Cross the cables and own your rear delts.
Keep elbows soft and fixed. Open from the shoulders, not by bending the arms.
Crossing two cables in front of you and pulling them apart loads the rear delts through their exact function, sweeping the arms out and back against resistance that never disappears. Unlike dumbbells, the cables pull hardest right where the rear delts are stretched, and the crossover start gives you extra range across the midline. Your upper back assists on the spread, making this the standing rear-delt builder that rounds out the back of the shoulder.
Crossing lets each arm start past your midline, adding stretch you can't get otherwise, and it lines the cable's pull directly against the rear delt's arc. Straight pulls turn it into more of a row.
Very little. The rear delts are small, and any weight that makes you bend your elbows or rock backward is being lifted by something else. Light stack, fixed soft elbows, full spread.
Same target, different feel. The machine locks your position, the cables give a longer stretch and free range. If your gym has both, alternate them, if not, either one done strictly covers the rear delts.
