10 Effective Cable Crossover Alternatives

If you are serious about chest training you likely came across the cable crossover. However, many people want alternatives for a variety of reasons.

Cable crossovers are a great exercise for isolating your chest muscles with a large range of motion. Thanks to the cables or resistance bands, you can move your hands farther than a dumbbell chest fly.

At the same time, you may not enjoy cable crossovers, not have the right fitness equipment options, or want exercise alternatives for other reasons.

If these things apply, you can still give one of the exercises below a try.

1. Chest fly

To do this first cable crossover alternative you need one-handed resistance options and preferably have a weight bench.

Once you have the required gear, take the following steps to do a chest fly:

1. Lie down with your back on a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Pull your shoulder blades back and down.
2. Push the dumbbells up until they are above your chest and your arms are slightly less than stretched and pointing up. Point your hand palms to the center and as close as the dumbbells allow.
3. Slowly lower the dumbbells sideways and down as far as comfortable. Keep your arms slightly less than stretched throughout the movement.
4. Raise the dumbbells back to the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.

Similar to cable crossovers, the chest fly is a chest isolation exercise. That means other muscles will not have to work to a very big extent.

The main difference and downside of this alternative is that your chest muscles go through a slightly smaller range of motion.

A bigger range of motion is typically helpful for muscle growth and strength progress so you miss out on some training results.

On the flip side, the chest fly can be helpful for people who don’t have a cable machine or resistance bands available but still want to isolate their chest muscles.

Additionally, by lying down, you don’t have to worry as much about balance and or keep your body straight up as during cable crossovers.

2. Pec deck machine

A pec deck is a chest gym machine where you sit up straight with your arms folded and your elbows/upper arms behind pads. To do the exercise you then push these pads to the center by using your chest muscles.

The motion of this machine is the same for your chest muscles as the chest fly but there are differences.

Since your arms are folded and lean directly against the pads, you don’t really have to engage your tricep and grip muscles.

Additionally, the pec deck machine makes it so you don’t have to worry about stabilizing or the right movement trajectory. You simply sit in place and engage your chest muscles.

At the same time, a downside is that your chest muscles go through a slightly smaller range of motion than in cable crossovers.

There will also be people who benefit from the stabilizing and core muscle engagement of cable crossovers.

3. Pushup

Gym exercises are great but many people can also see great results with bodyweight cable crossover alternatives like pushups. Take the following steps to do this exercise:

1. Sit on your hands and knees.
2. Walk back with your feet until your body is in a straight line from your heels to the top of your head. Keep your shoulders above your hands.
3. Lower your body as far as comfortable in a controlled motion by folding your arms. Keep your upper arms at angles of 45 degrees or less to your sides. From above, you should look like an arrow, not a T-shape.
4. Slowly push up your until you are back in the position of step 2.

Pushups are obviously more of a compound chest exercise that also works your triceps, front deltoids, and to some extent core muscles.

This different muscle engagement can be good or bad depending on your training goals.

Another benefit of this alternative is that you can do it basically anywhere. Additionally, many people can see results with bodyweight pushups if they do enough repetitions.

At the same time, experienced lifters may need to do weighted pushups to see results. This could require an extra investment in something like a weighted vest.

4. Dumbbell pullover

To do a dumbbell pullover you need some type of usable resistance and preferably a weight bench. As the name implies, most people will prefer using a dumbbell.

Once you have the required gear, take the following steps to do a dumbbell pullover:

1. Lie down on the end of a weight bench. Pull your shoulder blades back and down and hold a dumbbell against your chest. Both of your hands should hold one end of the dumbbell.
2. Push the dumbbell up until your arms are slightly less than stretched and pointing up. Keep your elbows relatively close to the center.
3. Move the dumbbell back and down as far as comfortable in a controlled motion. Keep your arms slightly less than stretched throughout the movement.
4. Slowly raise the dumbbell back into the position of step 2.

When doing dumbbell pullovers the right way, they can be a great alternative to cable crossovers for working your lower chest muscles.

If you feel your latissimus dorsi (middle back muscle) working a lot harder than your lower chest muscles your technique may be off.

In that case, you likely have to keep your elbows closer to the center.

5. Landmine press

As the name implies, you need a landmine setup to do the exercise. A landmine is basically a barbell that is anchored somewhere close to the ground.

You can load and hold the free barbell sleeve to do landmine chest exercises like the landmine chest press. Take the following steps to do this movement:

1. Set up the landmine and load the desired number of weight plates. Stand in front of the barbell sleeve with your hands on it and your face toward the anchor.
2. Lift the barbell explosively by stretching your legs and tilting your upper body back. The goal is to get the barbell sleeve to chest height. Keep your spine straight throughout the movement.
3. Put one foot forward and one foot back for balance but keep facing the anchor.
4. Slowly push the landmine forward until your arms are slightly less than stretched. Keep your upper arms at angles of 45 degrees or less to your sides.
5. Return the barbell to the position of step 3 in a controlled motion.

The landmine press is another example of a cable crossover alternative that works a variety of muscles besides your chest. This can be good for certain training goals and suboptimal for others.

One downside of landmine chest presses is that it can be challenging to get and keep enough weight to chest height. This can interfere with your chest, tricep, and front deltoid workout.

