Upper body · Shoulders

Face pull

How to do the cable face pull with a rope: height, grip, shoulder rotation, common mistakes and why it belongs in your routine if you press a lot.

Technique video

The face pull means pulling a rope on a cable toward your face, flaring your elbows and rotating your shoulders back. It trains the back of the shoulder and the upper back, areas that tend to lag in routines with lots of bench pressing and pushing. That is why it is recommended as a balancing, shoulder-health exercise.

Muscles worked

The rear delts do most of the work. The mid traps and rhomboids pull the shoulder blades together, and the external rotators of the rotator cuff rotate the arms back at the end.

How to do it

1. Set the rope on the pulley at face height or slightly higher.
2. Grab the ends with palms facing each other or down, and step back until your arms are straight under tension.
3. Pull the rope toward your forehead, elbows high and wide at shoulder height.
4. At the end, rotate your shoulders back as if showing off your biceps, hands beside your head.
5. Return slowly until your arms are straight.

Common mistakes

• Too much weight, turning the exercise into a row with torso momentum.
• Low elbows, which shift the work to the mid back.
• Leaning back to pull.
• Skipping the rotation at the end, losing the rotator cuff work.

Variations and progression

You can do it seated to remove leg drive, or with a resistance band at home. It works best with controlled sets of 12 to 20 reps rather than heavy loads.

Precautions

It loads the shoulder and elbow with light weight. It is usually well tolerated, but if you feel pain at the front of the shoulder as you rotate, shorten the range.

Alternatives with less joint load

They train the same muscle group. Highlighted joints are also loaded by the exercise on this page.

• Dumbbell lateral raise · Arm raise
  • Shoulder
• Cable lateral raise · Arm raise
  • Shoulder
• Front raise · Arm raise
  • Shoulder
• Reverse pec deck · Fly
  • Shoulder

If you have an injury, pain or a medical condition, check with a professional before doing this exercise.