Face Pull: Proper Form, Tips, & Supplements for Better Gains
Posted by Leonard Shemtob on Feb 04, 2025
The face pull is a great exercise for building strong shoulders and a healthy upper back. It helps target the muscles in your upper back and rear shoulders, which are often neglected in many workouts. It helps improve posture, prevents injuries, and strengthens key muscles like the rear delts and traps.
Many people do face pulls to fix shoulder imbalances caused by too much pressing. This exercise is easy to learn but needs proper form to work well. In this article, we’ll explain how to do face pulls correctly, their benefits, common mistakes to avoid, and the best variations to try.
[Related Article] Complete Pull Day Workout Guide: Build Strength and Muscle
Short Summary
- What Is a Face Pull? A shoulder and upper back exercise that improves posture and prevents injuries.
- Muscles Worked Targets the rear delts, traps, and rotator cuff muscles.
- How to Do It Pull the rope towards your face with control, keeping elbows high.
- Common Mistakes Avoid using too much weight, shrugging shoulders, or pulling too low.
- Who should try them? Everyone, from beginners to advanced fitness lovers.
- Face Pull Variations: Exploration of different variations, including using resistance bands, cables, or different grips, to target muscles in slightly different ways.
- Get our top supplement, Anafuse, to enhance your face pull workouts and support muscle building for better results.
What are Face Pulls?
Face pulls are a strength training exercise that targets your shoulders, upper back, and rear delts. They're usually done with a cable machine, but you can also use resistance bands.
The key is to pull the weight or band towards your face, keeping your elbows high and squeezing your shoulder blades together. This movement not only builds strength but also helps improve your posture and prevent shoulder problems.
Face Pull: Muscles Worked
- Rear Delts (Rear Deltoids) – These muscles at the back of your shoulders help pull your arms back and improve shoulder balance.
- Traps (Trapezius) – The upper and middle traps support shoulder movement and help keep your posture upright.
- Rotator Cuff Muscles – A group of small muscles that keep your shoulders stable and prevent injuries.
- Rhomboids – These muscles in the upper back help pull your shoulder blades together for better posture.
- Biceps – While the focus is on the back, your biceps also get some work during face pulls as they assist in pulling the weight or band.
How to Perform Face Pulls Correctly
Face pulls are easy to do, but proper form is important to get the best results and avoid injuries. Follow these steps:
- Set Up: Attach a rope handle to a cable machine at chest height. If you don’t have a cable machine, you can use a resistance band.
- Starting Position: Position yourself facing a cable machine with a rope attachment fixed to a high pulley. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, a comfortable distance from the machine.
- Grip: Grab the rope or band with both hands, using an overhand grip (palms facing down).
- Get Ready: Step back slightly to create tension in the cable or band. Keep your arms straight and your elbows slightly bent.
- Pull the Rope: Pull the rope towards your face, keeping your elbows high and flared out to the sides. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together as you pull.
- Pause and Control the Movement: Hold for one second at the top, then slowly return to the starting position.
Face Pull Tips
To get the best results from face pulls, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep Your Elbows High: Your elbows should stay above your hands as you pull to target the right muscles.
- Use a Light to Moderate Weight: Too much weight can cause bad form and increase injury risk. Focus on control instead.
- Squeeze Your Shoulder Blades: Pause at the top and squeeze your back muscles to improve strength and muscle activation.
- Engage Your Core: Keep your core muscles tight throughout the exercise. This helps stabilize your body and supports your lower back.
- Breathe Properly: Exhale as you pull the rope towards your face and inhale as you return to the starting position. Proper breathing helps maintain rhythm and focus.
- Control the Movement: Pull slowly and steadily—don’t rush or use momentum.
- Focus on Form: Always prioritize proper technique over lifting heavy weights. Good form will help you avoid injuries and work the right muscles.
- Warm Up First: Do a quick shoulder warm-up to prepare your muscles and joints.
Benefits of the Face Pull
Face pulls are a great exercise for building strength and preventing injuries. Here are some key benefits:
- Improves Shoulder Health: Strengthens the rotator cuff and reduces the risk of shoulder injuries.
- Better Posture: Helps fix rounded shoulders and improves overall posture.
- Strengthens Upper Back Muscles: Works the rear delts, traps, and rhomboids for a stronger back.
- Injury Prevention: By strengthening the muscles around your shoulders, face pulls can reduce the risk of injuries during workouts or daily activities.
- Balanced Muscles: Many people focus too much on the front of their body (like the chest and biceps). Face pulls help balance this by working the often-neglected back muscles.
- Reduces Neck and Shoulder Pain: Strengthens weak muscles that often cause discomfort.
- Enhances Athletic Performance: Improves shoulder stability, making other lifts and sports movements stronger and safer.
- Easy to Do: You only need a cable machine or resistance band, making face pulls a convenient addition to any workout routine.
- Supports Rotator Cuff Health: The rotator cuff muscles are crucial for shoulder stability. Face pulls strengthen these muscles, which can improve shoulder function and reduce the risk of injuries.
