The face pull is one of my absolute favorite corrective exercises for the shoulders, traps, and upper body. What’s great about the face pull is that you can make it a strength exercise by adding more resistance, or use it as more of a warm-up or mobility drill. Keep reading for more athletic variations…
WHY DO THE FACE PULL?
Depending on the resistance, rep range and set range – the face pull can have a number of variations and purposes. I like having my athletes work on the face pull with a thin band for a good . It’s not only important to warm up the muscles you’ll be training in your workout, but to also activate the nervous system. By going through the series with a band you’re able to “turn on” the muscular pathways and hit greater volumes to increase strength and put on size.
The face pull is also great to perform with a rope on a cable machine OR a heavier band as part of your upper body workout.
How to do the face pull?
To do the face pull, set up a band from a pull up bar so that it’s looped around and secured just slightly higher than eye level. Back up, holding the band with both hands so that there’s a bit of tension. Stagger your feet so that you have one foot just in front of the other.
Stand tall with your core tight and spine tall bringing your hands up to face height keeping the elbows at shoulder level. Begin to pull the band to your face, so that the band almost comes to your nose. Focus on pulling the shoulder blades together and pause at the back for a moment.
Programming
As I mentioned earlier you can start out your workout with a face pull warm-up and shoulder mobility . If you’re adding this to your upper body strength training, aim for 3 rounds of 10 reps.
Want to develop a functional, aesthetic, and athletic upper body?
