• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Generation Iron

Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network

  • Movies
  • Original Content
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Pre-Workout
      • Fat Burners
      • Testosterone Boosters
      • Creatine
      • Protein
      • BCAAs
      • Multivitamins
      • Omega-3
      • Joint Supplements
      • Super Greens
      • Meal Replacement
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Foam Rollers
      • Best Massage Guns
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
  • Equipment
    • Cardio
      • Treadmills
      • Best Exercise Bikes
      • Best Stair Climbers
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Best Apparel
      • Best Gym Bags
      • Weightlifting Shoes
    • Strength
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Complete Home Gyms
    • Training
      • Best Knee Sleeves
      • Best Wrist Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Gloves
  • More
    • About Us
      • Our Team
      • Our Experts
    • Advertise
    • Franchise With Us
    • Exercise Guides
    • Athlete Profiles
    • Podcasts
    • Power 30
    • Bodybuilding Awards
    • Supplement Awards
  • Shop
Bodybuilding

Barbell Face Pulls: How To, Benefits, & Exercise Guide

by Terry Ramos Published on Dec 4, 2024

scapular wall slides
This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure policy).

Barbell face pulls engage the rear delts with heavier loads. 

Pulling exercises are a cornerstone of strength training. They engage multiple muscle groups while improving posture, enhancing movement patterns, and targeting specific muscles. Among the many pulling exercises, barbell face pulls stand out for their effectiveness in targeting the upper body, particularly the rear deltoids—a commonly neglected area in shoulder workouts. By strengthening the rear delts, barbell face pulls contribute to a more balanced and aesthetic shoulder profile and help alleviate pain caused by muscular imbalances in this region.

This article explores barbell face pulls’ benefits, their target muscles, and why they deserve a place in your training routine. You’ll also find a detailed, step-by-step guide to performing this exercise for maximum results. Plus, for those seeking variety in their workout regimen, we’ve included a selection of alternative exercises to keep your training engaging and effective.

Techniques & Muscles Worked

Barbell face pulls use weight training to work your upper back muscles while engaging all three heads of the shoulders. However, performing this exercise emphasizes the posterior or rear delts. Other secondary areas include the biceps, rhomboids, traps, rotator cuffs, and core. Also, this exercise recruits the lats to a certain degree, depending on how you hold the barbell.

If you’re trying this exercise for the first time, we advise you to start by mirroring the movement without weights and then use a non-weighted barbell. This will help you learn the proper movements and prevent injuries.

You can perform the face pull using equipment ranging from cable machines to resistance bands and even dumbbells. However, we’ll show you how to do face pulls using a barbell. This exercise is like a bent-over row or chest-supported T-bar row, but you pull the bar toward your face instead of your chest.

Below is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to how to perform this exercise correctly:

  1. To help with balance, place your feet at a slightly less-than-shoulder-width stance or in a staggered stance.
  2. Using a pronated grip, grab the barbell with your hands at slightly more than shoulder-width length and stand straight.
  3. Slightly bend your knees, brace your core, and slowly hinge at your hips as you bend your body forward until it is almost parallel to the floor.
  4. Make sure you also keep your back straight and keep your shoulders back. This is your starting position.
  5. Next, pull the bar slowly towards the direction of your face while you drive your elbows behind you. At the top of this position, squeeze your shoulder blades together and hold for about two to three seconds.
  6. Reverse the movement to the starting position, slowly controlling the weight to finish one rep.
  7. Perform this movement for as many reps as you desire. 

Benefits

Unlike most typical shoulder exercises, barbell face pulls effectively hit all three heads. However, this isn’t the only benefit of doing this exercise. Check out more of them below.

Build Upper Body Strength 

The barbell face pull effectively works your upper body muscles, building muscle mass and strength. This muscle mass contributes to an aesthetically pleasing upper body. It works the three deltoid heads, biceps, traps, rhomboids, and core muscles.

Treat & Prevent Injuries

People who suffer from back pain and shoulder injuries because of poor sitting posture can use this exercise to correct such injuries. This study shows how exercises can reduce pain levels and correct poor posture, making you feel better and improving your quality of life (1).

