The BEST Cable Attachments For Your Garage Gym – 2025

Last updated on February 20th, 2025 at 02:06 pm

For me, cable attachments are one of the items in a garage gym we likely don’t have to sacrifice due to space constraints. I can’t have the best of the best of every machine. I have to make compromises in various nick nacks here and there to accomplish some accessories for the sake of space. But cable attachments? I can 100% have the BEST of the best in terms of fit and function and own a huge assortment of pieces with a solid storage option.

So that is exactly what I have attempted to do. One trick ponies, stainless steel, old school, new school, you name it. If it works better than the rest, it belongs here.

I LOVE cable attachments. My fascination began when I first used my MAG Grips. They unlocked a new understanding of nuanced cable attachment purchases that I probably should have never explored. But here we are, years later, with more knowledge about quality cable attachments than makes much sense.

So what am I to do with all of this knowledge floating around in my head about cable attachments? Put it into an article and share it with you of course! I also share at the end of this article some ways to store your cable attachments, as well as some accessories for your cable machine and more. So read to the end, I think it’ll be worth your time.

Links throughout may include Affiliate Links. These help fund the site at no expense to you.

A Little Different

This Garage Gym Basics article is going to look a little different than the rest. As I already mentioned, for me, cable attachments are an area that I don’t think we need to make sacrifices. And it is an area I personally have found great results in investing in the best.

You don’t exactly get more gains from an $800 barbell compared to a $300 barbell. But buy the right cable attachment and you can sky rocket some development. I will cover cable attachments in a few different views here, so you can make some selections regardless of how you want to tackle your purchases, where your attachment game is at, and what you hope to accomplish with a few new toys.

What Makes A Good Cable Attachment?

There isn’t one definitive piece here. But to me, as per usual, it comes back to the goal. I’m not looking to blast a 1RM Seated Row. I want to build a BIG back. That same logic applies to all the rest of my attachments. I do cable work for hypertrophy purposes, so the cable attachments should be the BEST cable attachments at achieving that goal.

Ideally, I like to support small shops, American Made companies, or simply companies doing unique things. You’ll see plenty of all of that in this article.

I would much rather own 5 cable attachments that are the best at each of their intended goals, than 1 attachment that does 5 things just kind of ok. I don’t need a cable attachment that also functions as a landmine handle, and a deadlift jack, and brews me a cup of coffee. It should SMASH my lats, or upper back, or biceps. I have no problems with a few attachments that do multiple things, but they better do them equally well.

What Should I Buy?

I’m going to split the cable attachments into body parts first. Then list out my absolute favorite attachments in each category, and then cover some honorable mentions. The favorites are items I own and use regularly and think you should DEFINITELY add to your rotation. The honorable mentions might be a unique piece here and there that I think deserve a mention in the BEST cable attachments discussion.

If you are looking to keep your attachment list a bit simpler, check out my list of the First 5 Cable Attachments I believe you should start with.

The FIRST 5 Cable Attachments To Buy For Your Home Gym

Keep in mind that there are other basic attachments that can certainly fill the gaps mentioned above. A triceps rope, a set of D-Handles, an ez-curl handle, and you can hit basically everything. If you want something super basic, the REP Fitness packages offer a lot of bang for the buck. I’d also take a look at the Body Solid Aluminum and Body Solid Rubber Grip packages. These aren’t exactly the BEST in each category, but you’ll have one of everything so to speak and be light years ahead of the amazon special products.

Best Cable Attachments For Chest

The absolute BEST cable attachment for press and flye variations, and this isn’t even close, are the Trak Handle Sports. I mentioned in my First 5 Cable Attachments list that these are arguably the GOAT of cable attachments due to the amount of uses, their design, free motion, durability and more.

These are a fully upgraded D Handle replacement. Light weight but solid, and everything moves freely. So you have free motion available in the wrists as needed. You can easily change your wrist position to get the right angle for pressing to hit the fibers you want. Because of their slim design and all plastic construction, they cleanly slide past you even when keeping your arm path tight to the body.

These are manufactured by a rather small company who only makes two handle options. The Sport are typically the recommended pair because they are more affordable and more or less do the same things.

And to take them up a notch, we can add various grips to the handles. For presses I often like a bigger handle as it spreads the weight across my hand more, and I’ve been really enjoying the cone grips for this purpose. But if I’m going to use these for lateral raises, which we are going to talk about in a second, I don’t want that.

