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Tonal coach performing a Half Kneeling Pallof Press

How to Perform a Pallof Press with Cables

Learn 4 types of Pallof presses with cables, each targeting the core, boosting stability, and improving your anti-rotation strength.

Funny enough, your core muscles don’t only help you sit up, twist around, bend over, or move around. Your abs actually often help you resist movements, too — something that happens a lot more than you think. 

In fact, resistance-based ab exercises can strengthen your body’s ability to perform or exert a whole range of motions safely. But they should also help ensure you can do things like brace, remain upright, stand steady, and clutch items close to your torso, which actually involves a lot of anti-rotation. 

Anti-rotation remains a foundational movement pattern, and it demands your midsection to remain still and steady even as other body parts (like your arms or legs) move.

That’s where the Pallof press enters the conversation. Designed to focus on improving your body’s ability to resist rotation, it’s an often overlooked core exercise done using a cable machine or simple resistance bands.     

We’ll start with the foundational standing Pallof press with cables before exploring form tips and deeper cues, as well as versions that include rotations for an added stability challenge. These are slow, focused patterns that help you understand how stability truly feels, not just how a six-pack looks.

Contents
  1. Pallof Press with Cables: Step by Step
  2. Pallof Press with Cables: reps & intervals
    1. Average Duration of
    2. Estimated Calories Burned
    3. Recommended Number of exercises Per Week
    4. Warmup & Cool Down Exercises
    3.
  3. Muscle Groups Targeted
  4. Equipment Used for Pallof Press with Cables
  5. Who This Exercise is Best For
  6. Answers to FAQs about Pallof Press with Cables
  7. Concluding words on Pallof Press with Cables

Pallof Press with Cables: Step by Step

Standing Cable Pallof Press

  1. Stand perpendicular to the cable machine, feet planted hip-width apart. Tip: Your body and the machine should be making a general “T” shape. 
  2. Grab a standard D-handle attachment. Hold the handle at your chest with both hands.
  3. Take one regular step away from the cable machine, creating a small but steady amount tension on the cable — enough to feel resistance, not so much you’re thrown off balance.  
  4. Keep your shoulders, ribs, and pelvis all stacked evenly.
  5. “Drop” your shoulders down and back, away from your ears.
  6. Begin pressing the handle straight forward away from your chest, in a straight, controlled line. (Imagine nudging it along a track.)
  7. Pause and hold briefly once your arms are fully extending, resisting the cable’s pull without letting your torso twist.
  8. Return the handle to your chest slowly, maintaining the same posture.

Cable Pallof Press with Rotation

Adds controlled twisting, and can be considered part of a natural progression plan once you’ve mastered the standing cable Pallof press. 

  1. Set up the same way as a standing cable Pallof press: facing perpendicular to the machine, dropping your shoulders, bracing your core, and holding a D-handle attachment. 
  2. Extend your arms forward, then rotate your torso slightly away from the machine

Note: Don’t jerk or pull the cable with your arms. This is a small, deliberate torso-based turn.

3. Keep your hips steady and facing forward so the rotation drives from your midsection, not your lower back, arms, or shoulders.

4. Pause at the end of the twist, maintaining control as the cable tries to pull you inward.

5. Rotate back to center with a slow, even tempo.

6. Draw the D-handle back toward your chest to complete the rep.

Kneeling Pallof Press with Cables (Half or Full Kneel)

Can help build alignment and a better sense of balance, or readjust lower-body sway that happens during standing versions.

Note: Choose one of the following: half kneeling (only one knee down) or “tall” kneeling (both knees down).

  1. Kneel down perpendicular to the cable machine, about 1-2 feet away. 
  2. Grip the D-handle at your chest, keeping your torso and spine upright. No leaning back or forward.
  3. Press the cable forward in a straight line while keeping your hips and legs still.
  4. Feel your core resist the sideways pull of the cable, especially as your arms reach their full extension.
  5. Pause briefly at full extension.
  6. Return the handle back to your chest following, maintaining your kneeling stance and keeping the handle following the same horizontal path.

Pallof Press Cable Iso-Hold

An endurance-focused variation that helps build and challenge additional core anti-rotation.

  1. Begin as you would for a cable horizontal Pallof press: perpendicular to the machine, feet flat, ribs and hips aligned, shoulders down, cable tension engaged.
  2. Press the handle forward and pause once your arms are fully extended.
  3. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds, or as long as you can prevent your torso from drifting or twisting.
  4. Once you hit your target hold time, slowly return the handle back to your chest.

Tip: Don’t forget to keep breathing during the extended hold! Take slow, smooth inhales through your nose and exhale through your mouth during the iso-hold extension.  

Pallof Press with Cables: reps & intervals

The following ranges should give you a helpful starting point when trying Pallof presses with cables. Your ideal volume will of course depend on Pallof press type, cable load, stand width, and experience level.

  • Muscle development: 6-20 reps
  • Core endurance: 8-12 reps
  • Max core strength: 4-8 reps

  • Beginner intervals: 2-3 total sets
  • Intermediate intervals: 3-4 total sets

Average Duration of Pallof Press with Cables

Everyone moves at a slightly different pace depending on balance and cable tension, plus other factors. This tempo simply encourages a mindful, controlled Pallof press.

