Band Face Pull
The band face pull is a rowing motion where you pull a band toward your face while rotating your hands back. It works your rear delts, with traps and upper back assisting. Pick it for shoulder health and posture work when you lack a cable station, or as a warm-up before pressing.
Muscles worked
The band face pull trains the shoulders, with traps, back helping.
Weekly sets for shoulders
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for shoulders, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the band face pull
- 01Anchor a band at about head height and hold each end with palms facing down or in.
- 02Step back until the band is taut with your arms extended in front of you.
- 03Pull the band toward your face, driving your elbows out and slightly up.
- 04Rotate your hands back so your knuckles end up beside your ears at the finish.
- 05Pause briefly, then return slowly to arm's length.
Coaching cues
- Elbows high and wide
- Pull to your eyes
- Rotate hands back at the end
Common mistakes
- Pulling to your chest makes it a regular row, so aim the band at your face with elbows high.
- Leaning back to move the band reduces shoulder work, so stand tall and use a lighter band.
- Skipping the external rotation misses the point, so finish with hands back beside your head.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers compound lifts toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Band Face Pull alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your band face pull free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.