For chest variations, instead of changing out the handle I’ll typically change where I place the bench to move from more of a FLY to more of a PRESS. I might change the angle of the bench or the position of the functional trainer to bias the upper pec more. But this is the ONLY cable attachment I use for chest. All the fancy knurled handles and straps and different options out there simply can’t compete with the Trak Handle Sport.

Budget Cable Attachments For Chest

I’ve used a single Body Solid D-Handle which gets the job done. These are VERY light weight but solid, the multiple D-Rings give you a bunch of options to get the right amount of stretch, starting position, etc. for your workouts. Nothing too flashy, and the price point is perfect. These didn’t last long in my gym due to the Trak Handle Sport, but they might take second place (albeit a far distant second).

Best Cable Attachments For Shoulders

For delts, we are going to have a couple options. First, is our Trak Handle Sport again. These work fantastically for front raises, lateral raises, and rear delt raises, as well as overhead press variations. These are my wife’s go-to for all her cable shoulder work.

For the same reasons these are great for chest work, they are great for shoulders. You can adjust your hands as needed, the slim profile means they don’t get in the way at all, and the free movement means you don’t have your wrists stuck in any position you don’t want them in.

But my personal favorite for shoulder work, specifically various shoulder raises, is a new one added to my arsenal recently, the 1MR Adjustable Rope Cuffs. I mentioned in the First 5 article that I like ankle cuffs for lateral raises and other shoulder movements, which is true. But this is just a little better in a few ways.

First, since they work like a lifting strap, it is easy to get them off if you are super setting and don’t want ankle cuffs around your wrist. Second, is that the extra material gives a unique pull for the movement that I find helps with the stretch portion of the lift. And third, which we’ll get into more in a bit, is that these can be used for not only shoulder work but other movements too that an ankle cuff can often times struggle with.

The idea around using a cuff or strap instead of the Trak Handles is to remove the wrist from the equation when doing these movements. The wrist is a very mobile joint, which means a lack of stability. Lack of stability means less weight and less reps, which means less gains. By attaching the strap above the wrist we perform these cable movements similar to how a lateral machine would work.

If you want to take it the next step further, you can set up on a bench and adjust your position as needed. For these lying lateral raises here I have my Prime Shorty Bench in a flat position. I’ve got my two Beyond Power VOLTRA Is set up in Inverse Band Mode so the resistance is heavier at the bottom and lighter at the top which matches the strength curve for lateral raises, and I’m using my ankle cuffs (this was filmed before getting the 1MR cuffs).

You can perform a similar movement for rear delts if you adjust the bench up and go prone or face away from the bench for front raises (which you can see in the video below).

Then you can take it up an extra notch by adding in something to hold onto in your hands. While we removed the wrist from the equation, we can still gain some stability by means of radiation by squeezing the hands, engaging the forearms, and helping sending tension up into the upper arm and shoulder.

Much like how to handle the most weight in a Back Squat you need to have your upper back tensed and even your hands tight, this little trick might just get you an extra rep or two. My go-to here would be to grab some kind of single handle attachment, something like my Mutant Metals Nubs are great, you could use some fat grips, or even just some small piece of metal or whatever fits in your hands well that you can squeeze to death. With the 1MR Adjustable Rope Cuffs you can experiment with holding onto the extra cloth itself and see how that feels for you.

Other Cable Attachments For Shoulders

If you like to perform Rear Delt work via movements like Face Pulls and similar variations, the Prime Spreader Bar is the best Face Pull dedicated cable attachment on the market. Using similar handles as the MAG grips and their Prime ROT-8 handles, with the ability to move in 360 degrees on a pivot, you get the ability to perform a very similar movement to a strap, but with much better handles, which means better activation, more reps, etc.

I’ll add that the Spreader Bar doesn’t get much use outside of this though. Some people enjoy it for triceps work, I do not. Some people enjoy it for seated rows, I do not. So you likely need to go into this with the idea that you might get one exercise from this handle and that is IT.

Budget Cable Attachments For Shoulders

The 1MR Adjustable Rope Cuffs are my favorite for shoulder work, but you can once again simply use a basic D-Handle, or if you already own a pair of Ankle Cuffs or the Trak Handle Sport, could decide to use those and save the cash for other cable attachments.

For a unique option, you could grab two cannon ball grips, a length of chain and some carabiners, and do face pulls with that. Interesting change of pace for the hands, grip, etc. Similar concept to the Spreader Bar, much cheaper, and potentially more versatile.

Best Cable Attachments For Biceps

Guaranteed Solid Choice

American Barbell Rotating V Bar… I’ve written a few things here about this cable attachment, and I still REALLY enjoy it. Good angles, good knurling, heavy, solid, smooth rotation. Everything you’d want in a good attachment. I get tendonitis if I do too much straight bar curl work, so I tend to stay away from the dedicated curl bars.

