Cable Bar Face Pull

What you'll gain

• Builds the rear delts and upper-back muscles that balance pressing work.

• Reinforces healthy shoulder posture for desk workers and lifters alike.

• Strengthens the small stabilizers around the shoulder blade for joint health.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Set the pulley above head height and attach a straight bar, then grip it overhand at shoulder width.

2. 2

   Step back until the cable has tension and stand with feet hip-width apart and a slight forward lean.

3. 3

   Pull the bar toward your forehead with the elbows flaring wide and high, leading with the back of the upper arms.

4. 4

   Squeeze your rear delts and upper back at the end of the pull, keeping your wrists in line with your forearms.

5. 5

   Slowly let the bar travel back to full arm extension over 2 to 3 seconds, keeping the chest tall.

6. 6

   Repeat for 12 to 20 reps, prioritizing the squeeze and elbow path over loading heavy weight.

Common Mistakes

• Pulling the bar too low toward the chin or chest, which turns the lift into a row and loses the rear-delt focus.

• Letting the elbows drop instead of leading high and wide, swapping rear-delt work for biceps engagement.

• Leaning back hard to use bodyweight as a counterweight instead of pulling cleanly with the back.

• Loading too heavy and shrugging the traps up, hiding the rear delts under upper-trap dominance.

About This Exercise

The cable bar face pull is a high-pulley pulling exercise performed with a straight bar. By pulling the bar toward the forehead with elbows high and wide, it isolates the rear delts and the upper-back muscles that hold the shoulders in healthy alignment. It's a key accessory for anyone who presses heavy and wants balanced shoulder development. For app and content use, this clip belongs in any pull-day program, postural correction track, or shoulder health block. App builders shipping desk-worker or office-mobility content will get heavy reuse out of it. It also pairs well with rear-delt fly and reverse fly clips inside a dedicated shoulder accessories module.

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