How To Do Face Pulls?

If you lift weights routinely, there's a good chance that you spend more time pressing than pulling. Bench presses, shoulder presses, push-ups — they all work the front of your body. All of the above can create an imbalance over time, leading to rounded shoulders, tight chest muscles, and irritated joints.

That's where face pulls come into play.

The face pull is not a flashy exercise, one where you test your max. But when done right and kept in rotation, it can markedly improve shoulder health, posture, and upper-body balance. To know why this has been such an effective movement, we need to first explore what face pulls really are and what they aim to do.

What Are Face Pulls?

Face pulls are a cable-based horizontal pulling exercise that combines scapular retraction with shoulder external rotation. Using a rope attachment set at roughly face height, you pull the handles toward your forehead or nose while keeping your elbows elevated and finishing with the shoulders rotated outward.

At first glance, it seems like a simple upper-body pull. But whereas rows or lat pulldowns are primarily designed to target the larger back muscles, face pulls train much smaller stabilizing muscles located in your upper back and shoulders.

That distinction is important.

Most gym-goers overtrain their chest and front delts but under-train the rear delts and mid-back. Over time, this leads to a muscular imbalance which can cause rounded shoulders, decreased overhead mobility, and unwanted tension on thoroughplane of the anterior shoulder joint. Face pulls directly target that problem, as they strengthen the muscles that help pull your shoulders back, along with stabilizing the shoulder joint itself, to balance out the structural integrity of this complex.

Now that you understand what the movement is, let's dissect exactly which muscles are doing the work.

Face Pulls Muscles Worked

Face pulls are often labeled as a "rear delt exercise." That's accurate — but it's only part of the picture. When performed correctly, face pulls train several upper-body muscles at the same time. And it’s that coordination, not just one muscle working alone, that makes the movement so effective.

As you pull the rope toward your face, your rear delts power the movement, and your middle traps and rhomboids pinch your scapula together. Meanwhile, at the top of that rep, when you externally rotate your arms out, your rotator cuff muscles are firing. Your biceps also help with the pull, and even when you're trying to keep your torso upright and stable engages the core. It's a connected, controlled movement throughout.

When all of these muscles come together, they enhance posture, fortify the upper back, and create a more stable shoulder joint. Which is why face pulls are more than adding size — they're an exercise to create better movement and happier shoulders long-term.

How to Do Face Pulls (Step-by-Step)

Now that you know which muscles should be doing the work, the next step is ensuring that your technique actually engages them. Face pulls are incredibly effective — but only if you do them with control and intention. This is not an exercise where more weight equals better results. In fact, too much weight is often the quickest route to losing good form.

Here's how to do face pulls properly:

Step 1: Set Up the Cable

Fasten a rope handle to a cable machine and adjust the pulley to approximately upper chest- to face-height. The precise height is important — too low, and the movement becomes a row; too high, and you lose the correct pulling angle.

Select a moderate weight. You want to be able to do 10–15 reps, with super strict form, no leaning back or pumping the weight.

Face the machine and take the rope with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Back up slightly by a few steps to tighten the cable.

Before you even begin pulling, check your posture:

• Chest tall
• Shoulders down (not shrugged)
• Core lightly braced
• Knees slightly bent

The point you start from informs the whole movement.

Step 2: Initiate With the Shoulder Blades

Rather than just pulling your arms, start the motion with a small drawing together and down of the shoulder blades. This one small cue turns on the mid-back instead of allowing the biceps to take over.

It's along the lines of: "Pull the shoulder blades first and then the elbows."

This sequencing allows for better muscle recruitment and keeps the movement controlled.

Step 3: Pull Toward Your Face

Now pull the rope toward your upper face — normally at nose or forehead height.

As you pull:

• Drive your elbows up and out to the sides
• Maintain a parallel between the upper arms and the floor
• Split the rope as it reaches your face
• Twist your shoulders so that your thumbs tilt slightly toward the rear

At the finish, your hands on either side of your face, elbows flared out, and shoulder blades completely squeezed together.

You want to feel strong engagement in your rear delts and mid-back — no strain in your lower back.

If you can feel yourself leaning back to shift the weight, it's too heavy.

Step 4: Pause and Control the Return

Hold for one second at the "top" of the movement. This reinforces proper scapular contraction.

Then gradually straighten your arms in front of you, opposing the tension of the cable. Do not allow the weight to snap you back to the starting position.

The eccentric (lowering phase) is about 2–3 seconds. Keeping control here adds to the time under tension concept, which improves overall efficacy.

Step 5: Maintain Consistency Throughout the Set

Once you're a few reps into the set, this is where discipline counts the most.

Face pulls are often programmed toward the end of a workout — after bench presses, rows, or pull-ups — which means your shoulders might already be fatigued. As fatigue kicks in, the temptation is to power through the reps more quickly, lean back somewhat, or allow the elbows to drift downward. That's precisely when exercise begins to lose its point.