American Barbell makes the same cable attachment but with some unique changes. First, it is American made. Second, it is made of aluminum. Third, it has rubber handles. I like the American Made and aluminum, but I’m not a huge fan of the rubber grips. So this one is a toss up on which to go with.

The Picky Attachment Owners Choice

The SupraCurl Bar from Troy VTX is certainly one of the more unique biceps options. The handles rotate with use to accommodate a healthier wrist and elbow, but still lock you in for dedicated biceps work. This thing is FANTASTIC. The only downside, is that it can be hard to purchase. Take a quick Google Search and hope for the best.

The handles are lightly knurled, the entire thing is metal, and it just feels very natural to use. By far my go-to biceps cable attachment.

Plan C Option

Have an ez curl bar? Use an ankle cuff around the middle, add a carabiner, and you now have a “DIY” cable curl bar.

Best Cable Attachments For Triceps

Guaranteed Solid Choice

I am really enjoying the KAZ Handles from Prime Fitness. They work well for Biceps work too, but I think they are better triceps handles. They can be used in a few different fashions. My favorite currently is to hook one carabiner from each into a single pulley, and use them like a triceps rope with handles. The cone shape fits perfectly in the hand, and the stopper at the end keeps your hand in place. The long strap allows you to get a FULL contraction in the triceps. If you haven’t felt this before, get ready. NASTY!

Side Note – I have the SMALL KAZ handles. These seem to work for me and my wife, so I assume the large handles must be a more FAT GRIP style.

2024 Update – I’ve been REALLY enjoying these new GymPin Tri-Grips Long Ropes. Similar concept as the KAZ handles, but the unique hand grips are pretty cool. They amazingly enough fit me and my wife well, and are just flat out NASTY. The contraction at the end range is gross, the stretch is amazing. These are bonkers.

The Picky Attachment Owners Choice

The Troy VTX Butterfly fits the bill in this category, as it absolutely nails the triceps. Downsides are that it ONLY does triceps work, and it can’t accommodate all forms of triceps work. And again, this is hard to find. But if you can snag one, you won’t be disappointed.

The other is the Larry Scott Triceps Bar from TK Star. If you spend enough time digging into the depths of quality equipment, you’ll likely come across TK Star and their fondness for very specific angles, cuts, grooves, and finishes.

Larry Scott certainly knew how to build some legendary arms, and this attachment has claims from many to be the single best triceps cable attachment on the planet. I own one and it is a regular favorite in my rotation.

TK also makes a few other triceps attachments worth checking out, ones that are on my future list. So it would be worth delving into his world. TK is a one man shop, so be prepared to work directly with him and wait your turn for your delivery.

Plan C Option

The American Barbell Rotating V Bar gets the pick here. One of my favorite combos is pushdowns, pressdowns, overhead pressdowns, and reverse grip pressdowns. I can do all four of these, in a drop set fashion, with this one cable attachment. Brutal, effective, awesome. And since you already bought it for biceps, you don’t need to even buy another attachment!

Best Cable Attachments For Forearms

Guaranteed Solid Choice

A Wrist Roller isn’t new to most, but attaching it to a cable stack might be. By far my favorite forearm builder. I reached out to my dude at Mutant Metals to see if he could make a stainless steel badass one like my Hatfield Handles. We did it! Almost 2 inch diameter handle, stainless, with his awesome knurling, and a strap ran down the middle. This is NASTY! If you want one, just contact him and tell him you want what Joe is having!

The Picky Attachment Owners Choice

Arm Assassin is one of the best known secrets in the Arm Wrestling world. Think YOU have popeye forearms? Meet a dude who does arm wrestling as a job. You can snag a bunch of their stuff and hook it up to a cable machine and say bye bye to ever shaking someones hand again without crippling them.

Plan C Option

Get real crazy with something like the Ironmind Twist Yo Wrist. I have one and use it to mix up my forearm training. It is unique and different, and fun. I do wish it was metal, instead of plastic. The knurling is just kind of “ok”. But this is a very unique option. I can’t think of another way to really train that same movement of your hands/wrists.

Best Cable Attachments For Back

Guaranteed Solid Choice

The MAG grips are the kings of back development. Used in a TON of high end commercial and garage gyms, I’ve yet to see more than a couple of comments of people that weren’t instantly blown away using them. Supinated for lat development, pronated for upper back development, close grip or wide for dedicated pulldowns, medium grips for low rows, medium rows, seated rows, pulldowns, and t-bar work.

Do NOT fall for the knock offs. Get the real thing. The only thing even close is the Prime 4n1 and 3n1 handles. Make sure to check out my Comprehensive Guide on the MAGs for all the details.

The Picky Attachment Owners Choice

I’d just get more MAGs. Start off with the Mediums, add the close supinated and wide/wedium to have more options.

If you happen to have a dual cable option, something like a functional trainer, take a look at the Prime ROT-8 handles. These are PHENOMENAL for iso-lateral work. Think MAGs but with each hand moving on its own.

Plan C Option

American Barbell makes a solid seated row handle. It has a slight angle so it can be used as pronated or supinated. I’d take the MAGs any day, but this is a good non-MAG back attachment.

It is also MUCH better than using the close grip MAGs for seated rows. I do not enjoy those at all. But this works well. Again, not my go to, but my wife likes the closer grip for seated rows and tends to lean towards this before the MAGs on seated rows.

Best Cable Attachments For Legs

Not a common one for cable work, but definitely something that gets sprinkled in occasionally.

Guaranteed Solid Choice

I use two ankle cuffs for a handful of different uses. Low cable work for adduction, abduction, etc. These get used a LOT by wife as they are brutal on the hips. Glute gains anyone?

And my favorite, seated low cable leg curls. With a single low cable you’ll need a chain or strap of some kind to rig it up. With a dual cable like my FT2, I can hook up each leg independently.

But you are going to sit on the bench facing it in the incline position (prone) and curl your ankles back. Get ready for DOMS cause this one is BAD!

Considering my current ankle cuffs from APT are no longer in production, if I was looking to add some to my gym, I’m looking at Pioneer Fit. (save 5% Code: GGC)

The Picky Attachment Owners Choice

I recently started using the Glute Kickback PRO from IPR Fitness for my seated leg curls, kick backs, and various leg dominant cable work. These are NASTY. I like that I get to push through my heel, instead of right above the ankle. These are my go-to option.

That said, my wife still gravitates to the Ankle Cuffs. The issue with the KickBack Pros, is that you have two different sizes, a Men’s and Women’s. So in theory, I actually need two pairs.

On the IPR Fitness website, they have a Thigh Pro, as well as Glute Kickback X… I have no clue why there are three different options for what is in theory the same thing, other than the Thigh Pro seems to pull from the side, potentially making it better for Abduction and Adduction, and the Kickback X seems to have more connection options to mix things up.

Best Cable Attachments For Neck

I did some solid research into neck harnesses and training in general. If you plan to really get into it, there seems to be nothing better than the Iron Neck.

Best Cable Attachments For Abs

Abs should be pretty straight forward for cable work. There are a LOT of options, but again, I keep it simple here. I want to flex my abs in a full ROM as best as possible, get a good stretch, and not worry about the attachment getting in the way or falling out of my hands.

I’m using the IPR Fitness ISO Handle Pro. Even my wife has been using this comfortably, which is a win!

PureTorque Ab Trainer

I haven’t handled this myself yet, but I’ve had a number of positive comments about it. On my list for a future add, and something if you are an athlete I think you can’t ignore.

The PureTorque Ab Trainer, abs probably being a terrible choice for the name here, is a rotational tool to build your ability to rotate with control and power. As lifters we spend the majority of our time learning ANTI-rotation, which is definitely important. You don’t want to be a spaghetti noodle under a 500lb squat. But being able to rotate and develop those muscles purposefully can have huge benefits in basically anything that isn’t traditional barbell lifts.

Check out the PureTorque Ab Trainer, and use code GML to save 10%

Best Ninja Warrior Handles

Coming soon!

Other Cable Attachments

I mentioned some of these throughout the article, but figured I would bring them up again here.

Black Iron Strength makes some of the most exquisitely manufactured pieces on the planet. Honestly the only reason I don’t own anything from them, is because they almost exclusively make items that are a little more “standard”. I have no want/need for regular stirrup handles, another low row handle, or lat bar. If I was, I’d be looking here.

LPG Muscle makes a bunch of interesting pieces. And if you like FAT cable attachments, this is the place to be!

Tsunami Bar attachments are wild. I own the Level 3 Lat Bar, which I snagged used, and it is pretty cool. Not cool enough for me to necessarily recommend them above anything else, but cool enough to be mentioned. The hard part with these is that there are a TON of options. I mean, there are 3 Lat Bars!

