Face Pull

How to do the face pull

1. 01Set a rope attachment on a cable at roughly forehead height.
2. 02Take an overhand grip on each end, thumbs pointing back toward you, and step back until the cable is taut.
3. 03Pull the rope toward your face, separating your hands as you go.
4. 04Finish with your hands beside your ears, elbows high and level with your shoulders, knuckles pointing behind you.
5. 05Hold the end position for a second, then return under control to a full stretch.

Coaching cues

• Pull the rope apart, not just back.
• Elbows high — level with the shoulders, not tucked to the ribs.
• Finish with your knuckles pointing behind you. That is the external rotation.

Common mistakes

FaultElbows dropping toward the ribs

FixThat turns it into a high row and removes the rear delt and external rotation. Keep the upper arms level with your shoulders.

FaultNo separation of the hands

FixPulling the rope straight back as one unit misses the point. The hands should end up wide, beside your ears.

FaultGoing too heavy

FixThe rear delts and rotator cuff are small. Too much load and your lats and traps take the movement over.

FaultCable set too low

FixBelow chest height it becomes a row. Forehead height or slightly above is what puts the shoulder in the right position.

Face pulls exist to balance out everything else in a training programme.

What pressing leaves behind

Bench pressing, overhead pressing and push-ups all train the front of the shoulder and the internal rotators. A typical programme has a lot of that.

What gets far less work is the rear deltoid, the lower trapezius, and the external rotators of the cuff — the muscles that pull the shoulder blade back and down and rotate the arm outward.

The face pull trains all three in one movement, which is why it appears in almost every shoulder-health protocol and why the shoulder pain page recommends it.

Pull apart, not just back

The most common error is treating it as a high row: rope pulled toward the face as one unit, hands together, elbows dropping.

The rep should finish with your hands beside your ears and wide apart, knuckles pointing behind you. That final position — elbows high, forearms rotated back — is the external rotation component, and it is the part that makes this different from a row.

Elbows high

Keep your upper arms roughly level with your shoulders throughout.

The moment the elbows drop toward your ribs, the lats and mid-traps take the movement and the rear delts stop contributing. If they keep dropping, the weight is too heavy.

Use them often

This is a low-fatigue movement with small muscles that recover quickly. Two or three times a week is entirely reasonable, and they can be tacked onto the end of any session.

Sets of fifteen to twenty, light, with a pause at the finish.