Cable Pull Through
- Secondary muscles
- Hamstrings, Spine
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
Track this exercise in SetGrip — no account needed
The cable pull through is a hip hinge with a rope on a low pulley behind you: holding the rope between your legs, you push your hips back, then drive them forward to stand up. It works the glutes, with the hamstrings and the muscles along the spine assisting.
How to do the Cable Pull Through
- Attach a rope to a low pulley, face away from the machine and hold the rope between your legs.
- Walk forward until the cable is tight and stand with your feet a little wider than your hips.
- Push your hips back and let the rope travel back between your legs, with a soft bend in your knees and a flat back.
- Drive your hips forward to stand tall, squeezing your glutes at the top.
Muscles worked
Primary
Glutes · Legs
Secondary
Common mistakes
- Squatting instead of hinging — the hips move back while the knees stay softly bent; if your knees travel forward, reset.
- Pulling with the arms — your arms only hold the rope; the hips do the moving.
- Leaning back at the top — finish standing tall with your glutes tight, not by arching your lower back.
Where it fits in a workout
Use it after squats or deadlifts as extra hip work, or as the hinge on a lighter day.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Logging the Cable Pull Through in SetGrip
SetGrip logs the Cable Pull Through as weight and reps; log the stack setting.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without cable
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
Track the Cable Pull Through in SetGrip
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. Text: SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.