Exercise guide · evidence-graded

Cable Face Pull

The cable face pull is a rear-shoulder and upper-back exercise in which you pull a rope from a high cable towards your forehead with your elbows high and wide. It works the rear shoulders and the middle and upper-back muscles that pull the shoulder blades together, and it is a common accessory alongside pressing work.

Also called: Face Pull, Rope Face Pull, Face Pulls, High-Pulley Face Pull · Equipment: cable · Pattern: pull

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How to do it

Step by step

Set a cable pulley at about face height or slightly above and attach a rope.
Hold one end of the rope in each hand with your palms facing down, then step back until your arms are straight and the weight lifts off the stack.
Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart, knees soft, ribs down and shoulders drawn away from your ears.
Pull the rope towards your forehead, leading with your elbows and keeping them high and out to the sides.
Finish with the rope ends pulled apart beside your ears and your elbows level with or slightly above your shoulders, then squeeze your shoulder blades together for a moment.
Return your arms under control until they are straight again, keeping the weight off the stack.
After the last rep, step towards the machine to set the weight down before letting go of the rope.

Coaching cues

Pull towards your forehead, elbows high
Elbows wide and level with your shoulders
Split the rope beside your ears
Squeeze your shoulder blades together
Ribs down, torso still
Control the rope back to straight arms

In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.

Muscles worked

What it trains

Muscle	Role	Evidence
Posterior deltoid	Prime mover	C
Trapezius: middle	Prime mover	C
Trapezius: lower	Secondary	C
Rhomboids	Secondary	D
Rotator cuff: infraspinatus / teres minor	Secondary	C
Trapezius: upper	Stabiliser	D

Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.

Common faults

What goes wrong, and the fix

Shrugging towards the ears

Fix: Draw your shoulders down before each pull and keep your neck long.

Elbows dropping to the sides

Fix: Keep your elbows high and wide, level with your shoulders.

Leaning back to finish the rep

Fix: Stand tall with ribs down and use a weight you can finish without leaning.

Letting the stack pull the arms forward

Fix: Take two seconds to return to straight arms, keeping the weight off the stack.

Poking the head forward

Fix: Keep your chin tucked and bring the rope to your face, not your face to the rope.

Programming

What the research says

Rehab & prehab · first choiceGeneral fitness · first choiceMuscle growthSport performanceEndurance

Load and effort — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, although very light loads have produced less growth.
Rep ranges — Cable face pulls are commonly done for 12–20 reps with a weight that still allows a clean pause at the finish. There is no research on the best rep range for this exercise.
Volume — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. There is no research specific to the face pull.
Frequency — Training a muscle at least twice a week has been associated with more growth than once a week, and many lifters include face pulls in two or more sessions.
Placement — Many lifters use face pulls as a warm-up before pressing or as an accessory at the end of an upper-body session.

Alternatives · VALDA FLEX

Swap it mid-workout

With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.

Log the cable face pull in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.

General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.