Strandpulling with a chest pull expander can be done for a variety of fitness purposes, not just for building chest muscles. There are several classic strands of pulling movements, such as the Front Chest Pull and Lateral Raise, and many more totaling well over 30 movements for the upper body alone. Several of these classic strand-pulling exercises have been used for competition

The chest expander comprises a pair of handles joined by a variable number of springs or rubber cables. While still popular with some enthusiasts, steel springs have largely been superseded by rubber cables or tubing, although steel spring sets are still manufactured and sold around the world on a limited basis.