The Hidden Benefits of the Face Pull

Happy New Year everyone.  I haven't had a ton of time to get blogs up as of late but will now try to get back on track.  I've been spending my time keeping the gym moving along, getting ready for a meet in 2 weeks and have also started running the strength & conditioning program for Greendale High School.  Anyhow, new post today on the hidden benefits of the face pull and some of its variations.  Enjoy!
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So I think that many people are now aware of the fact that many people need to balance out their pulling exercises with their pushing exercises. Since it is pretty commonplace in our society today for people to sit at desks all day, many people have overly kyphotic shoulders with stiff or short pecs and weak upper/mid backs. In many cases, doing some upper body pulling exercises to train scapular retraction and balance out all of the scapular protraction that these people are stuck in works great.




However, not only do we need to look at protraction (rounded shoulders) versus retraction (open chest, scapulae together) of the scapulae, we also need to look at upward versus downward rotation of the scapulae. While the whole hunchback, rounded shoulders story is pretty common, a lack of scapular upward rotation is also very common. Anytime someone performs shoulder flexion (brings arms straight in front of their body and overhead), the glenohumeral joint has to flex and the scapula also has to upwardly rotate in a nice rhythm in order to reach smooth overhead motion. (Thoracic spine also needs to extend) If the scapula does not rotate up fully, the humeral head will glide superiorly (upward) to compensate and shoulder impingement and pain will result.

Well, if upward rotation of the scapula is limited, then that must mean that the muscles that are in charge of downward rotation of the scapulae are probably contributing to this limitation. These muscles happen to include the rhomboids and the levator scapulae. In addition to playing a part in downward rotation of the scap, the rhomboids also assist with retraction of the scap and both rhomboids and levator assist with elevation of the scap. This means that your typical upper body pulling variations such as db rows, cable rows, etc. can add to the rhomboid issue in someone who has a problem achieving solid upward scapular rotation.(In addition to this, many people also perform shrugs (elevation of the scapulae) with the arms at the side, which could further add to the fire in this situation)  Hyperkyphosis and downward rotation issues can both be present in the same person. So, what do you do to help someone like this? Are they just stuck in this situation forever and have to figure out how to live with it? I think not!!

Enter the face pull. While face pulls are somewhat more commonly used nowadays, many do not realize the great benefit they have that we are about to uncover. With a face pull, your scap is brought into some upward rotation WHILE you retract your scap. This has the lovely effect of taking the rhomboids out of the retraction decently and allows the mid and lower trapezius, which coincidentally are usually weak in a situation like this, to do most of the work with the retraction. So with the face pull, you can help pull this client out of their hunchback of notre dame position and stop their humerus' joy ride at the same time. The stiffened up pecs will be stretched, the stiffened up rhomboids will be stretched (certain fibers at least) and the weak mid and lower traps will be strengthened, helping out both the rotation issue and the protraction issue at the same time. The external rotators of the cuff will also be strengthened, which is usually a good thing. While other muscles such as the serratus anterior and upper traps also need to be looked at for upward rotation weakness (an exercise like a Y may be needed to truly groove the proper upward rotation pattern), these face pull variations can make a huge difference with the situation that we are talking about. 




Regular face pulls look like this. Pull towards the eyes/nose with a palms in grip. Rotate the thumbs back as you pull the scapulae together.

If someone has an imbalance between sides, try the one arm face pull.

If someone has issues with elevation of their shoulder girdle (levator, rhomboids and possibly upper traps are pulling up on the scap), high to low face pulls can help pull the scap down (great to hit lower traps) in addition to the other things already going on with the exercise.

3 sets of 8 to 12 reps usually works good in the middle or end of a workout.  Give these a shot and watch your shoulders get healthier, your posture improve and your back more defined and stronger!!  I will do a blog soon on how to assess proper upward rotation of the scapula and proper positioning of the humeral head with shoulder motion. Hope everyone is off to a positive and productive start of their new year!!