Face pull: how to do it
Main muscles: Rear delts (posterior deltoid), Infraspinatus, Middle traps. Helpers: Rhomboids. Below: step-by-step form, common mistakes, a muscle map, reps and rest, and what to swap it for.
Equipment
Cable
Reps
6–10
Rest
150 s
Muscle group
Shoulders
How to do it
- Rope at face height, overhand grip, elbows above the hands.
- Pull the rope to the face, opening the arms out and rotating the forearms outwards.
- Squeeze the shoulder blades at the end and return under control.
Common mistakes
Pulling to the chest, dropping the elbows, working with the torso.
Muscles worked
primary·secondary
- Primary
- Rear delts (posterior deltoid), Infraspinatus, Middle traps
- Secondary
- Rhomboids
A secondary muscle gets roughly half the stimulus of a set — that is also how the log’s stats count it.
Alternatives: similar exercises
Reverse pec deck
Machine · Rear delts (posterior deltoid), Rhomboids, Middle traps
Barbell row
Barbell · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Rhomboids, Middle traps
Bent-over reverse fly
Dumbbells · Rear delts (posterior deltoid), Infraspinatus
Seated cable row
Cable · Rhomboids, Middle traps
T-bar row
Barbell · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Rhomboids, Middle traps
Seated machine row
Machine · Latissimus dorsi (lats), Rhomboids, Middle traps
Log your sets — the app suggests the next weight
GymAssist tracks the load on each of 40 muscles, paints it on a body map and uses double progression to tell you when to add weight.
Free forever for the first 500