Face Pulls

The face pull may be the most underrated exercise in all of strength training. It falls into the horizontal pull category, but where rows potentially promote a downward scapular rotation syndrome and internal rotation of the shoulder joint, the face pull can do just the opposite.

Because the shoulder is either flexed or abducted 90 degrees throughout the face pull, the scapula is in upward rotation to some degree. Right away this gives us greater activation of the upward rotators, especially the upper and lower trapezius. The upward rotation offsets the pull of the downward rotators and helps prevent the development of the downward rotation dominant imbalance.

Now let's look at face pull performance. Traditionally, the face pull is performed with a rope handle or strap and a pronated grip.

Read the rest of this article here. Look 3/4 of the way down the page for the write up on face pulls.


Joel carrying "Judy". I'm somewhat partial to this exercise for some reason...

WoD:
Face Pulls
3x10

20 Rep Squats

Rest 5 minutes then
2-3-5-10
Clean two Kettlebells once and press for the specified reps
Rest briefly between attempts

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