By Jacob Chambers, Founder & Lead Reviewer · Updated 27 June 2026
Face pulls are a cable or resistance-band exercise where you pull a rope towards your face while spreading your hands apart, training the rear delts, the mid and lower traps and the small rotator-cuff muscles that keep your shoulders healthy. They are one of the best moves you can do for posture and shoulder balance, and they take about two minutes to slot onto the end of any session. Done right they feel like a deep squeeze across the back of your shoulders. Done wrong they turn into an awkward upright row that does very little. This guide covers how to do them properly, the muscles worked, the benefits and the mistakes that hold most people back.
You can run face pulls on a cable machine with a rope attachment or with a resistance band anchored at head height. The cues are the same either way.
The cue that fixes most face pulls
Think "elbows high, hands back". Most people pull the rope into their chest with low elbows, which turns it into a row. Keep the elbows at least level with your shoulders the whole time and finish by rotating your hands so the thumbs point behind you. That single change is what makes the rear delts actually fire.
Face pulls are a rear-shoulder and upper-back exercise. The main muscles doing the work are:
Your biceps, forearms and grip assist on the pull, but they should be along for the ride, not leading it. If your arms are the first thing to tire, the weight is too heavy or your elbows are dropping.
They fix the muscle imbalance most lifters have. If you bench, press and do plenty of front-of-body work, the back of your shoulders and your lower traps get neglected. Face pulls bring them up without much fatigue, which keeps your shoulders balanced and pulling power even.
They help your posture. The mid and lower traps and rhomboids pull your shoulder blades back and down, which directly counters the hunched, rounded look that comes from desk work and phones. Strengthening the lower trapezius has been shown to help correct rounded shoulder posture (randomised study). You will not undo years of slouching in a week, but a few sets a couple of times a week genuinely helps.
They are good for shoulder health. Strengthening the external rotators and the muscles that stabilise the shoulder blade is one of the simplest ways to keep your shoulders happy under heavier pressing. The infraspinatus in particular provides the primary external-rotation force at the shoulder (research). A lot of coaches use face pulls as prehab for exactly this reason.
They are easy to recover from. Because the load is light and the muscles are small, you can do them often. That makes them perfect as a finisher rather than a session in their own right.
You do not need a gym for any of this. A door anchor and a set of resistance bands cover face pulls at home, and they pair neatly with the rest of a home gym setup. If you train with a cable machine, the rope attachment is the gold-standard tool for them.
Band face pulls. The most accessible version. Anchor a band at head height, or loop it around a rack, and pull through with the same cues. The increasing tension towards the end of the band's stretch actually suits the squeeze nicely.
High-to-low face pulls. Set the cable above head height and pull down towards your forehead. This biases the lower traps a touch more and is a good option if upper-back posture is your main goal.
Seated face pulls. Sitting down removes any chance of cheating with your legs, so you are forced to keep the load honest. Good if you tend to swing.
Prone (lying) face pulls. Lie face down on an incline bench and pull a band or light dumbbells towards your forehead. This kills momentum completely and is brutal on the rear delts in the best way.
As for programming, keep the reps high and the rest short. A simple scheme:
Face pulls are the kind of small, unglamorous exercise that pays off out of all proportion to the effort. Five honest minutes a few times a week is enough to balance your shoulders, prop up your posture and keep your shoulders healthy under heavier lifts.
Face pulls mainly hit the rear deltoids and the middle and lower trapezius, with the rhombuses and the external rotators of the rotator cuff (mostly the infraspinatus and teres minor) doing plenty of work too. That mix of upper-back and shoulder muscles is exactly why the exercise is so good for posture and shoulder health. Your biceps and forearms assist on the pull, but they should never be the main driver.
For most people, yes. The rear delts and lower traps are badly under-trained by the usual pressing and curling, and face pulls bring them up quickly. They also balance out all the forward-rounding work like the bench press and desk time, which is good for both posture and long-term shoulder health. Two or three sets a couple of times a week is enough to notice a difference.
Yes, and a band is a great option at home. Anchor it at roughly head height (a door anchor or a sturdy rack works), hold one end in each hand, and pull towards your face while spreading your hands apart. The band gives more tension at the end of the range, which actually suits the movement well. It is the most accessible way to train rear delts without a cable machine.
Light. Face pulls are about control and a strong squeeze, not load. If you have to swing, lean back hard or shrug to move the weight, it is too heavy. Most people do best in the 12 to 20 rep range with a weight they can pause and control at the back of every rep.
Set the pulley at roughly head height or slightly above so you are pulling slightly down towards your face. Some people prefer it set higher and pull down towards the forehead, which biases the lower traps a little more. Both work, so pick the height where you feel your rear delts and upper back doing the job rather than your arms.
Two to three times a week is plenty for most people. Because the load is light and the muscles recover quickly, you can add them to the end of upper-body or pull days without much fatigue cost. Consistency matters more than volume here, so a few honest sets often will beat the odd heavy session.
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