Dumbbell Face Pull

Muscles worked by the Dumbbell Face Pull

Primary

Rear DeltsPosterior DeltoidRhomboidsRhomboid Muscles

Secondary

BicepsBiceps BrachiiTrapsTrapezius

Also called: rear deltoid, posterior delt, rear delt, back delt, posterior deltoid, rhomboid.

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Dumbbell Face Pull

1. Stand or sit holding a dumbbell in each hand with arms extended forward.
2. Bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells toward your face.
3. Flare your elbows out wide to shoulder height.
4. Squeeze your rear delts and upper back at the peak.
5. Lower the dumbbells back under control.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Lead with your elbows, not your hands.
• Keep your upper arms roughly parallel to the floor.
• Use a lighter weight to prioritize form over load.

At a glance

Dumbbell Face Pull in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Cable Face Pull
• Dumbbell Reverse Fly
• Rear Delt Fly
• Ring Face Pull
• Bench Pull
• Bent-Over Barbell Row
• Bent-Over EZ-Bar Row
• Cable Bent-Over Row

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "dumbbell-face-pull",
  "name_en": "Dumbbell Face Pull",
  "name_de": "Kurzhantel Face Pull",
  "name_es": "Face Pull con Mancuernas",
  "description_en": "A rear-delt and upper-back exercise performed by pulling dumbbells toward the face with a wide elbow path.",
  "description_de": "Eine Übung für die hintere Schulter und den oberen Rücken, bei der Kurzhanteln mit weit ausgestellten Ellbogen zum Gesicht gezogen werden.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio para el deltoides posterior y la espalda alta, tirando de mancuernas hacia la cara con los codos muy abiertos.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "posterior_deltoid",
    "rhomboids"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "biceps_brachii",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "reverse-fly",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand or sit holding a dumbbell in each hand with arms extended forward.",
    "Bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells toward your face.",
    "Flare your elbows out wide to shoulder height.",
    "Squeeze your rear delts and upper back at the peak.",
    "Lower the dumbbells back under control.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stehe oder sitze und halte in jeder Hand eine Kurzhantel mit nach vorn gestreckten Armen.",
    "Beuge die Ellbogen und ziehe die Kurzhanteln zum Gesicht.",
    "Stelle die Ellbogen weit auf Schulterhöhe ab.",
    "Spanne die hintere Schulter und den oberen Rücken am Endpunkt an.",
    "Senke die Kurzhanteln kontrolliert ab.",
    "Wiederhole für die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie o siéntate sosteniendo una mancuerna en cada mano con los brazos extendidos hacia adelante.",
    "Flexiona los codos y tira de las mancuernas hacia la cara.",
    "Abre los codos hasta la altura de los hombros.",
    "Contrae el deltoides posterior y la espalda alta en el punto máximo.",
    "Baja las mancuernas con control.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Lead with your elbows, not your hands.",
    "Keep your upper arms roughly parallel to the floor.",
    "Use a lighter weight to prioritize form over load."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Führe die Bewegung mit den Ellbogen, nicht mit den Händen.",
    "Halte die Oberarme etwa parallel zum Boden.",
    "Nutze ein leichteres Gewicht und priorisiere die Ausführung."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Lidera el movimiento con los codos, no con las manos.",
    "Mantén los brazos superiores casi paralelos al suelo.",
    "Usa un peso ligero y prioriza la técnica."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/dumbbell-face-pull-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/dumbbell-face-pull-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "dumbbell-face-pull");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.