What you'll gain

• Isolates the rear delts in a locked-in seated position.

• Reinforces healthy shoulder posture for desk workers and lifters.

• 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 rope, then sit on a bench facing the cable stack.

2. 2

   Grip the rope with palms facing each other and arms extended forward at eye level with cable tension.

3. 3

   Sit tall with feet planted, brace your core, and start with no slack in the cable.

4. 4

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

5. 5

   Separate the rope ends and squeeze the rear delts and upper back hard at the end of the pull.

6. 6

   Slowly let the rope travel back to the start over 2 seconds and repeat for 12 to 20 reps.

Common Mistakes

• Pulling the rope toward the chin or chest, which turns the lift into a row.

• Letting the elbows drop, swapping rear-delt work for biceps engagement.

• Rounding the upper back as you pull, hiding the mid-back contraction.

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

About This Exercise

The cable seated rope face pull is a high-pulley pulling exercise performed sitting on a bench with a rope attachment. The seated position locks out the lower body and prevents users from leaning or rocking, which forces the rear delts and upper back to do all the work. The rope lets the hands separate at the end of the pull for a deeper contraction than a straight bar allows. For app and content use, this clip is a clean inclusion in any shoulder-health module, postural-correction program, or pull-day accessory block. It's a strong choice for desk-worker and office-mobility tracks where rear-delt strength supports better daily posture. Coaches will use it as a clean teaching piece for beginners who can't hold a stable kneeling face pull yet.

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