Open Exercise

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Catalogue

Cable Hercules Hold

oec:cable-hercules-hold

An isometric grip and upper-body hold performed between two cable stacks pulling the arms outward.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Hercules Pillars, Cable Pillars Hold, Cable Crucifix Hold

How to do it

Setup

  1. Set the pulleys on a dual-cable crossover machine to approximately shoulder height and attach single D-handles to each side.
  2. Grasp one handle, walk across to take the other handle, and stand directly in the center between the two columns.
  3. Stand tall with feet shoulder-width apart, arms extended out to your sides in a T-position, keeping a soft bend in the elbows.

Movement

  1. Allow the weight to pull outward against your hands while actively maintaining your arms in line with your shoulders.
  2. Brace your core, lock your shoulder blades back and down, and squeeze the handles firmly.
  3. Hold the static position for the target duration without allowing your torso to sway or shift off-center.
  4. When finished, carefully take a controlled step toward one cable column to safely de-load and release the handles.

Breathing

Breathe smoothly and rhythmically into your diaphragm while maintaining abdominal brace throughout the hold.

Cues

  • Crush the handles
  • Shoulders down and back
  • Stay centered
  • Keep a soft elbow

Common faults

Drifting off-center toward one cable stack.
Pick a visual focal point directly ahead and maintain equal tension across both arms throughout the set.
Shrugging the shoulders upward toward the ears.
Actively depress and retract the scapulae, engaging the lats to pack the shoulders.
Bending the elbows into a biceps curl.
Keep arms extended out to the sides with only a micro-bend at the elbow to protect the joint.

Safety

  • Never release the handles abruptly under tension to avoid cable snap-back or joint injury.

Muscles

  • Wrist and finger flexors prime mover
  • Muscles of the hand prime mover
  • Rotator cuff stabilizer
  • Trapezius stabilizer
  • Latissimus dorsi stabilizer
  • Biceps brachii stabilizer
  • Rectus abdominis stabilizer

Joints

  • Fingers: Flexion, Isometric stabilization
  • Wrist: Isometric stabilization
  • Elbow: Isometric stabilization
  • Shoulder: Isometric stabilization
  • Shoulder blade: Retraction, Depression, Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement
Grip and forearm isolation
Modality
Strength, Conditioning
Mechanics
compound
Force
static
Laterality
bilateral
Kinetic chain
open
Level
intermediate
Equipment
Cable machine
Record
Load and Duration
Load
external, weight stack

Sources

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

cable-hercules-hold.json