Great for the Shoulders

Barbell face pulls are great for your shoulders. This exercise uses a full range of motion, which helps improve shoulder mobility, flexibility, and strength. It can also help prevent potential shoulder injuries and strengthen your shoulders for more advanced functional movements.

Improves Posture

Barbell face pulls are good for correcting poor posture. They strengthen your upper back and shoulders and recruit your core muscles. Your core muscles help stabilize your body, especially during exercises. This helps improve your form and posture and also prevents injuries.  

Barbell Face Pulls Alternatives

Now that we understand the importance of barbell face pulls to upper body development, it’s also important to note that mixing up your exercises could help prevent a training plateau. Incorporating other exercises to build similar muscles is a great way to optimize your training regimen. Here are a few alternative exercises you can try.

Push-Ups

Push-ups are bodyweight exercises to build similar muscles to barbell face pulls. Push-ups are equipment-free and can be done in any location. You can do various push-up routines depending on which muscles you want to focus more on.

Reverse Flyes

The reverse fly is a resistance training exercise that works the posterior delts, rhomboids, and traps. The ideal equipment for this exercise is a pair of dumbbells, but you can also use a cable machine or a resistance band.

Lat Pulldowns

Lat pulldowns are a strength training exercise that works primarily on the lat muscles, giving you winged-like muscles in the back. This exercise also engages your shoulders, traps, rhomboids, and core muscles. 

FAQs

What do barbell face pulls work?

The barbell face pull is a weight training exercise that works multiple upper body muscles, including the shoulders, upper back, biceps, and core muscles. Unlike other shoulder exercises, barbell face pulls work all three heads of the shoulder: the anterior, posterior, and lateral deltoids.

What are the benefits of face pulls?

The barbell face pull offers a plethora of benefits. They’re good for building the upper body muscles and treating and rehabilitating back and shoulder injuries. You can even use it to correct your posture. For more benefits, check the article above.

Should face pulls be heavy or light?

We advise going light when doing barbell face pulls, especially for the first time. This helps you maintain the correct form while doing this exercise and effectively targets the right muscles. Going heavy can recruit other muscles, especially in the lower back. 

Follow Generation Iron on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more exercise guides!

Reference

  1. Kim, D., Cho, M., Park, Y., & Yang, Y. (2015). Effect of an exercise program for posture correction on musculoskeletal pain. Journal of physical therapy science, 27(6), 1791–1794. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.27.1791  

About Terry Ramos

As a personal trainer and writer, Terry loves changing lives through coaching and the written word. Terry has a B.S. in Kinesiology and is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and ISSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He enjoys playing music, reading, and watching films when he's not writing or training.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Get the Latest

Stay informed with the latest news, product reviews, & expert advice.

Popular Reviews

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • Performance Lab SPORT BCAA

    The Best BCAA For Bodybuilding Health & Performance Goals

Trending Articles

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

  • The Ultimate Mike Mentzer Workout and Diet

  • Chris bumstead's 2024 workout and diet plan

    Chris Bumstead’s 2025 Complete Bodybuilding Workout & Diet Plan

Popular Now

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • best citrulline supplements

    The Best Citrulline Malate Supplements for Performance and Pump

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

Generation Iron

Generation Iron is the first and only digital network delivering health, fitness, bodybuilding, and strength sports content. We deliver premium content with the biggest names in fitness and provide expert coverage, reviews on top brands, workout tips and trends in the worlds of fitness, health and strength sports.

Strongman Corporation
Vladar

Sections

  • Trending News
  • Original Movies
  • Original Content
  • Supplement Reviews
  • Equipment Reviews
  • Exercise Guides
  • Nutrition Guides
  • Athlete Profiles

More

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Our Experts
  • Advertise
  • Franchise With Us
  • Podcasts
  • Power 30
  • Shop

CONTACT

Generation Iron Brands LLC
134 West 29th Street Suite 902
New York, NY 10001
Email: [email protected]

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X / Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2025 · Generation Iron · Disclaimers · Privacy Policy · Accessibility