All reps should look almost the same from beginning to end. Load-wise, it is not as important here as quality. Face pulls are an exercise in letting you develop proper movement patterns under control.

It's that consistency that elevates face pulls from a simple accessory movement into a lifelong shoulder maintenance tool.

Face Pulls Form Tips & Common Mistakes To Avoid

Face pulls are easy, but it's all in the details. Slight shifts in posture, elbows, or tempo can drastically alter which muscles are working. If you want the biggest rear delts and healthiest joints possible, focus on these key form tips — plus avoid the common mistakes that hold progress back.

1. Adjust the pulley to the right position: The cable should be around your face level. This makes the rope go toward your nose or forehead rather than your chest, which maintains the emphasis on the rear delts and upper back.
2. Stabilize your torso: You should be standing straight with a slight bend in your knees, stabilizing with your core. Your back should not lurch backward when you pull. If you require momentum, it is also too much weight.
   
3. Lead with your elbows, not your hands: As you pull, drive your elbows up and out to the sides. At the top, your upper arms should be nearly parallel with the floor. A simple cue: "Elbows wide."
4. Finish with external rotation: As the rope passes your face, externally rotate your shoulders and let your hands separate slightly. This engages the rotator cuff, which stabilizes the shoulder.
5. Control the lowering phase: Very slowly return the rope to the starting position. Controlling this lowering phase in the 2–3 second eccentric allows for strain on the musculature, which aids in reinforcing proper shoulder biomechanics.

Nail these fundamentals, and face pulls will always hit the right muscles while contributing to shoulder health for the long haul.

When it comes to face pulls, not everyone trains in the same environment — and equipment options can vary. Some people prefer the consistency of a cable machine (like a Smith machine or power rack with cable system), while others rely on resistance bands for convenience. Here's a clear side-by-side comparison to help you understand the differences:

How to Add Face Pulls to Your Workout

Now that you understand how to perform face pulls with excellent form, the next thing is to know where to place them in your routine. What's more, face pulls are simple to program and fit nicely into almost any upper-body routine.

Face pulls are best performed after pressing movements in a workout. If your workout already incorporates movements such as bench presses, push-ups, or shoulder presses, your chest and front delts are getting a good amount of work in the gym. Throwing on some face pulls at the end balances that out by working more of the rear delts and upper back. This allows for a more stable shoulder over time.

Another thing you could do is change the pull day and add face pulls. Face pulls are the best accessory movement to use after rows or pull-ups because they really help you with rear delt activation without having to move heavy weight. They're particularly helpful if your upper back is prone to staling.

A very simple solution is to add face pulls as a part of your warm-up. A handful of light sets prior to upper-body training can "wake up" your rear delts and rotator cuff. If you do this, many lifters gradually notice their pressing (particularly shoulders) feels stable.

For most people, this structure works well:

• 3–4 sets
• 10–15 reps
• Moderate weight
• Controlled tempo

Face pulls do better with clean controlled reps than with a heavy load. Concentrate on feeling the muscle work rather than moving as much weight as you can.

Performing face pulls 2-3 times per week is generally sufficient in terms of frequency. Because the movement isn't too strenuous, it's not difficult to recover from.

Keep it simple. Add them in regularly, execute them with good form, and before long, you'll see stronger shoulders and improved posture.

FAQs About Face Pulls

1. Are face pulls for shoulders or back?

Both — but primarily shoulders. Face pulls are primarily a rear delt exercise in addition to working the mid-traps and rhomboids. If balanced shoulders and better posture are your goals, they're not so much a lat or "big back" exercise as a shoulder health exercise.

2. Are face pulls good for rotator cuff injury?

They're great at preventing problems and building up the rotator cuff, especially the external rotators. But if you're already dealing with a rotator cuff issue, don't start considering face pulls as rehab without consulting a medical professional. If training preventatively, use lightweight with better control.

3. Am I supposed to lean back during face pulls?

No. Leaning back means the weight is too heavy. Your trunk should remain vertical, with your core braced. If you require body momentum to complete or finish reps, lower the weight.

4. How often should I do face pulls?

Most people do well with only 2–3 days a week. Feel free to tack them onto upper-body days or after pressing workouts. Because they're not particularly taxing, recovery is generally swift.

5. Are face pulls really worth it?

Yes — if you bench press or shoulder press, and especially if you spend a lot of time at a desk. Face pulls work muscles that are often undertrained; they also assist with posture and help ensure lifelong shoulder health. They aren't flashy, but they have a very high activation rate.

References

1. Muscle & Fitness – Face Pulls—Done Right—Can Be An Essential Shoulder Exercise: Expert guidance on why face pulls matter in training programs, covering muscle balance, posture improvement, and placement in workouts.

2. Healthline – How to Do Face Pulls With and Without a Machine: Medically reviewed overview of face pulls that covers technique, equipment options, and key muscles targeted, including posterior deltoids and upper back.