Lying Face Pull

At a glance

Main muscle

Rear delts

Also works

Back

Equipment

Cable

Rep range in Mitta

12 to 20 reps

Skill level

Beginner

How tiring

Low

Weight step in Mitta

1.25 kg

How to do it

1. Lie on a bench or the floor with your head toward the cable.
2. Pull the rope toward your forehead, elbows high and wide.
3. Don’t squeeze your shoulder blades hard: let the rear delts do the work.

Pick a weight you can lift for 12 to 20 reps with good form, and stop each set with a few reps left in the tank.

Watch a demo by Jamie Jeanette on YouTube

Why rating A

Lying down you can’t help with your torso, so it loads better than the standing face pull (

Mitta rates every exercise from S to C, based on research where it exists and on how the exercise loads the muscle. When Mitta builds your plan it picks from S, A and B exercises and prefers ones that load the muscle at long length. C exercises are never picked automatically, but you can still choose them yourself.

Alternatives

These train the same muscle. Use one if you lack the equipment, if this exercise does not feel right, or for some variety.

• Face Pull · Cable · rating B
• Reverse Pec Deck · Machine · rating S
• Cable Reverse Fly · Cable · rating A

Keep learning

• What is progressive overload, and how do you do it?
• How many sets per muscle per week?
• What is RIR, and how do you estimate it?
• One-rep max calculator: your max from any hard set of the lying face pull.