A home cable machine is a very popular piece of equipment because of the huge variety of exercises that can be done on them.
With home gyms being all the rage these days, people are coming up with creative ways to obtain and create equipment without breaking the bank.
But in a home, space is limited so it’s important to make your equipment as functional as possible.
For this reason, it’s not worth buying a machine that’s going to take up a lot of space and is only good for one exercise.
Functional Trainers
Table of Contents
Functional trainers are an excellent addition to any home gym or club.
These cable machines feature a limitless number of exercises due to the versatility of their pulleys and unrestricted multiple planes of motion, which allow many more muscle groups to be used.
It gives you the ability to do a variety of exercises while reducing the need for additional equipment.
But…
You’re looking at easily spending at least $1500 in one of these.
If you’re just getting started build your home or garage gym, these may be a bit high depending on your budget.
So I’m going to show you how to create two different home cable machines for cheap.
Cable Pulley Machine
This DIY home gym cable pulley machine set up will cover all bases for a pulley system.
You’ll be able to do cable crossovers, set up a high pulley for exercise such as triceps extensions and lat pull downs, and set up the low pulley for exercises such as rows and bicep curls.
The exercises you’ll be able to do with this complete home gym cable pulley machine are endless and only limited to your imagination.
Keep in mind that I’m setting this pulley system on one of the best folding squat racks so even though I’m limited (since I only have two uprights), I can still get a lot done.
Material List
Here’s a list of the materials I have in my cable pulley machine system.
You can find most of these at your local hardware store.
I’ve added links below just in case you don’t find them locally.
➡️ Clamp set: (4) thimbles + (8) rope clamps
➡️ Delta quick link (optional)
Cable Pulley Machine Exercises
Because you’re placing pulleys at different angles, you’ll be able to do a TON of exercises with this set up.
Here’s a short list of the exercises you can do:
- Cable Crossover Set Up
- High cable crossovers
- Double biceps curls
- Posterior delt flys
- Seated chest press
- Low Pulley Set Up
- Upright rows
- Seated rows
- Standing rows
- Biceps curls
- Shoulder front raises
- Shoulder lateral raises
- Lying cable crunches
- Wood chops
- Single arm rows
- Single arm kickbacks
- High Pulley Set Up
- Face pulls
- Kneeling cable crunch
- Lat pulldown
- Triceps extension
- Overhead triceps extension
- Wood chops
- Straight arm cable pullovers
Your imagination is your only limitation when it comes to exercising with a cable pulley system.
Next I’ll show you how to create another version of a home cable machine using resistance tubes.
RELATED: Bullet Pulley Review
Cable Machine WITHOUT Pulleys
In this version I show you how to create a solid DIY home gym cable machine for your home or garage gym without the need for any pulleys.
This one is extremely easy to set up if you already own a rack.
You don’t need to buy pulleys or try to build pulley systems yourself.
All you need is a few pieces of equipment that will cost you around $50.
And the best part about it, is that you get the same versatility as a cable pulley machine at the gym.
All you need is 2 sets of heavy duty resistance tubes and 2 hitch pins (see links below)
➡️ Heavy duty resistance tubes
➡️ Hitch pins
Home Cable Machine Benefits
Cable machines provide constant tension while you lift and lower the weight.
Constant Tension
Since muscle growth and strength increases are directly based on how much tension is placed on the muscle during the exercise, cable machines fatigue muscles faster, and result in greater gains.
Variety
You’ll quickly see the multitude of exercises that can be done at a single machine, allowing you to quickly switch between various exercises, as well as work upper and lower body simultaneously.
Core Activation
If you do most of your exercises standing, the cable machine will force you to activate your core muscles.
Otherwise you’ll be pulled back towards the machine.
An example would be a standing back row – in addition to working the upper back muscles, other muscle groups are engaged including the low back muscles, abdominals, buttocks, thighs and calves!
Working more muscles at one time translates to a greater challenge and better results!
Seated gym machines support you in order to maintain your position, making it is less of a challenge for you.
Home Gym Ideas
Want more home gym ideas?
Get a virtual tour of my garage gym so you can see how I’ve been able to create a complete gym that takes up little space.
Garage gym athlete, gym hacks, DIY gym projects, and garage gym equipment reviews