How to do it
- Set a rope at upper-chest to face height and step back until the cable is taut.
- Pull the rope towards your forehead, splitting your hands apart as you go.
- Finish with the elbows high and the shoulder blades pulled together, then return slowly.
Cues that matter
- Externally rotate at the end so your knuckles point behind you.
- Light weight, high reps — this is a posture and shoulder-health movement.
Common mistakes
- Pulling to the chest instead of the face, which just becomes a row.
- Leaning back to muscle the weight.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Traps
- Mid traps
- Lower traps
Also works
- Rear delts
- Rotator cuff
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Face Pull in a session, with 75 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 6–8 reps
- Build muscle
- 10–15 reps
- Endurance
- 15–25 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the traps with different equipment — for a day the cable is taken, or a gym that does not have one.