Machine exercises by muscle
By Ossian Hempel ·
These pages list 232 exercises from the GainsLog library that you do on a machine, a cable station or a Smith machine. Pick a muscle to see its exercises grouped by joint action and the weekly set range that GainsLog Premium's program builder rates a program against.
| Muscle | Exercises | Joint actions | In GainsLog programs | Balanced weekly sets, default profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 39 | shoulder flexion, horizontal shoulder adduction | 7 | 5 to 12 |
| Back | 46 | shoulder extension, shoulder adduction, horizontal shoulder abduction | 10 | 5 to 12 |
| Shoulders | 26 | shoulder abduction, horizontal shoulder abduction | 5 | 5 to 12 |
| Biceps | 23 | elbow flexion | 3 | 5 to 12 |
| Triceps | 43 | elbow extension | 8 | 5 to 12 |
| Traps | 7 | scapular elevation, scapular retraction | 5 | 0 to 8 |
| Quads | 18 | knee extension | 5 | 5 to 12 |
| Hamstrings | 9 | knee flexion, hip extension | 4 | 5 to 8 |
| Glutes | 14 | hip extension, hip abduction | 6 | 2 to 4 |
| Calves | 7 | ankle plantarflexion | 3 | 0 to 12 |
How the lists are built
Every exercise in the GainsLog library has a target muscle, a primary joint action and a compound or isolation tag. It is the same catalog the app uses when it suggests swaps. The library only marks an exercise as machine or free weight, so these pages read the equipment mainly from the exercise name and list the ones done on a machine, a cable station or a Smith machine.
A muscle gets a page when the library has at least five of them, at least one on a machine. Abs have four, and the forearm exercises are all cable, so neither has a page yet. To replace a single exercise, use the exercise alternatives pages.