The Cable Front Raise is a beginner-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the shoulders, with the traps and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesShoulders
Secondary musclesTraps, Abs
EquipmentCable
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Cable Front Raise
Set a cable pulley to its lowest position and attach a straight bar or rope handle.
Stand facing away from the stack with the cable running between your legs and your feet shoulder-width apart.
Grip the handle with both hands using an overhand grip and let it rest near your thighs.
Brace your abs and raise both arms straight in front of you with a slight bend in the elbows.
Stop when your hands reach shoulder height and pause briefly.
Lower the handle back toward your thighs under control and repeat.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
The cable keeps tension on the front deltoid at the bottom where dumbbells go slack.
A single-joint movement that adds shoulder volume without more overhead pressing.
The fixed line of pull makes the rep easy to standardize across a program.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Leaning back to start the rep, which uses the trunk instead of the front deltoid.
Raising the hands well above shoulder height, which hands the work to the traps.
Bouncing at the top and dropping the stack, which throws away the constant tension the cable is there for.
Stacking it on top of heavy pressing, which piles yet more volume on an already busy anterior deltoid.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Cable Front Raise, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
