

Don’t let the hands be too far in front of the elbows. Your hands should remain above the elbows. TIP: Don’t let your elbows raise above your hands as this turns the movement into a row, making you unable to externally rotate the shoulders. Common Face Pull MistakesĮnsure that you keep your chest up and your shoulders back and down. Use mind muscle connection and really focus on squeezing your mid back and rear delts while performing the face pull. This causes you to use momentum and take the rear delts out of the movement.Ĭonsider standing with one foot in front of the other to help with stabilization. You should be standing still and not rocking back and fourth.

This slight lean will also help you counter the weight that is pulling your body forward.Īs long as you do not exaggerate the lean, it won’t take away from the movement. However, a slight lean may allow you to pull your arms further back and increase the range of motion of the exercise, putting further tension on the rear delts. You don’t need to lean back to perform the face pull. Slowly return your arms in front of you to the starting position. Your arms will end behind your ears and in a double bicep pose position. Retract your shoulder blades as you pull the rope back. You want to grasp the rope with both hands and step back so that your arms are fully extended. Start by attaching the rope attachment at head height. As long as the lean is slight, it will not take away from rear delt activation during the movement. A slight lean may also help counter the weight stack that is pulling you forward. However, you mind find that you can externally rotate your shoulders to a greater extent doing so. Leaning back is not required to effectively perform face pulls. Should You Lean Back When Doing Face Pulls? Let’s discuss the most effective way to train your rear delts using the face pull. If you are doing them incorrectly, you won’t be getting as many benefits as you could be.

If you’ve ever questioned, “should you lean back when doing face pulls?” then this post is for you. Face pulls have become an increasingly popular exercise in the gym for good reason.
