One-Arm High-Pulley Cable Side Bends
Trains the Abs and Obliques.
- Equipment
- A cable station
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Set a single handle on a high pulley and stand side-on, a step away.
- Take the handle in the hand nearest the machine, arm overhead or at shoulder height.
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your hips square.
- Bend sideways away from the machine, pulling the handle down against the cable.
- Go as far as the trunk bends without the hips sliding or the torso rotating.
- Return under control, then finish the side before swapping.
Common mistakes
- Letting the hips slide toward the machine. The hips stay under the shoulders; sliding across shortens the bend at the waist to almost nothing.
- Rotating the torso as it bends. Lateral flexion and rotation are different jobs, and mixing them under load makes the movement harder to control without loading anything more.
- Bending the elbow to pull the handle down. Straight arm; the handle comes down because the trunk bent.
- Doing them on one side only. The cable loads one side at a time, and a set that is not matched leaves the trunk trained unevenly.