbbell Chest Fly.
  • Choose the version that matches your equipment, joint comfort, and the movement you can repeat consistently.

EARLY ACCESS

Track Horizontal Cable Chest Fly in IronYou.

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