The face pull is the accessory most lifters should do more of — a cable-and-rope pull to the face that trains the rear delts, mid-back and external rotators that all your pressing tends to neglect. Here's how to do it with good form, the muscles it works, the mistakes to avoid, and how to program it.
The face pull is an upper-back and rear-delt accessory done on a cable with a rope. You pull the rope toward your face with the elbows driving high and out, pulling the two ends apart, which trains the rear (posterior) deltoids, the mid and lower traps and rhomboids, and the shoulder's external rotators. It's a light, beginner-friendly move that's prized as a postural exercise — it balances out all the horizontal pressing most lifters do and supports healthy shoulder positioning.
The face pull is a small-muscle accessory, so the rear delts and upper back do the work while the rotator cuff and forearms assist. It's one of the better single moves for the often-undertrained back of the shoulder.
| Role | Muscles | What they do in the lift |
|---|---|---|
| Primary mover | Posterior deltoid | Pulls the upper arm back and out to the side |
| Assisting | Mid/lower traps, rhomboids | Retract and stabilize the shoulder blades |
| Assisting | External rotators | Rotate the shoulder as the rope reaches your face |
| Stabilizers | Core, forearms | Keep the torso steady and control the rope |
Step-by-step form for the cable rope face pull. Go light — the goal is a clean squeeze, not a heavy pull.
If you want to train the rear delts and upper back with a different tool or angle, these are the common swaps:
The face pull is an accessory, usually placed at the end of a pull, upper-body or shoulder day. General starting points:
| Goal | Sets × reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rear-delt / upper back | 3–4 × 12–20 | Light load, full squeeze and a brief pause each rep |
| Postural / prehab | 2–3 × 15–25 | Very light, high reps, use as a warm-up or finisher |
| Frequency | 2–3× / week | Recovers quickly, so it tolerates frequent training |
Face pulls slot neatly onto the pull days of a Push Pull Legs split. Read up on RPE to gauge how hard each set should feel — for accessories like this, staying a couple reps shy of failure is usually plenty.
Log every face-pull set — weight, reps, and an RPE value — in LiftHero, and it charts your progressive overload and flags personal records so you can keep your rear-delt and upper-back volume consistent week to week. You can add warm-up sets, supersets and rest-timer holds, then drop the face pull into a saved routine so it's ready the next time you train. LiftHero records what you log; it doesn't diagnose your form.
It primarily works the rear (posterior) deltoids and the upper back — the middle and lower traps and rhomboids — along with the shoulder's external rotators. It's mostly a rear-delt and upper-back accessory.
It's a popular postural and shoulder-health accessory. Training the rear delts, mid-back and external rotators helps balance out all the pressing most lifters do and supports good shoulder positioning.
Light to moderate. The target muscles are small, so a weight you can pull with clean form and a controlled squeeze beats loading it heavy. If you have to lean way back or yank it, drop the weight.
Around upper-chest to face height is a common starting point. Some lifters set it higher and pull down-and-back; either works as long as the elbows stay high and the rear delts do the work.
Higher reps suit these small muscles. Most lifters do about 3–4 sets of 12–20 reps with a full squeeze rather than heavy weight, and can train them frequently.
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This guide is educational and not medical advice. Consult a qualified coach or medical professional before starting or changing a training program.
By Meitar Lazimi, founder of LiftHero · Last updated July 9, 2026.