ATX® XT Arm Exercise Guide

Muscles Worked:

• Lats
• Biceps

This variation is excellent alternative to your fixed bar supinated pulldowns as normally the bar stops you at the best, but with the individual handles you can really pull through and get that peak contraction.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats

The movement on this one feels completely different compared to the regular lat pulldowns. First of all your wrist is not in a fixed position so you naturally end up twisting your hand a little bit until you find the most comfortable pulling position.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats
– Biceps

Neutral Grip Lat Pulldowns can feel rather restrictive compared to the Stirrup Handle version. The first thing you notice is how you end up pulling the grips lower than you normally would with a fixed bar and how your hands are more inline with your body as you don’t have to worry about smacking yourself with a bar.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats (Upper/outer)
– Teres Major

This variation provides a lat stretch like no other. Plus you end up subconsciously moving your arms in an arc, which gives you that peak contraction you may have been missing out on.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats
– Teres Major
– Rhomboid
– Traps

This variation allows you to take some load off your shoulders while recruiting a bit more of your biceps. Excellent for back width.

Muscles Worked:
– Upper Lats
– Rhomboids
– Traps
– Rear Delts

Mid row is excellent for anyone who is looking to build up their upper back. It will hit your upper and middle traps like no other.

Muscles Worked:
-Lats (middle)

This variation is all about isolation and stretch. You can vary the cable height position based on your build and exercise feel.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats (middle)
– Rhomboids
– Traps

No more sitting on the ground thanks to the adjustable pulleys. This variation allows you to really pull through the movement as there is no attachment in the middle to limit your range of motion.

Muscles Worked:
– Rhomboids
– Middle Trap
– Rear Delts

Mid grip rows will shift the load towards your upper back. Great for building back thickness.

Muscles Worked:
– Rhomboids
– Traps
– Rear Delts
– Lats

Maximum load on your upper back, you will definitely feel it in your upper traps and rear delts.

Muscles Worked:
– Rear Delts
– Rhomboids
– Traps
– Lats

Cable X-Row will load up your rear delts. This variation allows you to properly train throughout the whole range of motion while also giving your upper back a trashing.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats
– Rhomboids
– Middle Trap

Unlike the chest supported version, this one will give you more freedom to move. This way you can get a bit better stretch at an expense of strict movement.

Muscles Worked:
– Rhomboids
– Rear Delts
– Traps (middle and lower)
– Lats

The feeling of this movement is very similar to doing seated rows with a cable row handle. With the key difference being better back contraction and less load on your joints as you end up twisting the grips.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats
– Rhomboids (Major and Minor)
– Traps (Middle and Lower)

Cable Prone Rows are excellent for back thickness, you can really feel the difference between the barbell/lever version and this one. The weight load is constant and doesn’t change throughout the whole movement. Plus you can really contract your back since there is no bar in the way.

Muscles Worked:
– Lats
– Rhomboids (Major and Minor)
– Traps (Middle and Lower)
– Rear Delts

This variation virtually replaces a couple of back rowing machines. One of my favourite rowing exercises as it really locks you into the position.

Muscles Worked:
– Upper Traps

The movement itself feels a lot like doing shrugs with dumbbells. With the key differences being that you can really load it up and not have to worry about the size of the dumbbell head.

Muscles Worked:
– Upper Traps

For those who prefer an overhand grip instead of a neutral grip.

Using a functional trainer attachment will also feel more like a traditional bar shrug.

Muscles Worked:
– Side Delts
– Traps

The movement is very similar to barbell shrugs. The main difference is that it is easier to stabilize the cable bar compared to a free-weight barbell.

Muscles Worked:
– Biceps
The movement does feel completely different from free weight barbell biceps curls. With the cables you will get the constant tension – meaning that the weight will be the same throughout the whole movement and it will not be affected by levers.

Muscles Worked:
– Chest (Mid/Lower)

Cable chest fly’s require far more stabilization compared to alternatives on regular dumbbells or pec fly machine. Plus, you do get the constant tension and no advantage from levers.

Muscles Worked:
– Chest (lower)

This variation has every other alternative beat! You get less load on your shoulders, constant load though the whole motion and best of all the best chest contraction you can achieve.

Muscles Worked:
– Chest (Mid)

Seated chest fly’s is a far stricter version compared to the freestanding one. You cannot swing or lean back or forwards to assist you with the rep. Because of the constant tension the first few sets feel quite unstable until you build up your stabilizers.

Muscles Worked:
– Chest
– Triceps

While the movement might look similar to dumbbell chest press, it couldn’t be any more different.

First you get the benefit of a constant load throughout the whole motion – levers do not come into play.

Secondly you can achieve a better muscle contraction by bringing your hand closer together – there is no dumbbell head to worry about.

Lastly, it will help you to bulletproof your stabilizer muscles.

Muscles Worked:
– Quads
– Core
– Glutes

The good old front squats, if you want to build up your quads and strengthen your core then you should definitely consider adding this one to your training regime.

The movement is slightly different compared to the barbell front squats, you will definitely need to stabilize the weight a bit more.

Muscles Worked:
– Quads
– Glutes

Because of the way you get up into the starting position, you won’t be able to lift as much weight as you would on a free weight barbell, this exercise is not ideal for powerlifters. But if you want to strengthen your quads and glutes and not break world records then it is a great variation to add to your training.

Muscles Worked:
– Front Delts
– Side Delts
– Triceps

Cable shoulder press is a great for overall shoulder development and health.

Firstly you are not suffering from range of motion issues as you can really bring the handles up close.

Secondly there is no lever advantage so you are getting the full load during the whole movement.

Thirdly you will improve your shoulder health as this exercise requires a fair bit of stabilization.

Muscles Worked:
– Rear Delt

One of the classic exercises with a twist. Because you can bring the XT arms closer together you end up with a far better range of motion. This particular variation allows you to get a proper stretch on your rear delts as well as achieve the peak contraction of the muscle.

Muscles Worked:
– Side Delt

You can get a proper side delt workout on the XT arms. You will be able to isolate the movement a bit better by doing them one handed.

Muscles Worked:
– Side Delts

The position of the XT arms allows you to hit the full range of motion on both sides. The constant cable load will also help you to recruit more muscle fibers.

Muscles Worked:
– Front Delt

If you have never done cable front shoulder raises, the first few times might seem a bit off. Purely because you are not used to the constant weight load and having to control the weight as you can’t use momentum to get the weight up.

Muscles Worked:
– Front Delt
– Side Delt
– Triceps

A more traditional twist to shoulder press. You won’t be able to use as much weight on this exercise as you would on a free weight barbell, since you will have to recruit your stabilizers. Which is great if your goal is healthy shoulders.

The Stirrup Handle Variation offers slightly more freedom compared to the cable bar shoulder presses.

Muscles Worked:
– Rear Delts

One of the Golden Era of Bodybuilding exercises which you don’t see too often being performed in the gym. It is a great way to hit your rear delts.

Muscles Worked:
– Triceps

Excellent exercise when it comes to isolating your triceps, you can adjust the grip position to take the load of your wrist.