- Increases Range of Motion: Regularly doing face pulls can improve flexibility and range of motion in your shoulders, making it easier to perform daily activities and other exercises.
Most Common Face Pull Mistakes to Avoid
- Dropping elbows: Keep your elbows high and out to the sides throughout the movement.
- Using Too Much Weight: Heavy weight can lead to bad form. Use a moderate weight for better control.
- Incorrect Elbow Position: Avoid pointing your elbows down or too far out. Instead, keep your elbows high and flared out to the sides as you pull the rope towards your face.
- Not squeezing shoulder blades: Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull.
- Rushing the Movement: Pulling too fast or using momentum takes the focus off your muscles. Move slowly and with control.
- Using momentum: Avoid swinging or jerking the weight. Control the movement.
- Pulling to the Wrong Spot: Aim for your forehead or just above it. Pulling too low (like to your chest) changes the exercise and reduces its benefits.
- Leaning Back: Leaning back uses your body weight instead of your muscles. Stand tall and keep your core tight.
Cable Face Pull Variations
Adding variations to face pulls can target muscles in different ways and keep your workouts interesting. Here are some great options:
- Single-Arm Face Pull: Instead of using both arms, try pulling the cable with one arm at a time. This variation helps improve your balance and focuses on each shoulder individually.
- Standing Face Pull: The standing face pull is a popular variation of the face pull exercise that focuses on strengthening the shoulders and upper back.
- Seated Face Pull: Sit on a bench while performing the exercise to reduce body movement and improve focus on the shoulders.
- Face Pull with External Rotation: As you pull the rope towards your face, rotate your forearms outward (like a "T" position). This adds extra emphasis on the rotator cuff muscles and helps improve shoulder stability.
- High Cable Face Pull: Adjust the cable to a higher position and pull down towards your face. This variation targets the upper traps and rear deltoids from a different angle.
- Low Cable Face Pull: Set the cable at a lower position and pull it upwards towards your face. This changes the angle of resistance and can help target different muscle fibers in your shoulders.
- Face Pull with Resistance Bands: If you don’t have access to a cable machine, you can use resistance bands instead. Anchor the band at chest height and perform face pulls just like you would with a cable.
- Wide-Grip Face Pull: Hold the rope with a wider grip. This shifts more focus to your outer rear delts and upper back.
- Underhand Grip Face Pull: Grab the rope with your palms facing up. This variation targets your rear delts and biceps more.
Alternatives to the Face Pull
- Band Pull-Apart – Uses a resistance band to strengthen the rear delts and improve shoulder stability.
- Reverse Fly – Performed with dumbbells or cables to target the rear delts and upper back.
- Rear Delt Row – A rowing movement that focuses more on the rear delts and traps.
How to Add Cable Face Pulls to Your Workout Routine
- As a Warm-Up: Do 2–3 light sets before upper body workouts to activate your shoulders and improve mobility.
- On Shoulder or Back Days: Add face pulls to your shoulder or back workout for better posture and strength.
- Frequency: You can perform face pulls 2-3 times per week, depending on your training schedule.
- After Pressing Exercises: Face pulls help balance out pushing movements like bench presses and shoulder presses.
- At the End of Workouts: Use face pulls as a finisher to keep your shoulders healthy and prevent imbalances.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I do face pulls at home?
A: Yes! If you have resistance bands, you can easily perform face pulls at home by anchoring the band at chest height and pulling it towards your face.
Q: Should I do face pulls on the back day or shoulder day?
A: Face pulls work both the shoulders and upper back, so you can include them on either back day or shoulder day.
Q: How often should I do face pulls?
A: Aim to do face pulls 2-3 times a week as part of your upper body or shoulder workout routine.
Q: Are face pulls safe for beginners?
A: Yes, face pulls are safe for beginners as long as you use proper form and start with light resistance.
Final Thoughts
Face pulls are a simple but effective exercise for strengthening the shoulders and upper back. They help improve posture, balance muscle development, and support overall shoulder health.
This article has explored the mechanics of face pulls, highlighting the muscles worked and the importance of proper form. We've also discussed common mistakes to avoid and provided variations to keep your workouts engaging.
With proper form and consistency, face pulls contribute to healthy shoulders and overall strength.
References:
- https://www.inspireusafoundation.org/face-pulls/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/face-pulls
- https://fitnessprogramer.com/exercise/face-pull/
- https://www.hevyapp.com/exercises/face-pull/
- https://blog.cult.fit/articles/how-to-do-face-pull-benefits-form-tips-more
Written and Sponsored by Leonard Shemtob
Leonard Shemtob is President of Strong Supplements and a published author. Leonard has been in the supplement space for over 20 years, specializing in fitness supplements and nutrition. Leonard appears on many podcasts, written over 100 articles about supplements and has studied nutrition, supplementation and bodybuilding.
Leonard's articles have been published in many top publications around the web. Leonard enjoys weight training, playing basketball and yoga, and also enjoys hiking. In his free time he studies and works on improving himself. For more detailed information, visit his official blog.
