Just use lighter weights and move through a full range of motion with quality control and sound movement patterns. Honestly, those who can't benefit from this staple movement are few and far between. We must train this region for this goal, to protect and support the shoulders and postural demands of daily lifestyles. From that base, loading into the 6-10 rep range will become a staple upper back builder that is not only effective, but easy on the shoulders as well. But in the hands-free variation, the bands will pull and lengthen if the movement becomes too quick, forceful, or uncontrolled. I see both of these performed in the gym daily, and I program both of them in the Bodybuilding.com All Access guide Unstoppable: The Ultimate Guide to Training Through Injury . For those lifters who have access to everything, I prefer to use banded face pulls in the 6-Phase Dynamic Warm Up Sequence and ultra high rep sets where pump is the goal. For moving weight, that’s great, but the face pull is NOT about moving from point A to point B. It’s about smooth, articulate motions using strong mind muscle connection. With this in mind, there are two unique options to better individualize the face pull to specific needs and goals of the exercise. And yes, there are also individuals that are just meatheads and go too heavy and negate notable training effects of the face pull while increasing potential risk of pain and injury in the process. Another benefit? This superficial muscle can be easily palpated; hence appreciating it’s existence in the human biomechanical system by even the simplest of meatheads. When the goal is to train the face pull with more of a strength or hypertrophy emphasis, which I think is a great idea for long-term strength or muscle development, being able to nudge the weight up over time is a must. If you’re going to execute the traditional standing face pull get into an athletic stance, root the feet into the ground and brace up. Hell, I’ve had clients who worked as long haul truckers knock out face pulls at rest stops with the band attached to their rear view mirrors! First and foremost, many athletes simply don’t have access to cable stacks or machines with the popularization of privatized industrial gyms and boxes. This variation requires intelligent programming of lighter loads, and slower, more controlled movements in order to avoid flaring up the shoulders or placing undue stress over the rotator cuff or other acute muscles being loaded in this exercise. Anyone familiar with my brand of hypertrophy training and programming knows this. 5777 N Meeker Ave, Boise, ID 83713-1520 USA, Unstoppable: The Ultimate Guide to Training Through Injury. But to think there is one way to do face pulls is a little short sighted, don’t you think? Using only a band with hands placed in a pronated position, driving your elbows back and the band to your face against accommodating resistance has some major benefits that make it my go-to face pull variation. The chest supported face pull also allows more focus on muscular targeting due to a strict restriction of compensation or momentum used at the torso or hip, hitting the upper back harder with less external loading. If annoying is out biggest issue with the dual handle face pull plus rotation, we are doing well. During the face pull, the goal is to maximize the activation and MMC of the posterior delts and other intrinsic muscles of the upper back helping move the upper arms into horizontal abduction and external rotation. you want to create a strong and stable upper back that acts as the cornerstone of your performances under the bar while ridding your shoulders of front-sided shoulder pain It’s all about the face pull apart when we are talking about maximal activation and trainability. By crossing the line of resistance separately in each hand, we can three dimensionalize the face pull more than a traditional single anchor two hands on setup. Either of these grips will severely reduce the weight you’ll be able to use for face pulls, but then again face pulls aren’t about heavy weights, it’s about targeting specific motions of the shoulder blades to function optimally in the shoulder complex. Don’t forget that any time a cable variation of the face pull is programmed or called for in training, you can simply copy the location of the anchor point and the line of pull with bands. If you want to create a strong and stable upper back that acts as the cornerstone of your performances in the gym and out while ridding your shoulders of the notoriously frustrating front sided shoulder pain, you better be hammering loads of pain-free volume with different variations of this key movement. A golden rule is never to load a movement pattern heavy into ranges of motion where dynamic stability is not present. Train this movement in the traditional hypertrophy rep scheme between 8-15 reps at minimum. So how to we get in that much volume to ensure longevity in our shoulder health? One of the biggest mistakes I see athletes and clients make when executing performance programming is NOT respecting the smaller movements with the same mental intensity and intention as they do the big sexy lifts. However, as loading increases and efforts become heightened, it becomes harder and harder to avoid having to death grip the ropes. But for many misinformed athletes and lifters, the curse of face pull superficial knowledge hits hard, negating many of the benefits of this staple pain-free shoulder training exercise. For these people, pulling at a downward angle to the face allows the shoulder dynamic shoulder movement to be emphasized in the downward rotation moment and also depression of the entire shoulder complex as a unit. When it comes to maximizing the risk to reward ratio, the face pulls are at the top of the list. This variation is identical to the standing cable rope face pull but you’re seated instead. With one simple technique tweak, be prepared to feel this shoulder move work its magic like never before. This acute detail will be a game changer for your upper back activation, so focus on peaking the contraction as hard as you can driving elbows back and pulling the band apart for a split second before controlling the band back into the starting position. To start, just enjoy the feeling of doing face pulls right, and your shoulders and upper back with thank you! While you can clearly bias more or less rotation using bands or traditional cable setups with attachments like ropes or straps, in order to maximally bias external rotation with face pulls two separate cables or bands become the optimal setup.