You’re probably doing them wrong. Seriously. Walk into any commercial gym at 5:00 PM and you’ll see it—people yanking a rope attachment toward their forehead like they’re trying to start a lawnmower with their face. Their shoulders are shrugging up to their ears, their lower backs are arched like a bow, and they’re using way too much momentum. It’s painful to watch. Not because it’s "bad" form in some elitist way, but because they’re missing out on the single best exercise for posture and shoulder health.
Learning how to face pull correctly isn't just about hitting the rear deltoids. It's about saving your rotator cuffs from the slow death of a thousand desk-job hours. If you spend your day hunched over a laptop or scrolling through a phone, your shoulders are likely internally rotated. You look like a caveman. Face pulls are the literal antidote to the "computer hunch," provided you actually engage the right muscles instead of just moving a weight from point A to point B.
Why the Face Pull is Actually a "Rotation" Exercise
Most lifters think of the face pull as a rowing variation. It isn't. Or at least, it shouldn't be. If you just pull the rope back, you’re using your traps and rhomboids. Those are great, but the magic of the face pull lies in external rotation.
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Jeff Cavaliere of Athlean-X has hammered this point home for years, and he’s right. To get the most out of the movement, you need to end the rep with your hands higher than your elbows. Imagine you’re showing off your biceps in a "double biceps" pose. If your knuckles are facing the ceiling and your elbows are sagging, you’ve failed. You want those humerus bones (your upper arm) to rotate outward. This engages the infraspinatus and teres minor—tiny muscles that keep your shoulder joint stable.
If you don't rotate, you're just doing a high row. High rows are fine for back thickness, but they won't fix your rounded shoulders.
Setting Up for Success (The Setup Matters More Than the Weight)
Stop grabbing the rope with your palms facing down. Honestly, try a neutral grip or even a "thumbs back" grip. When you grab the rope ends so your thumbs point toward you, it naturally encourages that external rotation we just talked about.
Set the cable pulley to roughly eye level or slightly above. Some people swear by setting it high and pulling down, while others like it at chin height. Personally? Slightly above eye level feels most natural because it allows for a slight downward angle that keeps the upper traps from taking over the movement.
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Step-by-Step Execution
- The Grip: Hold the rope with your thumbs pointing back toward your face.
- The Stance: Use a staggered stance (one foot forward, one back). This stops you from leaning back and using your body weight to cheat. Stay vertical.
- The Pull: Pull the center of the rope toward your forehead, but as you do, consciously pull the ends of the rope apart.
- The Finish: This is the "make or break" moment. At the end of the movement, your hands should be back by your ears, and your elbows should be out to the sides. You should look like you're flexing in a mirror.
- The Hold: Don't just bounce. Hold the contraction for a full second. Feel the burn in the back of your shoulders. It’s a deep, dull ache, not a sharp pain.
Common Blunders That Kill Your Gains
The biggest mistake? Ego.
The face pull is not a power lift. You aren't trying to set a PR. If the weight is so heavy that you have to jerk your torso to get the rope to your face, you’ve already lost. Your rear delts are small muscles. They don't need 150 pounds of tension; they need high-quality, controlled contractions. If you feel your lower back arching, drop the weight by 20%.
Another big one is "shrugging." If your traps are doing the work, your shoulders will creep up toward your ears. This creates impingement and usually leads to neck tension. Keep your "shoulders in your back pockets." Depress the scapula before you start the pull.
Wait. Let's talk about the "Face" part. You don't actually have to hit yourself in the nose. Aim for the bridge of your nose or your forehead. The goal is to get the hands behind the plane of the ears.
The Science of Why This Works
Research on shoulder EMG (electromyography) consistently shows that movements involving horizontal abduction and external rotation are king for the posterior deltoid. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research highlighted that the posterior deltoid is most active when the arm is abducted to 90 degrees—exactly where your arms are during a proper face pull.
Furthermore, it balances the "push-pull" ratio. Most gym-goers bench press way more than they pull. This creates a massive strength imbalance. The front of the shoulder (anterior delt) becomes overdeveloped and tight, pulling the humerus forward. The face pull strengthens the "braking" muscles in the back, pulling the shoulder back into its socket. It’s structural integrity 101.
Variations for Different Goals
Not everyone has access to a cable machine. Or maybe the cable machine is perpetually occupied by someone doing 45 sets of tricep pushdowns.
- Banded Face Pulls: These are arguably better for some people. Because the tension of a rubber band increases as it stretches, the hardest part of the movement (the peak contraction) is where the resistance is highest. This aligns perfectly with the strength curve of the rear delt. Plus, you can do these at home or at the office.
- Dumbbell Face Pulls (on an incline bench): Lie face down on an incline bench. Perform the same "pull and rotate" motion. This removes all ability to cheat with your legs or lower back.
- Seated Face Pulls: If you find yourself wobbling too much, sit down. It stabilizes the pelvis and lets you focus entirely on the upper back.
Programming: When and How Often?
You can do face pulls almost every day.
Seriously. Because they aren't incredibly taxing on the central nervous system, and because most of us are so "front-dominant," extra volume here is usually a benefit.
- As a Warm-up: 2 sets of 15-20 reps with light weight to "wake up" the rotators before benching.
- As a Finisher: 3-4 sets of 15-25 reps at the end of a pull day or upper body day.
- As Corrective Work: 100 reps a day spread out whenever you're feeling stiff.
Go for high reps. Think 12 to 25. You want to pump blood into the area and focus on the mind-muscle connection. If you're doing sets of 5, you're doing it wrong.
Real-World Results
I've seen lifters add 20 pounds to their bench press simply by incorporating face pulls. Why? Because a stable shoulder is a strong shoulder. If your brain senses that your shoulder joint is unstable (due to weak rotators), it will literally "down-regulate" the force your chest can produce to prevent injury. It's a built-in safety mechanism. Strengthen the back, and your brain "unlocks" more power in the front.
Beyond the weight room, your posture will change. You'll stand taller. Your chest will look broader because your shoulders aren't rolled forward. People might even ask if you've lost weight or grown an inch.
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Actionable Next Steps for Your Next Workout
Don't just read this and go back to your old routine. On your next gym visit, try this specific sequence:
- Find a rope attachment. If your gym has the extra-long rope, use it. It allows for a greater range of motion and better external rotation because the ends won't "bottom out" against your head.
- Use the "thumbs-up" grip. Hold the rope so that when you pull back, your thumbs end up pointing behind you.
- Perform 3 sets of 20 reps. Focus on a 2-second hold at the back of every single rep. Do not let the weight slam back; control the "negative" for 3 seconds.
- Record yourself. Film a set from the side. Is your back arching? Are your hands higher than your elbows? If not, adjust.
- Track the feeling. You should feel a "pump" in the back of your shoulder, not your upper neck. If your neck feels tight, you're shrugging. Lower the weight and depress your shoulder blades.
Consistent face pulls are the cheapest insurance policy you can buy for your shoulders. They aren't flashy, and you won't get a "pump" that shows through a sweatshirt, but your 50-year-old self will thank you for the mobile, pain-free joints.