The 8 Best Face Pull Alternatives (2026)

A face pull is a cable exercise where you pull a rope toward your face with your elbows high, finishing with your hands turned out past your ears. It trains your rear delts, mid traps, rhomboids, and the external rotators in your rotator cuff all in one pull, which is why it shows up in almost every shoulder health program you’ll find.

You might need an alternative for a few reasons. Maybe your gym never has a cable station free at face height, maybe you train at home with dumbbells and a band, maybe you want more variety than the same rope pull every single session, or maybe you’re after more loading than a face pull’s usual light weight and high reps can give you. Your rear delts and rotator cuff grow from loaded external rotation and horizontal pulling, and that stimulus works just as well from a machine, a bench, or a bent-over dumbbell angle as it does from the exact rope-to-face path.

Here are the 8 face pull alternatives I reach for most, picked for how well they hit the rear delts and external rotators, how much weight you can actually load onto them, and what equipment they need. I’ll tell you when to use each one and exactly how to do it.

Table of Contents

1 The 8 Best Face Pull Alternatives
2 Reasons to Choose a Face Pull Alternative
3 Muscles Worked by the Face Pull
4 FAQs
5 Key Takeaways
6 Other Alternative Exercises

The 8 Best Face Pull Alternatives

Reverse Pec Deck Fly
Band Pull-Apart
Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Fly
Cable Rear Delt Fly
Cable Rear Delt Row
Prone Y Raise
Prone T Raise
Banded External Rotation

1. Reverse Pec Deck Fly

When to Perform the Reverse Pec Deck Fly

This is the machine I hand to anyone who wants to isolate the rear delts without worrying about balance or cable height. The pad supports your chest, so there’s no way to cheat the movement with your lower back or your legs. Use it as your main rear delt exercise on shoulder day, or as a finisher after pressing when your delts are already warm. Since the machine does the balancing for you, it’s also the easiest option here to push close to failure.

How to Perform the Reverse Pec Deck Fly

Sit facing the pad with your chest against it, and adjust the seat so the handles sit at roughly shoulder height.
Grab the handles with a neutral or overhand grip and let your arms hang with a slight bend in the elbow.
Pull the handles back and out to your sides, leading with your elbows, until your arms are roughly in line with your torso.
Pause for a second, then let the weight return under control without letting the stack slam.

Equipment: a reverse pec deck or rear delt fly machine. Most lifters do 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps here.

This video from Train For Life shows how to perform the reverse pec deck fly.

How To Do Reverse Pec Deck/ Reverse Fly Machine

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for the Reverse Pec Deck Fly

Keep a slight bend in your elbows the whole set instead of locking them out.
Stop the range of motion before your shoulder blades pull all the way together, that’s your traps taking over.
Slow the negative down. Face pulls train your rear delts at a fairly quick tempo, so a slow lowering phase here gives you something the face pull doesn’t.
If your gym only has a single-arm version, do one side at a time and match the reps.
Adjust the seat height before you touch the weight. A pad that sits too low or too high changes the angle enough to shift the work onto your traps instead of your rear delts.

2. Band Pull-Apart

When to Perform Band Pull-Aparts

This is your no-cable, no-machine option, and it’s the closest thing to a face pull you can do with almost nothing. All you need is a light band, which makes it the one I’d pick for training at home or on the road. It’s also light enough on your joints to do daily as a warm-up before pressing, and it packs down small enough to keep in a gym bag or a suitcase.

How to Perform Band Pull-Aparts

Hold a light resistance band with both hands, arms extended straight out in front of you at shoulder height.
Set your feet about shoulder-width apart and brace your core.
Pull the band apart by driving your hands out to the sides, leading with your elbows, until the band touches your chest.
Return to the start slowly instead of letting the band snap your hands back together.

Equipment: one resistance band. Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps, or just a set or two before every upper body session.

This video from Rogue Fitness shows how to perform the band pull-apart.

How To Do Band Pull Aparts

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for Band Pull-Aparts

Keep your hands at shoulder height for the entire set, don’t let them drift up toward your face or down toward your waist.
Turn your palms down and rotate your hands out slightly as you pull, that adds some of the external rotation a face pull gives you.
Go lighter than you think. Most people grab a band that’s too easy to control on the way back and lose all the tension.
Stack a few band strengths for high-rep burnout sets since a single band gets easy fast.

