Duration exercise

Cable Pallof Hold form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The cable Pallof hold is an isometric anti-rotation exercise in which you stand side-on to a cable stack and hold the handle pressed straight out from your chest, forcing the obliques, transverse abdominis, and hips to resist the constant lateral pull. Lifters use it to build measurable, easily progressed rotational stability, holding for time at a set weight and increasing the load as trunk stiffness improves.

Cable Pallof Hold illustration

How to do Cable Pallof Hold

  1. 1Set a cable pulley to chest height, grab the handle with both hands, and stand side-on to the machine with feet shoulder width apart.
  2. 2Step away from the stack until the cable is taut, holding the handle against the center of your chest.
  3. 3Brace your core and press the handle straight out until your arms are fully extended in front of your sternum.
  4. 4Hold this position, resisting the cable's pull; do not let your arms drift toward the machine or your hips rotate.
  5. 5Breathe in steady, shallow cycles behind your brace for the prescribed hold time, then return the handle to your chest under control and switch sides.

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Track Cable Pallof Hold in Plates

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