A cable crossover machine is a pulley system attached to a weight stack. Mounted on a tower, the pulley allows trainees to perform various exercises. Cable exercises provide a different training stimulus than free weight exercises. The cable pulley system keeps the muscle under constant tension, which is perfect for isolation, contraction-based exercise. For example, cable crossovers is a cable version of the traditional chest flye. A cable crossover machine is very versatile because there many different exercises that can be performed using it. With various attachments and accessories, the options are only limited by your knowledge of weight-training and your imagination. Popular exercises include lat pull-downs, tricep push-downs, cable laterals for shoulders, cable bicep curls and many more.
What to Look for
There a few different variations of the cable crossover machine. The two-tower units have a weight stack on each side to perform the cable crossover exercise. The wall-mounted single tower design takes up less space, but only has one pulley and weight stack. These will cost you anywhere from $500 to well over $1,000. Most fitness clubs or gyms have the large two-tower setup, often with a pull-up bar between the two. However, these Cable Crossover Machines take up a lot of space. Typically they are too large for home gyms, and cost over $2,000. Units with adjustable pulley mounts, which move vertically, allow for far more exercise versatility--as do accessories and attachments such as lat bars, tricep bars, ropes and various handles. Make sure to arrange for delivery, assembly and service.
Common Pitfalls
The problem with cable crossover machines is that they will not be practical for most home gyms. The pulley systems seem to break often and are very complicated to repair. Proper performance depends upon the pulleys working correctly. Otherwise exercise safety and efficiency will be severely impacted. Safety is the most important factor when it comes to exercise equipment. Make sure that you are performing cable weight-training exercises properly. As always, consult with a personal trainer for advice. Bodybuilding.com has an extensive list of exercise guidelines and descriptions. Relying only on cable exercises can deprive your weight-training regimen of the many benefits of free weights and other forms of training. It is best to have a diversified, well-rounded training program to obtain optimal results.
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