2 Face Pull Fixes for Better Rear Delts

Face pulls have been a staple in workout routines for years—and they’ve become especially popular in fitness influencers’ videos online. With the exercise showing up so often, it’s understandable that some people might wonder whether it’s overrated.

But I don’t think it is. Not even close. Face pulls can be a useful way to train your rear delts, but the details of your form matter. Below, I’ll break down the movement and show you two simple fixes that can help you get more out of the exercise.

What Do Face Pulls Work?

A face pull is a cable exercise where you pull a rope attachment toward your face, bringing your arms out to the sides as you bend your elbows. The rear delts are a primary target, while the middle trapezius and rhomboids help draw your shoulder blades back, and the rotator cuff muscles contribute to outward rotation.

Face pulls are a multi-joint exercise because you bend your elbows as well as move your upper arms. They’re often included in shoulder workouts to add direct work for the rear delts, and some people also use light face pulls as part of a warm-up.

But the benefits of the exericse depend on your technique. Here are two adjustments that can help you get more out of face pulls.

1. Keep Your Thumbs Pointed Toward Your Face

As you grip the rope, point your thumbs toward your face and keep them there as you pull. This encourages your arms to rotate outward—a motion that helps involve the rear delts. You should feel your upper arms move out to the sides as your hands travel toward your head.

When you first grab the rope, before lifting your arms up into position to do the exercise, you'll want your thumbs facing down like this:

Avoid pulling with your thumbs pointed away from you. That position turns your arms inward as you pull, which doesn’t maximize the rear delts. It may also increase the chance that the top of the humerus rubs against the rotator cuff muscles. Keep your thumbs pointed toward your face throughout the rep to get more out of the movement and avoid that inward rotation.

2. Pull Your Hands Toward Your Ears

As you pull the rope, bring your hands toward the sides of your ears—not down toward your chest. Let your elbows bend and move out to the sides, while your upper arms move outward. That arm movement is similar to a dumbbell bent-over lateral raise (aka rear-delt flye), which is why the face pull can effectively target the rear delts.

In this image, you can see my hands ending up at ear level, not down by the chest:

The difference is

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