Many say that hand position is everything. Some claim that it’s all about the angles. Others say that you have to go by feel. So what’s a girl to do when bombarded with different opinions on what cable attachment to use and when? Follow Muscle and Fitness Hers’ advice, of course! Don’t feel overwhelmed and confused by all of the attachments that are available in the gym. It’s true that with a little creativity virtually any bar can be used for any exercise. But we’ve listed for you our top 10 cable attachments, our recommendation on what exercises they should be used for and the advantages they offer.

The Lat Bar
The lat bar is, as the name implies, primarily used when training the lats and other back muscles in the form of pulldowns. The most common lat bar is a long shaft that bends down on both sides. As a general rule, the wider the grip, the greater the lat emphasis. In the pronated hand (palm down) wide-grip variation, the upper latissimus dorsi, the teres major, the lower pectoralis major, the rhomboids and the pectoralis minor muscles are involved. The lower lat and middle trap come more into play with a narrow grip. Michael Yessis, PhD, in his gold standard book Kinesiology of Exercise, explains that it is important to include both wide and narrow grip pulldowns to completely develop the lats and to improve sports performance (1).

Parallel Arm Lat Bar
This lat bar has “U” or “V” attachments on the ends to allow you to maintain a neutral grip during pulldowns, rows, and curls. During pulldowns and rows, a narrow, neutral grip will hit the lower lats, rhomboids, and middle traps hard (1) and just may be more comfortable for your wrists. When using this bar make sure that your elbows are held tight along your body as you pull down or row. This variety of the pulldown is very similar to a row and will elicit comparable muscle action. When using a neutral grip during curling motions, the brachialis muscle is heavily stressed along with the lateral head of the biceps brachii (2).

The EZ-Bar
This bar is shaped like a flattened-out “W” which allows you two places to grip – along the straight outside of the bar or in the curled inside of the bar. Typically you’ll use this bar for biceps curls and triceps pressdowns, but it is also useful for upright rows. So the question of where and how to grip for maximum effectiveness remains. Remember that with any bicep exercise, a supinated grip (palm up) emphasizes both biceps heads, a pronated grip emphasizes the brachialis, and a neutral grip emphasizes the brachioradialis. So for strictly training the biceps, use the supinated grip. But don’t rule out the pronated grip because the brachialis is actually the strongest elbow flexor. Grasping the EZ-bar inside the “W” as opposed to outside doesn’t seem to alter biceps function significantly, so hold the bar where you feel most comfortable (2). With triceps pushdowns grip makes a considerable difference. To completely stress all three heads, the supinated grip is superior (2). Grasping the bar too wide may force you to employ some pectoralis musculature, so stay narrow.

The Straight Bar (short)
This bar mimics an Olympic bar in shape, but has a smaller grip width. The exercises performed with this bar are similar to the EZ-bar. Unfortunately because of its locked and rigid position, those with wrist problems may feel more strain with this bar. Fitness pro and physical therapist Lovena Stamatiou-Tuley advises her patients to “try the EZ-bar and both the straight and rotating sleeve bar to determine which feels more comfortable and use that one. Since they stress the muscles the same, the only variable would be the comfort factor. Make sure that all exercises are pain-free.”

The Straight Bar with Rotating Sleeve
The rotating sleeve solves the problem of wrist pain by allowing more range of motion in the wrist. Exercise physiologist Conrad Earnest, Ph.D., of the Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas likes the flexibility of the rotating sleeve because it can provide an added exercise bonus. “Although you may be performing triceps pushdowns, the rotating sleeve makes the forearm musculature work as well,” he says. “So you get a bigger bang for your training buck.”

The Low Row Bar
You know those triangle things in the gym that look like you could play music on them? Well they are actually used for rowing, not symphonies, and are one of the most effective attachments to train your back. The neutral grip is the key here for maximizing force in the rhomboids and lats (3). You might see the triangles with a narrow, medium and wide grip. Try all of the different variations for a slight change in muscular activation, but for the most part, the neutral grip is what remains important. For perfect technique with any rowing movement, your back should remain motionless, upright and held in a slight arch (1). This will maximize the contribution of the lats, rhomboids and traps and minimize the lower back muscles from doing the pulling work.

The Multiple Use V-Bar (long)
When this bar connects to a cable it looks like an upside-down V with its long handles for gripping projecting out to the sides. Because of the design, this bar may relieve some of the load on the wrists during heavy triceps pushdowns Other exercises you can perform with the V-bar are pronated and supinated rows and pulldowns.

The Single Handle Grip (D-Grip)
Here is the attachment that everyone is familiar with – simply grab and go. The single handle grip can take you anywhere your imagination will allow. Practically any muscle in any range of motion can be worked with this attachment and the best advantage of all is that it trains the muscles unilaterally. If you have one side of your body that is weaker than the other, you can really stress it using the D-grip. Execute a myriad of biceps curls, triceps kickbacks, pressdowns, and extensions, chest flyes and crossovers, back rows, and shoulder raises all with this little handle. There are a couple of interesting tips to keep in mind for maximal muscle activation. For working all three heads of the triceps brachii, nothing beats the supinated grip. Using cables and a D-grip is a great way to stimulate chest muscle fibers that may never get stimulated from other exercises. When doing crossovers, do what the word says and allow the arms to really cross over so that the elbows touch. This allows you to train the chest muscles through a fuller range of motion and it’s the final few inches of the movement that maximally activate the inner portions of the pecs. The heated discussions about hand rotation may have some merit. Rotating the hands throughout the movement won’t directly allow you to recruit more muscle fibers in your chest, but it may allow you to bring your arms closer together or cross over further. For this reason only there may be an advantage in hand rotation.

The Pressdown Bar
This bar looks like an inverted “U” or “V” and some even come with stoppers on the end to help keep your hands from slipping off. Of course you are going to use this for triceps pressdowns and you may want to try it for overhead triceps extensions as well. Because of the practically neutral grip, this attachment stresses all three heads of the triceps brachii. If you want to get of rid of those flabby arms that wave back at you, this is the perfect attachment.

The Rope
We love all rope exercises because they incorporate gripping strength and a full range of motion. Even though using the rope is more difficult than the other attachments, you’ll find the investment well worth the pain. Implementing a twist at the end of the movement really makes a difference in the amount of pain you’ll feel! You can execute triceps pressdowns and overhead extensions, rows and straight-arm pulldowns, hammer and supinated curls, and even abdominal crunches.

References
1. Yessis, M., Kinesiology of Exercise. 1992, Indianapolis: Masters Press.
2. Tesch, P.A., Target Bodybuilding. 1999, Champaign: Human Kinetics.
3. Bompa, T.O., J. Borms, and M. Hebbelinck, Mechanical efficiency of the elbow flexors in rowing. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 1990. 69(3): p. 140-3.