​Healthy Shoulders (Face Pulls and Band Pull Aparts)
​Healthy Shoulders (Face Pulls and Band Pull Aparts)
Face pulls and band pull aparts are a great exercise to help keep your shoulders healthy. A lot of people only focus on the muscles they can see in the mirror and exercise like the bench press.
It's important to also train your posterior side of the upper body to help keep your shoulders healthy. Face pulls and band pull aparts are a great and easy way to do this. They are possibly one of the most effective accessory exercises for overall shoulder health and stability. They also will help improve your posture by preventing, or correcting rounded shoulders.
I had shoulder problems all through my twenties. I used to have trouble lifting things over my head, and had pain doing everyday stuff. After years of shoulder problems, it only took 3-6 months of doing face pulls and band pull aparts to fix it. I've been pain free for years now.
I still do 100-200 reps of these exercises every day, and nearly every client of mine will have them in their routine. They are very easy to learn and don’t affect your recovery much, so they can easily be added to your routine. Obviously if you have an injury you should seek medical attention.
Three ways I include them in a routine,
The muscles used during the face pulls and band pull aparts
How to do face pulls
You won't need to go very heavy with these. Despite being a simple exercise, it's rare that they are ever done correctly. The most common mistakes are going too heavy, causing them to have to lean back and use momentum to compete the reps. They end up using different muscle to complete the rep and it defeats the point of doing the exercise. Use a weight that you can do the reps slowly, without leaning back and with a pause.
It's important to also train your posterior side of the upper body to help keep your shoulders healthy. Face pulls and band pull aparts are a great and easy way to do this. They are possibly one of the most effective accessory exercises for overall shoulder health and stability. They also will help improve your posture by preventing, or correcting rounded shoulders.
I had shoulder problems all through my twenties. I used to have trouble lifting things over my head, and had pain doing everyday stuff. After years of shoulder problems, it only took 3-6 months of doing face pulls and band pull aparts to fix it. I've been pain free for years now.
I still do 100-200 reps of these exercises every day, and nearly every client of mine will have them in their routine. They are very easy to learn and don’t affect your recovery much, so they can easily be added to your routine. Obviously if you have an injury you should seek medical attention.
Three ways I include them in a routine,
- As part of your warm up. I always do them before I do any pressing exercises.
- Do them between sets of other exercises. This is a good option as you can get the work in without the workout being longer. It's easy to skip them if you do them at the end of the workout.
- As a finisher at the end of the workout.
The muscles used during the face pulls and band pull aparts
- Rear Deltoids
- Rhomboids
- External Rotators (Infraspinatus and Teres Minor)
How to do face pulls
- Set the anchor high above your head. Use the rope attachment for the cable machine.
- Stand with your feet in either a square or staggered stance. Choose a stance where you feel the most balanced. Squeeze your glutes and core.
- Grab the rope with an underhand grip and with the thumb pointing backward.
- Pull the rope to your eye by pulling your hands back and out. You should end up in a double bicep pose. Don't pull your elbows back leaving your hands out in front. Pull your hands back and out with your elbows. Think about squeezing your shoulders back and together while opening your chest.
- Pause for a second, and return back to the start
You won't need to go very heavy with these. Despite being a simple exercise, it's rare that they are ever done correctly. The most common mistakes are going too heavy, causing them to have to lean back and use momentum to compete the reps. They end up using different muscle to complete the rep and it defeats the point of doing the exercise. Use a weight that you can do the reps slowly, without leaning back and with a pause.
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How to do Band Pull Aparts
- Stand with both hands on the band.
- Contract your abs to prevent back extension as it brings your ribs closer to your pelvis.
- Arms, elbows, and wrists are straight and fully extended straight out in front of you. Hand the band with your palms facing down.
- Protract your shoulder blades so they are reaching forward with your arms.
- With your arms parallel to the floor, slowly pull the band apart by extending your arms to either side of your body.
- When the band hits your chest, hold for 1-2 seconds, and return to the start position.
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