  • One Pallof press rep: ~4-5 seconds
  • One Pallof press set: ~40-60 seconds

Estimated Calories Burned

Because the standing cable Pallof press emphasizes stability over intense activity or larger compound movements, your energy expenditure stays on the modest end. Things like how far you step out, how tightly you resist rotation, and your natural pace influence these numbers.

Here, we've calculated calories burned based on an adult performing 3 sets of 10 cable Pallof presses, with a short rest break (30-45s) between each set.

  • Women (140-180 lbs): ~8-15 calories
  • Men (170-210 lbs): ~10–20 calories
  • Adults above 210 lbs: ~15-25 calories

Recommended Number of exercises Per Week

A standing cable Pallof press can be done 1-3x/week.

Because it trains anti-rotation in a gentle, controlled way, it complements pressing days, pulling days, accessory work, or stability sessions without needing access to tons of gym equipment.

Warmup & Cool Down Exercises

A short warm-up helps your ribs, hips, and shoulders coordinate smoothly as you resist rotation, while a cool-down routine returns your heart rate. Both should always be included in your workouts. 

Warm-Up (choose 1-3):

  • Bird dog holds (30 sec)
  • Light trunk rotations (30 sec)
  • Cable walkouts with gentle tension (30 sec)

Cool-Down (choose 1-3, performed at the end of your full workout):

  • Side bend stretch (30 sec each side)
  • Seated spinal twist (30 sec)
  • Slow diaphragmatic breathing with hands on ribs (30-60 sec)

Muscle Groups Targeted

As described earlier, the standing cable Pallof press helps train your core to resist rotational forces (i.e. anti-rotation exercises). 

It relies heavily on the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques (internal and external), as well as small stabilizers located along the spine.

Your hips and glutes quietly should help support the stance, keeping your torso squared as the cable tries to pull you back sideways. 

Similarly, parts of your shoulders, pectorals, and triceps can contribute lightly to keeping the handle level and horizontal, but the movement remains centered in the core. Variations like the cable Pallof press with rotation encourages more trunk mobility, while the kneeling versions can emphasize posture. 

Equipment Used for Pallof Press with Cables

Both standing and kneeling variations of the cable Pallof press only require a cable machine, plus a D-handle accessory for proper grip. It’s a convenient option for both beginners and more experienced lifters alike.

  • Cable machine
  • Single-handle D-handle attachment
  • Optional mat (for more comfort during kneeling versions)

At-home alternative:

  • Resistance band anchored at chest height

Who This Workout is Most Effective For

Individuals exploring core-focused accessory work without heavy loading.

  • Anyone comparing standing vs. kneeling options to find their comfortable setup.
  • Recreational athletes who participate in sports with frequent twisting, cutting, or changing direction, such as gymnasts, tennis players, or golfers.
  • Beginners looking to incorporate a more diverse set of core-strengthening movements into their routine, both rotational and anti-rotation. 
  • Individuals who sit for long hours and want better posture support.

Answers to FAQs about Pallof Press with Cables

The movement can be quite effective for improving core stability, as it teaches your body to resist unwanted forces and stresses.

Instead of relying on momentum, it also helps you practice slow, intentional presses that challenge the obliques and deeper stabilizers. Many people appreciate how accessible it feels, even without adding much load to the cable.

A few patterns tend to show up, though their causes vary person to person. For instance:

  • Leaning back to “fight” the cable
  • Twisting the torso instead of keeping your legs, hips, and chest squared.
  • Gripping the handle so hard your shoulders tense up. 
  • Driving the cable’s horizontal path more with your arms and shoulders. 

Using too much weight too early may be the cause of these problems, as does improper technique. Again, it’ll vary.

This most often happens if you’re in a stance that doesn't create enough tension or if you have misalignment with your form. 

Try some fixes like stepping away slightly farther from the cable machine, relaxing your shoulders, and pressing the cable out slower. Reducing the load can also help you focus on resisting rotation instead of becoming overpowered by it, but explore these things as needed.

Pressing straight forward is typically regarded as the standard pattern, but some people use a subtle upward angle to match individualized shoulder mechanics. Both paths are valid as long as your torso stays still and your core remains the primary driver behind the exercise.

It depends! A one-knee/split-knee kneeling Pallof press is considered by some to be more beginner-friendly, as it creates a wider supportive base to perform the exercise while isolating the abs. 

A standing Pallof press with a cable machine, meanwhile, demands more stability from your legs, and therefore can be a more effective stability challenge. Choose which one you do based on your target goals and current stability level.

Concluding words on Pallof Press with Cables

The standing cable Pallof press is a rewarding option to anti-rotational training, and to better understand all the ways your core stabilizes your body — like turning to grab something, carrying uneven loads, or staying upright when walking or running on uneven surfaces. (Plus many, many more activities.) 

Once you get the hang of the standing or kneeling versions, you can usually start incorporating more options: higher cable loads, rotational versions, and iso-holds offer even more ways to explore that stability and balance challenge.

If you enjoy learning how to build a stronger, more well-rounded core at home, Tonal’s Resource Hub offers many more opportunities. You can explore individual rotation and anti-rotation-movements, or tackle full, intentionally designed ab workouts inspired by Tonal programs. 

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