The Cable Rope Kneeling Face Pull is a beginner-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the shoulders, with the traps working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesShoulders
Secondary musclesTraps
EquipmentCable
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Cable Rope Kneeling Face Pull
Set the pulley above head height and attach a rope, then kneel facing the cable stack on both knees.
Grip the rope with palms facing each other and arms extended forward at eye level with cable tension.
Pull the rope toward your forehead with the elbows flaring wide and high, leading with the upper arms.
Separate the rope ends as you pull, finishing with hands by your ears and elbows in line with your shoulders.
Squeeze the rear delts and mid-back hard at the end of the pull, keeping the chest tall.
Slowly let the rope travel back to the start over 2 seconds and repeat for 12 to 20 reps.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Isolates the rear delts and mid-back without bodyweight cheating.
Reinforces healthy shoulder posture for desk workers and lifters.
Strengthens the small stabilizers around the shoulder blade for joint health.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Pulling the rope toward the chin or chest, which turns the lift into a row and loses the rear-delt focus.
Letting the elbows drop, swapping rear-delt work for biceps engagement.
Rocking back on the knees to use bodyweight as a counterweight.
Loading too heavy and shrugging the traps up, hiding the rear delts under upper-trap dominance.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Cable Rope Kneeling Face Pull, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
