Cable Face Pull

Muscles worked by the Cable Face Pull

Primary

Rear DeltsPosterior DeltoidRhomboidsRhomboid Muscles

Secondary

TrapsTrapezius

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

Equipment

Cable Machine

Also called: cable pulley, functional trainer, cable crossover, cable column, cable station, pulley machine.

How to do the Cable Face Pull

1. Attach a rope to a high cable pulley.
2. Pull the rope toward your face, separating the ends.
3. Squeeze your rear deltoids and external rotators.
4. Return to the starting position with control.
5. Repeat.

Form tips

• Keep your elbows high, roughly in line with your shoulders.
• Choose a light weight and prioritize control over load.
• Avoid leaning back or shrugging your shoulders as you pull.

At a glance

Cable Face Pull in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Dumbbell Face Pull
• Dumbbell Reverse Fly
• Rear Delt Fly
• Ring Face Pull
• Banded Rear Delt Stretch
• Cable External Rotation
• Cable Bent-Over Row
• Cable Chest Press

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": "face-pull",
  "name_en": "Cable Face Pull",
  "name_de": "Kabel Face Pull",
  "name_es": "Face Pull en Polea",
  "description_en": "A cable exercise targeting the rear deltoids and external rotators.",
  "description_de": "Eine Kabelübung für die hinteren Schultern und die Außenrotatoren.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de cable que trabaja los deltoides posteriores y los rotadores externos.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "cable",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "posterior_deltoid",
    "rhomboids"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "rehabilitation"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "pull_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "reverse-fly",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Attach a rope to a high cable pulley.",
    "Pull the rope toward your face, separating the ends.",
    "Squeeze your rear deltoids and external rotators.",
    "Return to the starting position with control.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Befestige ein Seil an einem hohen Kabelzug.",
    "Ziehe das Seil zu deinem Gesicht und spreize die Enden auseinander.",
    "Spanne die hinteren Deltamuskeln und Außenrotatoren an.",
    "Kehre kontrolliert in die Ausgangsposition zurück.",
    "Wiederholen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Engancha una cuerda en una polea alta.",
    "Tira de la cuerda hacia tu cara, separando los extremos.",
    "Aprieta los deltoides posteriores y los rotadores externos.",
    "Regresa a la posición inicial de forma controlada.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep your elbows high, roughly in line with your shoulders.",
    "Choose a light weight and prioritize control over load.",
    "Avoid leaning back or shrugging your shoulders as you pull."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte die Ellbogen hoch und führe sie weit nach außen.",
    "Wähle ein leichtes Gewicht und arbeite ohne Schwung.",
    "Bleibe aufrecht stehen, ohne mit dem Oberkörper nach hinten auszuweichen."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén los codos altos, alineados con los hombros.",
    "Junta las escápulas al final de cada repetición.",
    "Trabaja con peso ligero para no perder la técnica."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/face-pull-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/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 === "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.