

			last comment: 19/03/08

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From Start to UP and Down again!

Cables are fixed at floor level.

Take the right cable with the left hand and the left cable with the right hand.

Position yourself in the middle with feet well shoulder wide apart

Bend forward with your hands crossed over and close to the thighs.

Keep the lower legs vertically to the floor in all directions. That means that you will have to stick out your rear quite a bit. It's more like sitting on a chair that is not there - others might think it feels a bit like mocking a gorilla.

Keep the back parallel to the floor and the head straight.

Now bring your hands to the front (C) and you will feel that you need this weird posture to counter the weight pulling on your front. If the bum wouldn't be sticking out you would tilt over.

Keep buttocks clenched to support the lower back in holding the weight.

In the down position the hands are in front of the lower leg and the fixings of the handle are just not crossing.

Take a deep breath in through the nose and pull the weights up in a nice controlled movement while breathing out through the mouth.

That counts as 1 repetition.

Then - as controlled as in the UP movement - let the weight down again while breathing in through the nose.

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Pictures by Babul

Reverse Cable Fly, bent

I prefer the Upright Fly because the posture is not as awkward as the bent version. So if your Gym has cable machines where the fixing can be adjusted at about shoulder height, definitely try it out. This will put less tension on the back feels much more controlled and allows the use of bigger weight.

As with the Lateral (side) Cable Fly you can do this exercise with one arm as well. But in this case I don't like it with one arm (only doing it if only one cable is available). Let me try to explain this a bit more:

From Start to UP and Down again!

Grab the handles and step a little bit away from the machine to give your self enough space, meaning that the cables don't come exactly from the side but a little bit from the front.

Feet shoulder wide apart, knees soft and back straight.

Cables are crossed in front of the body just after the fixing of the handles (A). Thus the arms form a nice bow as if you were about to hug somebody.

Make sure that shoulders and arms are kept parallel to the floor throughout the exercise and that the body is not moving back and forth - you are a proud bird flying, not a sad old chicken!

Clench the buttocks, take a deep breath in through the nose and then pull the handles back while breathing out through the mouth.

This counts as 1 repetition.

Release the handles back to the front holding the tension at all times.

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Pictures by Detlef

Reverse Cable Fly, upright

The posture is the same as with the 'Bent Cable Fly', but the cables provide a certain stability while with the dumbbells the entire weight is to be held by the back. The tummy basically is lying on the thighs to support the back.

From Start to Up and Down again!

		Grab the weight, bend over and rest the elbows on the thights until you feel comfortable in your set up. The feet are shoulder wide apart and flat on the ground, knees are pointing forward. Lower legs are almost vertical to the floor, so the thights, buttocks, lower back and tummy have to be flexed. Breathe comfortably during setting up.

		Check your posture one more time, flex every muscle necessary and take your elbows off the thighs. The weight will pull you down immediately. Have that under control and bend until the upper body is almost parallel to the floor. The weight is in front of the legs in the middle at about the height of mid lower leg. The arms are slightly bent.

		Take a deep breath in through the nose, raise the arms as high up as possible while breathing out through the mouth. This is a controlled movement. Because it is a difficult exercise the first impulse is to yank the weight up, but keep it as controlled as possible. This counts as one repetition. Slowly let the weight down and breath in through the nose.

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Pictures by Detlef

Dumbbell Reverse Fly

The above picture shows clearly where the problems lie in this exercise. I have short legs and usually the benches or chairs are too high for me.

The ideal lines would be the blue ones (A), but because my bum is too high and the feet have to be a bit in front of the knees, the thighs point downhill (B). I can't bend enough to lie on my thighs so the upper body is too upright (B).

I can't use the thighs together with the tummy muscles to counter the weight as the angle between them is too big. The upper back alone is not strong enough to hold the weight and the shoulders are sagging down causing a nasty bend in the back.

For this exercise it is essential to have a seat in the right height!

From Start to UP and Down again!

The start point is under the thighs.

Here it becomes visible that I have to bend the back right from the beginning because I have trouble keeping the feet together. As I'm sitting too height it becomes wobbly. So the arms barely fit around the legs.

Grab the weight and sit on a suitable bench.

Place the feet next to each other in front of the knees.

Bend forward until you lie with a straight back comfortably on your legs.

Hold the dumbbells under your thighs, take a deep breath in through the nose and lift the weight while breathing out through the mouth.

This is a very controlled movement and the weight should NOT be yanked up.

That counts as 1 repetition.

Let the weight down in a very controlled manner while breathing in.

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Pictures by Detlef

Dumbbell Reverse Fly - seated