The Cable Seated Rope Face Pull is a beginner-friendly cable strength exercise that targets the shoulders. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesShoulders
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentCable
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Cable Seated Rope Face Pull
Set the pulley above head height and attach a rope, then sit on a bench facing the cable stack.
Grip the rope with palms facing each other and arms extended forward at eye level with cable tension.
Sit tall with feet planted, brace your core, and start with no slack in the cable.
Pull the rope toward your forehead with elbows flaring wide and high, leading with the upper arms.
Separate the rope ends and squeeze the rear delts and upper back hard at the end of the pull.
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 in a locked-in seated position.
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.
Letting the elbows drop, swapping rear-delt work for biceps engagement.
Rounding the upper back as you pull, hiding the mid-back contraction.
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 Seated Rope Face Pull, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