For more no-equipment options, see our rear delt bodyweight exercises.

3. Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Fly

When to Perform the Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Fly

Reach for this one when you’ve got dumbbells but no cable station, which covers most home gyms. Nothing guides the path for you, so it also teaches better control than a machine does. I like pairing it with a horizontal press on the same day since the muscles balance each other out, and it’s a lift you can scale down to almost no weight if your shoulders are having an off day.

How to Perform the Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Fly

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and hinge at your hips until your torso is close to parallel with the floor.
Let your arms hang straight down with a slight bend in the elbows and your palms facing each other.
Raise the dumbbells out to your sides, squeezing your shoulder blades together as you reach the top.
Lower them back down under control to the starting position.

Equipment: a pair of dumbbells. Start light and stay in the 10 to 15 rep range, this movement responds better to control than to heavy low-rep sets.

This video from Buff Dudes shows how to perform the bent-over dumbbell reverse fly.

How To Perform Bent Over Reverse Flys - Exercise Tutorial

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for the Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Fly

Keep your torso still. The movement should come from your shoulders, not from rocking your body to swing the weight up.
Use lighter dumbbells than you’d guess. Rear delts are a small muscle group, and momentum takes over fast if you go too heavy.
Let your head hang naturally instead of craning it up to look forward.
Sit on the edge of a bench with your chest on your knees if balance is an issue standing up.

See more dumbbell-only options in our rear delt dumbbell exercises guide.

4. Cable Rear Delt Fly

When to Perform the Cable Rear Delt Fly

The cable keeps tension on your rear delts through the entire range, which dumbbells can’t do since gravity drops off at the top and bottom. That makes this the pick for higher-rep burnout sets or when you want a longer stretch than a machine allows. Standing and crossing the cables in front of you also lets you stretch each rear delt across your body before you pull, which is a range of motion you just can’t get lying on a bench or sitting in a machine.

How to Perform the Cable Rear Delt Fly

Set both pulleys to roughly shoulder height and grab the opposite handle with each hand so the cables cross in front of you.
Stand facing the machine with a soft bend in your knees and a slight forward lean.
Pull the handles out and back, leading with your elbows, until your arms are in line with your torso.
Return under control, letting the stretch reload before your next rep.

Equipment: a dual cable station with handles. Work in the 12 to 20 rep range, since the constant cable tension makes low reps hard to justify.

This video from Colossus Fitness shows how to perform the standing cable rear delt fly.

How To PROPERLY Perform a Standing Cable Rear Delt Fly

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for the Cable Rear Delt Fly

Keep the pulleys at or slightly above shoulder height. Too low turns this into a row instead of a fly.
Control the tempo on the way back instead of letting the cable yank your arms forward.
Try single-arm sets on a single cable, it’s easier to feel the rear delt working when you’re not distracted by the other side.
If your gym only has one adjustable pulley, run one arm at a time instead of skipping the crossed setup.

Want more cable-only rear delt work? Check out our cable rear delt exercises roundup.

5. Cable Rear Delt Row

When to Perform the Cable Rear Delt Row

This is the closest single substitute to the actual face pull pattern, since it combines a row with the wide, elbows-out path of the fly. Use it when you have a cable station but no rope set up at face height, or when you want to load the movement heavier than a straight fly allows. I run it as my main rear delt exercise on weeks when I want more loading and less burnout volume, and it holds up fine as a superset partner for a horizontal press.

How to Perform the Cable Rear Delt Row

Set a cable to roughly chest or shoulder height and attach a rope or double-handle attachment.
Stand facing the machine with your feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
Pull the handles toward your upper chest or neck, flaring your elbows out wide as you row.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top, then extend your arms back out under control.

Equipment: a cable machine with a rope or double-handle attachment. 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps works well since you can load this one heavier than a fly.

This video from Exercises.com.au shows how to perform the cable rear delt row.

Cable Rear Delt Row (Exercises.com.au)

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for the Cable Rear Delt Row

Flare your elbows out to the sides as you pull. A straight-back elbow path turns this into a regular mid-back row and takes the rear delts out of it.
Keep your torso upright, don’t lean back to move more weight.
Pause for a full second at the top, most of the rear delt work happens right there.
Start lighter than your usual row weight until you find the elbow path that actually hits your rear delts.
If the attachment lets you, pull to your upper chest or neck rather than your sternum. Pulling too low shifts the work back toward your lats and mid back.

