Your squat rack handles the heavy lifting, but it's not built for the accessory work that keeps your glutes and hamstrings firing between sessions. Here are five cable leg exercises you can do on your functional trainer that are worth adding to your routine, with a quick how-to, a form cue, and a rep range for each.
| The short answer: Add a cable pull-through, a kickback or hip abduction, and rotate in the squat and lateral lunge for variety. Two to three sets of 10 to 15 reps per move, once or twice a week, after your main lifts. If you don't own a functional trainer, a BOB Smith Machine rack attachment gets you a comparable complete leg routine from your existing squat rack. |
Why Cables Are Useful for Leg Accessory Work
Leg training on a functional trainer won't replace your squat rack, and it shouldn't try to. What it does well is constant-tension accessory work for your glutes, hamstrings, and hips, movements that a barbell either can't do at all or can't load safely without a spotter. A cable keeps the resistance on the target muscle through the whole rep, which matters most on movements like the kickback and hip abduction that a barbell simply doesn't reach.
5 Cable Leg Exercises for Your Routine
Cable Pull-Through
Set the pulley low behind you, hinge at your hips, and pull the handle or rope through between your legs, driving your hips forward at the top of the movement. This is the single most searched leg exercise in this guide. It's also a genuinely useful way to teach a hip hinge to lifters who round their back on a deadlift. Keep the motion in your hips: if your lower back rounds or your knees do most of the work, drop the weight. Start with 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.
Cable Squat
Set both pulleys low, hold a handle in each hand for counterbalance, and squat down while keeping your torso upright through the whole rep. The counterbalance from the cables makes this a useful teaching tool for squat depth and posture, even though it won't replace a loaded barbell squat. Don't lean back and let the cables do the balancing for you. Keep your weight centered over your midfoot. Run 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps.
Cable Kickback
Attach an ankle strap to a low pulley, kick your leg straight back and up while keeping your torso stable, then return with control. This isolates your glutes in a way a squat or deadlift can't, since there's no other muscle group sharing the load. Avoid swinging the leg for momentum. Let your glute drive the movement, not your lower back. Work 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per side.
Cable Hip Abduction
Attach an ankle strap to a low pulley, stand sideways to the machine, and lift your outer leg away from your body while keeping your torso still. This targets the glute medius, a muscle most leg days skip entirely, and a weak one is linked to knee and hip issues over time. Keep your hips square. Rotating your torso to lift the leg higher defeats the point of the exercise. Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per side.
Cable Lateral Lunge
Hold a handle at chest height with both hands, step out to one side into a lunge, and push back to standing. The cable's resistance forces your hips to control the sideways motion instead of just your bodyweight, which trains a movement pattern most leg routines never touch. Keep your chest up as you step out. Letting the cable pull your torso forward turns this into a row instead of a lunge. Start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per side.
Building a Cable Leg Routine
These five exercises are accessory work, not a replacement for your squat and deadlift days. Pick two or three, a pull-through, a kickback or hip abduction, and rotate them in after your main lifts. Two to three sets of 10 to 15 reps per exercise is a reasonable starting point, since these are accessory movements, not max-effort lifts.
Here's the number that matters if you're comparing functional trainers for leg accessory work: pulley ratio. A lot of machines run a 2:1 ratio, which cuts the felt resistance roughly in half compared to the number on the weight stack. The Dane 2.0 runs a true 1:1 ratio, so its 160-pound stack per side gives you 160 pounds of real, honest resistance on every pull-through and kickback in this list. We test each of these movements on our own Dane 2.0 before we recommend them, and the Fringe Fam does the same in their own garages every week.
Complete Your Leg Routine
Want to add a barbell squat into the mix? The BOB Smith Machine Rack Attachment bolts onto a compatible rack upright, 5/8-inch or 1-inch holes, and turns it into a full Smith machine, at $599. That gets you guided-bar squats, Romanian deadlifts, lunges, and calf raises on fixed vertical rails, no spotter required.
Starting from scratch? The BOB Smith Machine Rack Builder bundles a compatible rack with the BOB attachment, starting at $799.
A Smith machine and a functional trainer solve different problems. Cables keep constant tension through the whole rep, which is what makes the kickback and hip abduction above possible. A guided bar gives you a fixed, controlled path for heavier, more squat-like patterns without a spotter.
If you want both in one frame, the Dane 2.0 Fully Loaded pairs a 1:1 functional trainer with a built-in BOB Smith machine and cable crossover arms. It's the most expensive option here at $3,899, but it's also the only one that replaces a rack, a cable station, and a Smith machine with a single frame.
FAQ
Can cable leg exercises replace squats and deadlifts? No. These are accessory movements meant to supplement a barbell squat and deadlift, not replace them. They're best used for glute and hamstring isolation work that a barbell can't safely provide.
Why is the cable pull-through so much more popular than other leg exercises on this list? It teaches a clean hip hinge without loading the spine the way a deadlift does, which makes it a popular coaching tool for lifters still learning the movement pattern.
What pulley height should I use for these exercises? Most of these movements route from a low pulley. The pull-through, kickback, and hip abduction above all anchor low, and the lateral lunge is the one exception at chest height.
How many days a week should I do cable leg accessory work? Once or twice a week is enough. These are accessory movements meant to supplement your squat and deadlift days, not replace a full leg session.
Bottom Line
Cable leg exercises won't replace your squat rack, but they fill in the accessory work your barbell lifts miss, especially for your glutes and hips. Start with a pull-through and a kickback, add the hip abduction and lateral lunge for variety, and you'll have a complete accessory routine from one frame. No functional trainer yet? A BOB Smith Machine attachment gets your existing rack most of the way there.
Ready to build your leg accessory routine on a true 1:1 pulley system? Shop the Dane 2.0 and our full functional trainer lineup and feel the difference for yourself.