You can solve this to some extent by doing the exercise with each arm separately. This does make it so your chest workout requires more time than a cable crossover session.

6. Cable fly

The equipment requirements for the cable fly are the same as cable crossovers but the technique is slightly different. Take the following steps to do this exercise:

1. Set the cable pulleys to chest height and attach single-D grip handles.
2. Grab 1 handle, walk towards the other handle and grab it with the other hand. Move to the middle of the two pulleys and take a step forward.
3. Put one foot slightly forward and the other slightly backward for balance. Tilt your body forward a bit but keep your spine straight. Next, keep your arms slightly less than stretched throughout the exercise
4. Move your hands to the center in a controlled motion while keeping your arms at about 90-degree angles to your sides. Stop before your hands touch each other.
5. Slowly return your hands back to the position in step 3.

Some people find the bigger range of motion of the cable crossover uncomfortable. Stopping at a regular cable chest fly can still offer valuable benefits even though it will generally be just a bit less effective.

Similar to cable crossovers, you can change the angle of your arms during the cable chest fly to focus on different parts of your chest muscles.

For example, a more downward motion will work the muscle fibers in your lower chest to a larger extent.

Something else to note is that you can do the standing cable fly with resistance bands if you have a sturdy resistance band anchor at about chest height.

7. Chest press

To really make this next alternative to cable crossovers a chest press and not a bench press, you want a cable machine or resistance band setup.

With the right gear, take the following steps to do a standing chest press:

1. Set the cable pulleys to about chest height and attach single-grip handles to each side.
2. Grab 1 handle, walk towards the other handle and grab it with the other hand. Move to the middle of the two pulleys and take a step forward.
3. Move one foot slightly forward and one foot slightly backward for balance. Tilt your upper body forward to a small extent, keep your spine straight, and hold the handles right next to your chest. Keep your upper arms at about 45-degree angles to your side.
4. Slowly push your hands forward until your arms are slightly less than stretched. Keep your forearms in line with the pressure of the cable so you can exert force optimally.
5. Return your hands to the position in step 4 in a controlled motion.

The cable chest press mainly works your chest, tricep, and front deltoid muscles. Additionally, you engage core muscles like your abs and obliques to some extent to keep your body upright.

If you want to work more different muscles but still like the feeling of a cable machine in your chest workouts, the cable chest press could be a good choice.

8. Chest dip

To do a good chest dip you want dip bars which are basically two parallel bars hanging in the air. Once you have these, take the following steps to do a chest dip:

1. Put your hands on the bars, keep your arms slightly less than stretched, pull your shoulder blades back and down, and move all your weight on your arms. You may need a step up to get to this point.
2. Tilt your upper body slightly forward.
3. Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows until these are at about 90-degree angles.
4. Raise your body into the position of step 2 again in a controlled motion by stretching your arms.

Chest dips work your triceps a lot but by tilting your upper body forward, you will also work your lower chest muscles to a nice extent.

One downside of this more compound-focused cable crossover alternative is that the bodyweight version is already very challenging.

Resistance training beginners may need to start with assisted dips on the specific machine or by using resistance bands.

On the other hand, advanced lifters may need to do weighted dips with a dip belt, dumbbells, a weighted vest, or ankle weights to get more results faster.

9. Bench press

The bench press is basically the most popular chest exercise there is and for good reasons. To do this alternative you need a weight bench and some type of resistance. Most people prefer a barbell.

Once you have the required equipment, take the following steps to do a bench press:

1. Rack the barbell at a height where you achieve the next step and load it with the desired number of weight plates.
2. Lie down on the weight bench, pull your shoulder blades back and down, and put your hands about shoulder width apart on the barbell. In this position, your arms should be somewhat less than stretched.
3. Push up the barbell and move it forward until it is positioned above your chest.
4. Lower the barbell to your chest in a controlled motion. Keep your upper arms at 45-degree angles or less to your sides.
5. Slowly push the barbell back into the position of step 3.

If you have a flat, incline, decline bench, you can adjust the angle of the exercise to work your muscles in different ratios and focus on certain parts of your chest muscles.

That being said, in all of these angles, the bench press will be more of a compound exercise than cable crossovers. Bench presses can definitely still help you get a big chest but the focus will not be as isolated.

At the same time, by lying down, this alternative does not require the same core muscle engagement as cable chest presses.

10. Jackhammer pushdowns

To do jackhammer pushdowns you only need one pulley of a cable machine and a straight bar handle or a resistance band setup. Once you have these, take the following steps to do a jackhammer pushdown:

1. Set the cable pulley as high as possible and attach a straight bar handle.
2. Stand right in front of the cable machine with your face toward it. Grab the bar overhanded, pull it down, and point your slightly-less-than-stretched arms down.
3. Raise the bar in a controlled motion until it is at about chest height.
4. Slowly push the bar down to the position in step 2 again.

You can see jackhammer pushdowns as a very decline chest press, similar to a chest dip. That means this cable crossover alternative mainly works your tricep and lower chest muscles.

As you can expect, the effects will be different from cable crossovers, even the ones where you move your hands more downward. That being said, some people will like the extra tricep engagement.