📖 Static demo — read-only snapshot

You’re browsing a static build of the Body IQ knowledge graph, so everything loads with no backend. A few things that need the live server are turned off here:

Global search (sidebar) is disabled — it queries the API.
The JSON API and the API “Try it” playgroundaren’t included.
The data is a snapshot — it refreshes only when the demo is rebuilt, not live from the database.

Everything else — the body map, progression ladders, coverage heatmap, exercise finder, and all anatomy/exercise/source pages — works fully. The full app (live search + API + database) runs from the source on GitHub.

Face Pull

Draftstrength50%beginner⬤ expert-opinion evidence

View FHIR resourceFHIR R4 ActivityDefinition — the interoperable form of this exercise

Positions & Range of Motion

Start: standing tall facing a face-height cable/band anchor, arms extended forward gripping the handles with palms down or neutral, ribs stacked over pelvis
End: handles pulled to the face with elbows wide and high, forearms externally rotated so knuckles point toward the ceiling and thumbs toward the ears, shoulder blades squeezed together
Range of Motion: elbow flexion 0–~90°+ with shoulder horizontal abduction and external rotation to full scapular retraction

How to Perform

Stand facing a cable or band anchored at face height, gripping with palms down or neutral. Pull the handles toward your face, leading with the elbows wide and rotating the forearms back so knuckles finish pointing toward the ceiling, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Return with control without letting the shoulders round forward.

Watch on YouTube↗

Opens a YouTube search for “Face Pull”

Equipment:cable machine with rope attachmentresistance band

Starting position: standing

Coaching Cues

1
Pull the rope apart as it comes toward your face, like drawing back a bowstring with both hands.
(external)
2
Finish with your knuckles pointing at the ceiling and thumbs toward the back of your ears.
(external)
3
Lead with wide elbows and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the pull.
(internal)
4
Keep your ribs stacked over your pelvis; do not lean back or shrug toward your ears.
(internal)

Evidence-Based Dosing & EMG Data

Recommended Dosing

2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions, 2-3 times per week, using a load that allows full scapular retraction and external rotation without shrugging; consistent with general resistance-training guidelines for local muscular endurance and posterior shoulder strengthening.

EMG Activation Data

Direct EMG studies of the face pull itself are sparse. Its activation profile is inferred from well-studied component patterns: horizontal abduction with external rotation produces high posterior deltoid, infraspinatus, and middle trapezius activity in EMG work on prone horizontal abduction and rowing variations, and externally rotating at the end range increases infraspinatus and teres minor demand relative to a neutral-grip row. The rope finish position biases middle and lower trapezius over upper trapezius when the athlete avoids shrugging, which is why it is commonly programmed for scapular muscle balance in overhead athletes. These inferences should not be treated as exercise-specific EMG findings for the face pull.

Muscles Involved (13)

Primary Movers

Posterior Deltoid— Prime horizontal abductor pulling the arms back in the transverse plane.

Middle Trapezius— Retracts the scapulae as the rope approaches the face; core mover of the exercise.

Secondary Movers

Infraspinatus— Drives the external-rotation component (knuckles rotate up) but is a smaller mover than posterior deltoid/mid-trap — downgraded from primary.

Teres Minor— Assists infraspinatus in humeral external rotation; a small contributor, not a prime mover — downgraded from primary.

Rhomboid Major— Assists scapular retraction with a downward-rotation bias.

Lower Trapezius— Resists scapular elevation and assists posterior tilt/retraction.

Stabilizers

Supraspinatus— Rotator-cuff co-contraction centers the humeral head during the pull.

Transversus Abdominis— Trunk bracing prevents lumbar-extension compensation.

Erector Spinae Group— Maintains upright trunk against the anterior line of pull.

Lengthened / Stretched

Pectoralis Major— Antagonist lengthened as the arms horizontally abduct and externally rotate.

Anterior Deltoid— Lengthened as the humerus moves into horizontal abduction and external rotation.

Synergists & Assistors

Biceps BrachiiSynergist— Assists the elbow-flexion component of the pull.

BrachialisSynergist— Assists elbow flexion during the pull.

Easier Variations ↓

Band Pull-Apart

Horizontal-plane retraction with a light band and no external-rotation demand; simpler pattern to groove scapular retraction first.

Seated Face Pull with Light Band

Perform seated with a light band anchored at face height to remove the standing balance/trunk demand and reduce load.

Harder Variations ↑

Face Pull with Overhead Press-Out

After the pull, press the rope up and out overhead into a Y position, adding scapular upward-rotation and overhead control demand.

Half-Kneeling Single-Arm Face Pull

Perform one arm at a time from half-kneeling, adding anti-rotation core demand and exposing side-to-side asymmetries.

Target Movements (4)

Shoulder Horizontal AbductionGlenohumeral Joint

Shoulder External RotationGlenohumeral Joint

Scapular RetractionScapulothoracic Articulation

Elbow FlexionHumeroulnar Joint

Why This Exercise Matters

Everyday activities this exercise helps you do — essential means it directly trains the capacity the task needs:

Posture Maintenance Pulling (Doors, Drawers)Throwing & Overhead Sport

Goals This Helps With

Rehab, performance, prevention, and mobility goals this exercise supports — essential means it's a cornerstone:

Shoulder Injury Preventionprevention Subacromial Shoulder Painrehab Rotator Cuff Tendinopathyrehab

Research Notes

claude-researched 2026-07; muscle/movement links validated against the roster. Adversarial clinical verification pending — do not promote past needs_review without human review.