Open Exercise

Development draft, v0. Formats and IDs may change.

Catalogue

Cable Face Pull

oec:cable-face-pull

A cable pulling exercise targeting the rear deltoids, upper back, and rotator cuff through combined horizontal abduction and external rotation.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Face Pull, Facepull, Cable Rope Face Pull

How to do it

Setup

  1. Attach a dual-handled rope to a cable pulley positioned at upper-chest to eye height.
  2. Grasp the rope with both hands using a neutral or overhand grip with your thumbs pointing backward.
  3. Step back a couple of paces to elevate the weight stack and assume a balanced staggered stance with knees slightly unlocked and core braced.

Movement

  1. Initiate the movement by retracting your shoulder blades and pulling the center of the rope directly toward your face.
  2. As your hands approach your face, externally rotate your shoulders by pulling the rope ends apart until your hands are alongside your ears.
  3. Pause briefly at peak contraction, ensuring your elbows are high and wide and shoulder blades fully squeezed.
  4. Slowly extend your arms forward under control to return the weight stack to the starting position.

Breathing

Inhale as your arms extend forward; exhale as you pull and externally rotate toward your face.

Cues

  • Pull the rope apart, not just back
  • Lead with your hands and thumbs, not just elbows
  • Keep your chest proud and ribs pinned down

Common faults

Using excessive body English and leaning backward to move the weight.
Lower the load, brace your core, and keep your torso stationary throughout the set.
Leading entirely with the elbows without externally rotating the shoulders.
Ensure your hands finish level with or behind your elbows, resembling a double-biceps pose.
Shrugging the shoulders upward toward the ears.
Depress your shoulder girdle and emphasize mid-to-lower trapezius activation rather than upper trap shrugging.

Safety

  • Select a light to moderate resistance to maintain strict control and avoid shoulder impingement.

Muscles

  • Rear deltoid prime mover
  • Infraspinatus prime mover
  • Teres minor prime mover
  • Middle trapezius synergist
  • Lower trapezius synergist
  • Rhomboids synergist
  • Side deltoid synergist
  • Erector spinae stabilizer
  • Rectus abdominis stabilizer

Joints

  • Shoulder: Horizontal abduction, External rotation
  • Shoulder blade: Retraction, Upward rotation
  • Elbow: Flexion

Details

Movement
Horizontal pull
Modality
Hypertrophy, Strength, Rehabilitation
Mechanics
compound
Force
pull
Laterality
bilateral
Kinetic chain
open
Level
beginner
Equipment
Cable machine
Record
Repetitions and Load
Load
external, weight stack

Related

Sources

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

cable-face-pull.json