TK Star was mentioned above, and I’ll mention him again. He has been making some of the best equipment longer than a lot of us have been alive. If I had a huge budget, I’d own one of everything from him. He has some super unique attachments and his entire focus is on small angle changes.

Raw Motive Works makes some REALLY cool looking stuff. Their machines are rad, and their cable attachments are very unique. The only thing I personally don’t like, is that a lot of their attachments are sold as a “do a lot of things” kind of attachment. Definitely worth a look, as I don’t see any of this stuff anywhere else.

Mike Bartos Power Center is the top of the line strongman manufacturer on the planet. And he makes a few interesting Cable Attachments for those into the grip world. Not something I will likely every own, but very cool and unique.

Black Widow Training Gear makes a long line of unique attachments as well, so does Spud Inc, EliteFTS, and many others. You can spend a LONG time going down a crazy rabbit hole. I’ve done this. I tried to save you the time with my notes above, but feel free to dig in.

The BEST Storage For Cable Attachments

This one is easy. Wall Control is the best storage option for a home gym for the vast majority of items, and it is absolutely the BEST option for cable attachment storage. I’ve been using Wall Control in my gym for over 5 years. It is strong, looks great, and is endlessly adjustable. So every time you buy a new cable attachment you can reorganize your set-up. Lucky for you, I have a Comprehensive Guide on Wall Control that includes my reviews, my friends reviews, installation notes, my recommendations on what to buy, and more.

Wall Control – Comprehensive Guide – 2025

Other Cable Machine Accessories

Not quite cable attachments, but kind of. There are a few items I reach for regularly when using my cable machine.

GymPin

My Inspire FT2 has plate stacks, which means it has a limited amount of weight that can be loaded. Occasionally I need MORE weight than the plates allow. This is where my GymPin comes in handy. Simply slide it into the stack, and you can toss on a couple more plates. For my FT2 I’ve loaded an additional 2x45s PER SIDE for things like leg extensions. VERY helpful. (10% off w/ Code: GRAYMATTERLIFTING)

Performance Pins

A fun little add-on to help you do Drop Sets. These are American Made and again work with a plate stack cable machine. They aren’t perfect, but they are cool and relatively cheap. Grab a pair of Performance Pins. (Use code GGC to save 10%)

Cable Connectors

With something like a functional trainer, you might run into a situation where you want to connect the two cables together. This allows you to use BOTH stacks together, for one exercise. Or in the case of my FT2, allows me to use the dual cable low and high pulleys with my favorite cable attachments.

I bought a pair of connectors from my guy David Dennis over at Gorilla Strength. If you want these, just poke him and tell him you want what Gray Matter Lifting has.

You can snag something like a Darko Shorty Bar or GymPin Holey Bar and connect them as well. OR my guy Kyle at Kaizen DIY created this piece.

Seat Buckle

Ok, stick with me here for a second. How many home gym cable machines are lacking in the stability market? As in, they often are missing pads to keep you down, or backrests, or all of the above to help you maximize your strength potential? A LOT OF THEM! This is where the GymPin Seat Buckle comes into play. Yes, it is essentially a seat belt. Yes, you could get a seat belt and do the same thing. If you have access, 100% do that. If not, this has been a BIG improvement to my space in the past several months. Highly recommend.

Plate Snacks

Plate Snacks has a TON of ways to customize your home gym. But the coolest might just be the custom Weight Stack Decals. You can work directly with them to create a custom solution for a NUMBER of Weight Stack machine, as well as simply order a custom solution.

The BEST Carabiners For Your Cable Attachments

I’m looking to explore this topic even further soon. But for right now, there are a couple of options I’ve used and recommend.

Black Diamond Oval Keylock Carabiner

These are the nicest carabiners I have used. They open easy (not easy enough to not do the job). They are meant for climbing, so they are ready for heavy loads and banging around. Since they are made to go outdoors, they are ready for the harsh environments of the garage. And they don’t have the teeth on the carabiners that get caught on cables/fabric. These are a joy to use. Check them out here.

Spinning Carabiner

Sometimes you want a little more freedom in your carabiner. I use these a lot when doing landmine work, but they help with some cable attachment set-ups as well. I’d probably buy either some of these, or a set of these to get this done (the ones I bought aren’t for sale anymore).

Cable Attachment Shackles

Depending on your cable attachments and storage solution, you might need to explore some shackles. These are a common solution, and these which I own, swivel.

Small Carabiner

There is a carabiner I’m hunting down that comes with the Beyond Power Voltra I. If I find it, I’ll add the details here.

Wrap-Up

Once you snag all your favorite cable attachments, make sure to check out my favorite Cable Machines!

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