Face Pull

The face pull is a cable pulling exercise performed with a rope attachment set at or above face height. The movement pulls the rope toward the face while externally rotating the shoulders at the top — the hands end up beside the ears with the elbows flared wide. This position directly trains the rear deltoid, the infraspinatus and teres minor of the rotator cuff, and the mid and lower trapezius.

These muscles are almost universally undertrained in lifters who bench press and overhead press frequently. The internal rotators — anterior deltoid, pec, subscapularis — get loaded heavily in pressing; their antagonists do not. Face pulls directly address that imbalance. They are also one of the few exercises that train the external rotators in a position of shoulder elevation, which is where the rotator cuff most needs stability.

Face pulls are best used as regular accessory work, not as a primary movement. Two to four sets two to three times per week is the common prescription. They can be performed at the end of any session — upper or lower body — without meaningful fatigue impact on the main work. Light-to-moderate loads and controlled reps are more productive than heavy loads and compromised mechanics.

In LiftProof, log face pulls as shoulder accessory work. Keep the weight light enough that the external rotation at the top stays crisp — the moment you cannot finish the rep with hands beside the ears and elbows wide, the load has become too heavy.

• Set the cable at or above face height
• Pull the rope to your face — hands finish beside your ears
• Elbows flare wide and high at the top, not tucked to the sides
• External rotate at the top: rotate the hands back as if showing your armpits
• Control the return — do not let the cable snap the arms forward

• Cable set too low — turns it into a row and removes the rear deltoid emphasis
• Not completing the external rotation — pulling to the face but not rotating means the rotator cuff gets skipped
• Too much weight — heavy loads collapse the elbows and eliminate the target range of motion
• Shrugging the traps up — depress the shoulders and let the rear delts do the work

• barbell row→
• overhead press→