The dumbbell face pull is an excellent exercise to strengthen and stabilize the shoulder and rotator cuff muscles. As a compound pulling movement, it works several muscle groups at once to promote shoulder health and prevent injury.
If you don’t have access to dumbbells or a cable machine to perform face pulls, don’t worry – there are plenty of effective face pull alternatives you can do instead. Keep reading to learn proper face pull form, benefits, and modifications.
How to Perform the Dumbbell Face Pull
The dumbbell face pull targets the posterior shoulder muscles that tend to get tight and weak from poor posture and repetitive pushing motions. Here is how to complete this exercise with proper form:
Set Up
- Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip, arms extended in front of your thighs. Feet are hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
- Keep your core braced, chest up, and shoulders pulled down and back to start from a stable position.
The Pull
- Initiate the move by pulling the dumbbells up toward your face, leading with your elbows.
- As you lift, rotate your palms inward so they face each other at the top of the motion.
- Pause for a second when your hands reach eyebrow level on either side of your head before slowly reversing back to the start position.
Form Tips
- Keep your torso stable throughout – do not lean or rotate to complete the pull.
- Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades at the top without letting the shoulders rise toward your ears.
- Don’t jerk the motion or use momentum – control the dumbbells through the full range of motion.
Benefits of the Face Pull
When programmed into your routine properly, dumbbell face pulls offer several key upper body benefits:
Strengthens Posterior Shoulder Muscles
The rear shoulder muscles like the rotator cuff, rear delts, traps and rhomboids get a great workout during the pull. Strengthening these areas can help combat shoulder discomfort due to slouching and overuse.
Prevents Shoulder Impingement
Opening up the torso while pulling back challenges key external rotators responsible for stabilizing the shoulder in its socket. This helps fend off chronic inflammation and impingement over time.
Improves Posture
The shoulder blade retraction during the move promotes better overall posture. This helps keep the spine in proper alignment and alleviate back or neck tightness.
Face Pull Alternatives & Variations
If standard face pulls with dumbbells or cables are uncomfortable for your shoulders, or you simply want to switch up your routine, these modifications are solid alternatives:
Band Pull Aparts
Use resistance bands or mini bands to mimic the horizontal pulling pattern of a face pull. Open up the chest and focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together.
Wall Slides with Resistance Band
Secure a band above you to a rack or chin up bar. Back up to a wall, band across your upper back and perform shoulder slides by pulling your elbows back.
Prone Y, T, W’s
Lying chest down on an incline bench, raise your arms straight out to the sides or overhead (into Y, T or W shapes) using light dumbbells. Squeeze the shoulder blades together at the top of each rep.
Seated Cable Rows
Use a close neutral grip on cable rows to mimic some of the rhomboid and rotator cuff activation of a standard face pull. Focus on form rather than piling on excessive weight.
Mix up these alternatives into your routines for variation and to cover all the bases for shoulder stability, posture and injury prevention without excessive strain.
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