maratoolPallof Press
How to do the pallof press
- Connect a standard handle to a tower, and—if possible—position the cable to shoulder height. If not, a low pulley will suffice.
- With your side to the cable, grab the handle with both hands and step away from the tower. You should be approximately arm's length away from the pulley, with the tension of the weight on the cable.
- With your feet positioned hip-width apart and knees slightly bent, hold the cable to the middle of your chest. This will be your starting position.
- Press the cable away from your chest, fully extending both arms. You core should be tight and engaged.
- Hold the repetition for several seconds before returning to the starting position.
- At the conclusion of the set, repeat facing the other direction.
Muscles worked
The prime movers are the rectus abdominis and the obliques, which flex the trunk forward and resist it being pulled into extension or twisted out of line.
Even with a single joint doing the moving, the muscle is not working alone — the chest adds pushing force at the shoulder; the deltoids stabilise the shoulder and add force at the top of the range; the triceps straighten the elbow to finish the movement.
Every exercise for:AbdominalsChestShouldersTriceps
How this movement works
One joint changes angle and the resistance travels toward you along a single arc. Nothing is positioned to help, so tension stays where you aimed it and the usable load drops sharply against a multi-joint pull for the same muscle. Protect the range of motion; buying weight by shortening the arc defeats the point.
It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.
What you need
A cable holds tension for the whole range, including the point where a free weight would go slack. Moving the pulley changes the angle the resistance arrives from without changing the movement.
Every exercise using:Cable
These train the abdominals too, using equipment this one does not:
- Plankbody only
- Press Sit-Upbarbell
- Side Bend with Dumbbelldumbbell
- Smith Machine Hip Raisemachine
- Supine One-Arm Overhead Throwmedicine ball
Difficulty
Listed at beginner level: the pattern is simple enough to pick up without coaching, and a position that goes wrong mid-set is obvious enough to correct on the next repetition.
Of the 97 abdominals exercises in this database, 69 are listed at beginner level.
Photos: free-exercise-db — public domain (Unlicense) Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.