6. Prone Y Raise

When to Perform the Prone Y Raise

This one leans more on your lower traps and serratus than a straight face pull does, which makes it a good addition rather than a direct swap. I use it as a warm-up before overhead pressing or as an accessory on shoulder day to round out scapular control. It only needs a bench, so it travels well too, and it’s a good check-in for anyone who tends to shrug the shoulders up on every raise.

How to Perform the Prone Y Raise

Set an adjustable bench to about a 30 to 45 degree incline and lie face down with your chest supported.
Hold a light dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging straight down, palms facing each other.
Raise both arms up and out in a wide Y path, leading with your thumbs, until they’re roughly in line with your ears.
Lower back down under control without letting your shoulders shrug up toward your ears.

Equipment: an incline bench and a light pair of dumbbells, or no weight at all to start. 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps is enough, more than that and your form usually breaks down first.

This video from Live Lean TV shows how to perform the prone dumbbell Y raise on an incline bench.

How To: Prone Dumbbell Y Raise On Incline Bench

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for the Prone Y Raise

Use very light weight. This movement gets sloppy fast once your shoulders start compensating.
Stop the raise the moment your traps start shrugging instead of your shoulder blades rotating.
Keep your neck neutral and look down at the bench, not up and out in front of you.
No dumbbells needed to start. Bodyweight reps are plenty until the pattern feels controlled.

7. Prone T Raise

When to Perform the Prone T Raise

Same bench setup as the Y raise, but the straight-out arm path shifts the work onto your rear delts and mid traps instead of the lower traps. I pair the two as a superset for full rear-delt and scapular coverage in one short block. It’s also a solid choice if your shoulders get cranky under any loaded overhead work, since there’s no weight bearing down on the joint the way there is with a press.

How to Perform the Prone T Raise

Lie face down on an incline bench, or flat on the floor, with a light dumbbell in each hand.
Let your arms hang straight down, palms facing each other.
Raise your arms straight out to your sides until they form a T with your torso, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Lower back down slowly to the starting position.

Equipment: an incline bench (or the floor) and a light pair of dumbbells. Stick to 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps, same as the Y raise.

This video from Dimitri Giankoulas shows how to perform the prone T raise.

How To Perform A Prone T Raise Exercise

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for the Prone T Raise

Keep a slight bend in your elbows. Locking them out shifts the stress to the joint instead of the muscle.
Pause and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top for a full second.
Pair it with the Y raise as a two-exercise finisher, alternating sets of each.
Do it on the floor with no bench if that’s all you’ve got. The movement doesn’t change.

8. Banded External Rotation

When to Perform Banded External Rotations

This is the one I’d add alongside the others rather than run instead of them, since it isolates the external rotation piece of the face pull that a fly or row doesn’t train directly. Use it as a warm-up before pressing or pulling, or tack it onto the end of a shoulder session for two light sets. It’s also the one I’d lean on most for actual shoulder health work, and it’s cheap insurance if you’ve ever dealt with a cranky shoulder before.

How to Perform Banded External Rotations

Anchor a light band at roughly elbow height and stand side-on to it, holding the band in the hand farthest from the anchor.
Tuck your elbow into your side at about a 90 degree bend and keep it pinned there for the whole set.
Rotate your forearm outward and away from your body, keeping your elbow locked against your ribs.
Return slowly to the start, resisting the band the entire way back.

Equipment: one light resistance band and an anchor point.

This video from The Strength Institute shows how to perform the horizontal banded external rotation.

Banded External Rotations (Horizontal) - Tutorial

Watch this video on YouTube.

Tips for Banded External Rotations

Keep your elbow locked to your side for the entire set. If it drifts forward, your shoulder is doing the work instead of your rotator cuff.
This is a small muscle group, so use a light band and don’t chase a pump.
Two sets of 15 to 20 reps before pressing or pulling is plenty.
Do it single-arm even if you have two bands free, it’s easier to keep your elbow pinned that way.

