How to do the Cable Face Pull
Step by step
- Set a rope on a pulley at about face height and grip an end in each hand.
- Step back to add tension and stand tall with your arms extended forward.
- Pull the rope toward your face, splitting your hands apart as you pull.
- Drive your elbows high and back so your hands finish beside your ears.
- Squeeze your upper back and rear shoulders, then return slowly to the start.
The thing people get wrong
Pull toward your face with high elbows and let your hands separate at the end - keep your shoulders down instead of shrugging up.
Coaching cue
Use a light weight; if the stack drags you forward onto your toes, it is too heavy.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Kneel or sit so you cannot lean back into the pull.
- Harder: Hold the end position for two seconds on each rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Upper Back, Rear delts
- Secondary: Lats
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.