What’s better than a cable machine for constant tension and muscle gains?
A cable machine with ankle straps!
Ankle straps bring versatility to a cable machine – it’s no longer just about pec flyes and bicep curls. The use of ankle straps brings a whole new range of lower body exercises to diversify and improve your training!
If you’re looking for a better butt workout, want to improve your knee and hip health, or just have all the tools at your disposal, this is going to be a great article for you!
Benefits of Ankle Strap for Cable Machine
The cable machine is well known for upper body exercises that hit muscles and joints in different ways. Exercises like the cable curl or face pull are great because they use the cable machine for its constant tension.
However, the exercises on the lower body aren’t as impressive or effective – they’re often less useful than their free weight alternatives.
Ankle straps change this: they offer a way of training the smaller muscles of the lower body. They also allow you to strengthen the joints and build injury-resistance using unusual movement patterns you can’t always train with weights.
The straps allow for better training of the adductors and abductors, which respond to lateral loading really well. This isn’t easy with a dumbbell or kettlebell, so it’s a whole set of exercises you might not have tried before, with a whole new set of results!
Top Ankle Straps for Cable Machines
1. DMoose Fitness Ankle Straps for Cable Machines
The DMoose ankle straps come in a variety of cool designs that we really like. It’s a way of adding a little personality and unique flavor to your workout equipment – especially if you’re training at a home gym.
This product has a great heavy-duty design to ensure you can rely on it, with heavy double-stitching and D-rings for the cable machine attachment (via carabiner). The Velcro strap is also hard-wearing and long enough to ensure a strong grip and reduce the risk of opening during a workout.
The material itself is quite stiff as a result of the durability, which may be uncomfortable for some, but most customers report positive experiences with the quality and comfort of this product. This seems like the trade-off for a high quality, heavy duty build quality.
Be aware that this product is also sold as a single or double. We’re not sure what you’re going to use two at once for, but you need to know what you’re buying!
2. FITGIRL Fitness Padded Ankle Strap
As with the previous product, FitGirl straps are sold individually which makes them a little pricey. They don’t come with the same heavy duty build seen with the previous product, however, though they seem to stand up well to regular use.
The only problems occur at the seams, which sometimes experience fraying and come undone, or in the Velcro which may come undone during workouts. However, these are rare complaints. The overall comfort and quality of the product seems to be suitable for regular kickback and adduction uses.
We’d recommend looking for something heavier-built if you’re going to be using this product all the time or with significant weights. The build design is good but seams and Velcro ‘wear and tear’ may be a problem for more intense users.
3. Grip Power Pads Best Ankle Straps for Cable Machines
Speaking of a heavier build, this is a product that competes directly with the DMoose product on build and stability. It also comes with the D-loop designs and the same long, stable Velcro fastening system for better adjustability and peace of mind.
As with DMoose, the deigns on this product are many and varied, with bright colors and patterns being offered.
However, there’s clearly a very specific target demographic as many individuals find the sizing too large or too small – implying it’s a cuff designed for a small-mid sized woman. This causes problems with the D rings, too, which are likely to damage the rest of the material and often rupture the straps entirely.
The lack of padding on the inside can be a problem, however, when compared with other products. Overall, the design and appearance seem great, but the performance of the product leaves a lot to be desired.
4. IPR Fitness Glute Kickback LITE “Patented”
This product is actually an interesting innovation – as it is a sling rather than a cuff. It doesn’t strap to the ankle itself, but slings over the heel of the foot/shoe.
This is useful since it avoids any of the problems associated with padding or fastening mechanisms that might tear at the skin of the ankle. This makes it a good choice for performing kickbacks, allowing for a relatively smooth and pain-free experience.
The pro model of this product has some stronger build quality, while this particular instance – the normal kind – feels a little flimsy. The D ring that attaches to the carabiner is a weaker, plastic design which is a bit hit and miss for quality and longevity.
There are 2 other problems with this product:
- It’s not very easily adjustable and be too big for those with smaller sized feet, or even just using a smaller trainer
- They only work for kickbacks, which are not the best or only exercise for the ankle strap on a cable machine.
Overall, this serves a very niche purpose and not perfectly well. The Kickback might be the most popular exercise on Instagram, but it’s not the only exercise and a product that misses out on all the other (arguably better) alternatives isn’t going to be the best choice.
5. EVONESS Ankle Straps for Cable Machines
This product is almost exactly the same as the FitGirl product in terms of design and function, down to the problematic single-loop attachment.
This is a problem for some due to the fact that – at end ranges – it will dig into the shin at the top of the loop. This isn’t a problem for everyone, but it does provide some issues if you’ve had negative experiences with this kind of design before.
There are some concerns with tightness since any looseness in the product will reduce tension at the end of the movement. Since this is where the glutes or adductors are most heavily recruited, it’s a big deal.
The band included with this product would be a nice bonus if it worked, but it is very weak and unreliable.
6. Healthy Model Life Ankle Straps
This product works like many of the others on this list, but the construction quality is often reported as a little challenging. As with others, the D-loop can come into contact with the skin since it pulls upwards at end-range.
The padding is also rather thin which can cause problems during a workout, and the build quality has suggested that it will only last a few months of regular use. The manufacturer suggests a no-questions-asked year warranty, however, which makes this less of an issue.
The price point on this product is great, however, with very little expense for either the individual ankle strap or the pair. If you’re not going to be using it often and just want a cheap option, this product is suitable – but keep in mind the quality and function concerns mentioned above.
7. Perfect Peach Athletics
These ankle straps are very thin, which makes them easy to store and carry, but it does also come with reduced quality Velcro when compared to some of the heavy-duty options on this list.
The actual quality is decent but the resilience to wear and tear is not as good. The product has some conflicting user reviews that touch on the fact that this isn’t going to be built for regular, high-volume use with weights.
This is a concern since you’re going to get stronger and the product is not. If you’re fine with these straps now, it might not last – be sure to think about what you want from an ankle strap and whether the low cost is worth buying another, heavy pair in future when these aren’t strong enough.
As with the previous product, perfect peach offers a cheap entry to the market (though not as cheap as HealthyMaximize) but this does show in some areas. The customer service is pretty good, and the seller seems to really care about addressing issues.
Conclusion
Our favorite product from this list comes right at the start. The Dmoose ankle strap is our favorite due to the commitment to heavy-duty construction, a double-D fastening mechanism (no shin pain), and attention to detail on the Velcro and design.
This is not a central product in a gym bag, but it does risk some of the more annoying issues if you’re scrimping. It’s easy to opt for the cheapest choice – and there are some good budget options – but if you’re going to use this product for months and years, it pays to get something you can trust.
For this reason, we do recommend going with DMoose or a comparable, heavy-duty ankle strap. Prepare to be your strongest self and get the equipment that can keep up!