Reasons to Choose a Face Pull Alternative

There are a few good reasons to swap the face pull for one of the options above. Most come down to equipment, load, or which specific piece of the movement you’re actually chasing.

You don’t have a cable station. The band pull-apart and bent-over dumbbell reverse fly cover you anywhere.
You want to load the pattern heavier. The cable rear delt row and reverse pec deck fly let you add real weight instead of the light rope work a face pull usually calls for.
You need the external rotation piece on its own. Banded external rotations isolate that part directly, which a fly or row doesn’t do as cleanly.
You’re building a full rear-delt session. Pair a fly or row with the Y and T raises for total coverage of the rear delts, mid traps, and lower traps.
You train at home. The band pull-apart, dumbbell reverse fly, and Y and T raises need almost nothing.
You’re bored of the same rope pull every week. Rotating through a machine, a cable row, and a couple of dumbbell or bench movements keeps rear delt work from turning into the one set you rush through at the end of a session.

Muscles Worked by the Face Pull

The face pull and its alternatives train the muscles that support your shoulders from behind, and most people who need this list are dealing with rear delts and upper back muscles that lag well behind their chest and front delts.

Posterior deltoid (rear delt): the primary mover across the whole list, and usually the muscle people are actually trying to grow.
Rhomboids and mid trapezius: retract your shoulder blades as you pull, and get the most direct work from the cable rear delt row.
Lower trapezius: engaged most directly by the Y raise, and often the weakest link in anyone with rounded shoulders.
Infraspinatus and teres minor (rotator cuff): handle the external rotation piece, trained most directly by the banded external rotation.
Core and upper back stabilizers: brace your torso on every bent-over or prone variation in this list.

For more on training this area, see our rear delt exercises guide and our tips for growing underdeveloped rear delts. If you also need a pulldown swap, check our lat pulldown alternatives.

FAQs

Can I build rear delts without a cable machine?

Yes. Your rear delts grow from loaded horizontal pulling and external rotation through a full range, and they don’t care whether that load comes from a cable, a band, or a pair of dumbbells. The band pull-apart and bent-over dumbbell reverse fly will build the muscle just fine if you train them hard and add load or reps over time.

What is the best face pull alternative for shoulder health?

Banded external rotations, hands down. They isolate the rotator cuff muscles that actually stabilize your shoulder joint, and you can do them daily with almost no fatigue cost. Pair them with the prone Y raise if you also want to work on scapular control.

What is the best face pull alternative at home?

The band pull-apart if you’ve got one light band, and the bent-over dumbbell reverse fly if you’ve got a pair of dumbbells. Between a band and a light pair of dumbbells, you can run every alternative on this list except the two cable and machine options.

Are face pull alternatives as good as the face pull itself?

For rear delt growth, yes, as long as you train them hard and progress the load or reps over time. The face pull’s real edge is how efficiently it combines a horizontal pull with external rotation in a single movement, so if you drop it entirely, pair a fly or row with banded external rotations to cover both pieces.

How many sets and reps should I do for rear delt work?

Most of the exercises on this list work well in the 10 to 20 rep range across 2 to 3 sets, since the rear delts and rotator cuff respond better to control and volume than to near-maximal loads. Pick one main movement, like the cable rear delt row or reverse pec deck fly, and add a lighter one like band pull-aparts or banded external rotations on top instead of doing everything heavy.

Can these exercises help fix rounded shoulders?

They help, but they’re not a fix on their own. Strengthening your rear delts, mid traps, and lower traps with this list gives your shoulders the pulling strength to counter all the pressing and desk time that rounds them forward in the first place. Pair that with actually spending less time hunched over a screen, since no amount of pulling volume offsets 10 hours a day in that position.

Key Takeaways

If you’ve got a cable station but no rope at face height, the cable rear delt row is the closest single swap. Training at home, pair the band pull-apart with the bent-over dumbbell reverse fly and you’ve covered the whole movement. And if shoulder health is the actual goal, don’t skip the banded external rotation just because it looks small. Load or rep out whichever alternative fits your equipment, and rotate a couple of them through your shoulder day instead of running the same one every week.

Other Alternative Exercises

If you enjoyed this post, check out our other roundups of the best alternatives for other exercises.

About Kyle Risley

Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more. He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting.