Shoulders · Cable
Cable Seated Face Pull with Rope
The cable seated face pull with rope mainly works the rear delts and side delts, with the upper traps, lats, mid traps, and external rotators assisting. It is a intermediate isolation exercise that uses a cable.
Form cues, common mistakes, and an animated demo below, from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Sit facing a cable stack set at upper-chest to head height with a rope attached. Grip both ends of the rope and pull it toward your face, driving your elbows high and wide and pulling the ends apart as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Return under control.
- 1Pull the rope toward your face and spread the ends apart; feel your rear
- 2delts and upper back fire
- 3Keep your elbows high and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end
- 4Sit tall with your chest up and let your upper back do the work
Common mistakes
- Do not lean back or use your torso to drag the weight in
- Avoid shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears
- Do not let the rope snap back; control the return every rep
Muscles worked
The cable seated face pull with rope mainly works the rear delts and side delts, with the upper traps, lats, mid traps, and external rotators assisting.
- Rear DeltsPrimary
- Side DeltsPrimary
- Upper TrapsSupport
- LatsSupport
- Mid TrapsSupport
- External RotatorsSupport
- BicepsMinor
- ForearmsMinor
Kovo programs the cable seated face pull with rope for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More shoulders exercises
- How to do the battle rope alternating waves
- How to do the arm circles
- How to do the arnold press
- How to do the resistance band front raise
- How to do the resistance band lateral raise
- How to do the resistance band overhead press
Last reviewed June 2026.