Face pulls are an important part of any shoulder workout routine.
Not only do they help to target the posterior deltoids, which can be neglected by other shoulder exercises, but they are also beneficial for building overall shoulder strength and preventing muscular imbalances.
They involve using a cable pulley machine to pull the weight straight toward your forehead.
By regularly engaging in face pulls, you will be able to effectively work on strengthening the shoulders from all angles, ensuring that the muscles remain healthy and balanced.
How to Do Face Pulls
Face Pulls are an excellent exercise to target the muscles in your back, upper arms and shoulders.
Here is a step-by-step guide to help you perform this exercise correctly:
Step 1: To start, fasten a resistance band or cable of medium weight to a high pulley.
Step 2: Extend your arms up and take hold of the handles with your palms facing in.
Step 3: Take one step backwards until your arms are fully extended. At that point, tighten your abs and lean backwards so that your body is at a 20-degree angle. Throughout the action, be sure to maintain a straight spine with your head and neck in alignment.
Step 4: Engage your shoulders and roll them back to create good posture. You don’t want your shoulders to slouch or roll forward. Just enough rope must be pulled toward you to begin lifting the weight from the stack. Your starting point is here.
Step 5: Lift the attachment’s handles straight up toward your forehead. Keep your back straight as you do this. Instead of rotating your palms outwards as you pull, try to keep them facing each other.
Step 6: As you do this, make sure to allow for a natural bend in your elbows as they flare outward toward your sides. This will help you more effectively engage those crucial rear delts.
Step 7: Reverse the motion, slowly extend your arms outwards, and keep your shoulders from excessively shrugging or your chest from collapsing. For the best results, it’s crucial to maintain proper posture during this exercise.
Step 8: Focus on pulling those shoulder blades together during each repetition for best results; make sure they stay down and connected at all times.
Step 9: For optimal results, repeat these steps three times for a total of three sets of ten repetitions.
Face Pull Benefits
Face pulls are an immensely beneficial and efficient exercise for many aspects of overall fitness.
Not only do face pulls build strength in the rear deltoids, trapezius, and upper back muscles, which are integral for establishing proper posture and keeping shoulders squared and back, they also provide a strong foundation for press movements like the bench press by allowing lifters to create a sturdy arch.
Notably, face pulls can add thickness to the upper back muscles, allowing those who want to increase their lift potential to do so with the right technique and effort.
In order to fully benefit from exercise, it is important to target all muscles in the body, particularly those that are often forgotten such as the rear delts.
Located at the back of the shoulders, the three heads of the deltoid anterior, lateral and posterior are essential for maintaining shoulder balance while helping to prevent injury.
Face pulls are a great exercise to train not just the rear delts, but also the rhomboids, rotator cuff muscles, and trapezius.
This important exercise can be done using resistance bands or a cable machine and is an easy addition for overall shoulder health.
Face Pulls Common Mistakes
To get the most out of this workout and avoid strain or injury, avoid making these mistakes.
Bad Form
Face pulls are a great exercise for targeting your rear delts, but they’re easy to get wrong. First, make sure you understand which muscles you should be working.
When done correctly, you should feel the muscles in your back side of your shoulders and upper back between your shoulder blades fire up during each rep.
Make sure your palms stay facing inward, and keep an eye out for any possible mistakes if you start pulling towards your chin or neck, or if you let your elbows drift downward, it’s time to recalibrate and double-check that everything is properly aligned.
Too Much Weight
Incorrectly selecting the weight for your rear delt exercises can lead to inefficient results or even strain and injury.
If you are not accustomed to working these muscles, it is important to bear in mind that lighter weights are usually best when targeting the rear delts.
Additionally, if done correctly, it minimizes risk of strain while ensuring that no other muscle groups are inadvertently recruited into the exercise.
Focusing on proper form and technique will aid you in achieving more effective and productive rear delt workouts.
Safety and Precautions when performing Face Pulls
Back and shoulder related issues can result in difficulty when exercising. To ensure that exercises you choose are appropriate for your muscular strength, stability and restrictions caused by any health conditions, it is wise to consult a healthcare provider first.
Moreover, during your workout, if you feel any pain, it is prudent to stop the exercise at once before further injury occurs.
Additionally, although some people feature their home workouts with face pulls using resistance bands, this maneuver carries safety risks due to its delicate nature.
As a result, never pull the resistance bands towards your face because they can easily slip or break, causing severe injuries near your face.
