Facepull Fad?
Keto_Vampire
Posts: 1,670 Member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIq5CB9JfKECurious as far as what everyone's opinion is on facepulls...becoming the greatest thing since sliced bread thanks to people like Jeff Cavalier.
I personally prefer other rear delt exercises (reverse flies, high rows, even straight arm pull downs - to some extent felt in rear delts). Long arms and not having multiple ropes to use, I can not get a good ROM (cables) unless using resistance bands; I find the hand position a bit awkward & tricky to get right and mainly don't like the lack of stability/feet support (even using light weight with high reps)- see AthleanX video.
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I do them with no weight for shoulder rehab along with lucky cats and rotations, I find that little circuit helps with mobility and stops me seizing up so much when I’m snatching.2
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The exercise is fantastic for those with rotator cuff injuries (past and present), as well as, a great shoulder mobility and posture corrector.
It isn't really designed to be a replacement for any major back lift. It is designed to help hit some commonly undertrained muscles.
Just speaking anecdotally, I was really struggling with my OHP's. I had the typical rotator cuff surgery following football in high school, and never was able to get back to where I was with them. Too much pain. Figured it was part of the deal.
Nope, I was wrong. Turns out that I let my posture and muscle structure become so frontloaded that I screwed up my shoulder mobility. (He actually talks about this in another video...nerd neck or something like that). By doing these after every lift, as well as some other shoulder flexibility drills (think I did the Ethier version, "Fix hunchback" ) I can now do OHP's with no shoulder pain other than muscle soreness.9 -
Keto_Vampire wrote: »
Curious as far as what everyone's opinion is on facepulls...becoming the greatest thing since sliced bread thanks to people like Jeff Cavalier.
I personally prefer other rear delt exercises (reverse flies, high rows, even straight arm pull downs - to some extent felt in rear delts). Long arms and not having multiple ropes to use, I can not get a good ROM (cables) unless using resistance bands; I find the hand position a bit awkward & tricky to get right and mainly don't like the lack of stability/feet support (even using light weight with high reps)- see AthleanX video.
Yes! That!2 -
Scottgriesser wrote: »The exercise is fantastic for those with rotator cuff injuries (past and present), as well as, a great shoulder mobility and posture corrector.
It isn't really designed to be a replacement for any major back lift. It is designed to help hit some commonly undertrained muscles.
Just speaking anecdotally, I was really struggling with my OHP's. I had the typical rotator cuff surgery following football in high school, and never was able to get back to where I was with them. Too much pain. Figured it was part of the deal.
Nope, I was wrong. Turns out that I let my posture and muscle structure become so frontloaded that I screwed up my shoulder mobility. (He actually talks about this in another video...nerd neck or something like that). By doing these after every lift, as well as some other shoulder flexibility drills (think I did the Ethier version, "Fix hunchback" ) I can now do OHP's with no shoulder pain other than muscle soreness.
I really need to look into these then. I had a full tear repair a couple of years ago and my ROM is really screwed. I did the PT religiously and it helped a lot, but even taking into account the partial tear in the other shoulder I never got the ROM back in the repaired side.1 -
I’m a fan. I definitely feel it in my rear delts. Jeff Nippard has a variation where he lies on the floor to get more stability and heavier weight that you could try. But there’s nothing magic about the exercise so if your anatomy just isn’t right for it then do the other exercises you mentioned.3
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I really need to look into these then. I had a full tear repair a couple of years ago and my ROM is really screwed. I did the PT religiously and it helped a lot, but even taking into account the partial tear in the other shoulder I never got the ROM back in the repaired side.
No harm in trying em out. Throw a few of them at the end of every workout for a month. I'll bet it improves. I too have a partial tear in my non-repaired shoulder and that is actually the shoulder where I felt the pain the most. I should do the stretches I mentioned more than I do, but the combination of the two certainly helped me.1 -
Scottgriesser wrote: »The exercise is fantastic for those with rotator cuff injuries (past and present), as well as, a great shoulder mobility and posture corrector.
It isn't really designed to be a replacement for any major back lift. It is designed to help hit some commonly undertrained muscles.
Just speaking anecdotally, I was really struggling with my OHP's. I had the typical rotator cuff surgery following football in high school, and never was able to get back to where I was with them. Too much pain. Figured it was part of the deal.
Nope, I was wrong. Turns out that I let my posture and muscle structure become so frontloaded that I screwed up my shoulder mobility. (He actually talks about this in another video...nerd neck or something like that). By doing these after every lift, as well as some other shoulder flexibility drills (think I did the Ethier version, "Fix hunchback" ) I can now do OHP's with no shoulder pain other than muscle soreness.
Past rotator cuff injury person here and this is why I do facepulls. I quite like them.2 -
I do this exercise, and I like it, but i do it knelled on one knee. that adds the stability, and I feel much more comfortable balancing while doing the face pulls.2
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Don't know about the greatest thing since sliced bread, but my physical therapist recommended doing them to help correct posture issues associated with sitting most of the day and my shoulders rolling forward. It strengthens some underused muscles and helps pull my shoulders back where they should be.10
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Don't know about the greatest thing since sliced bread, but my physical therapist recommended doing them to help correct posture issues associated with sitting most of the day and my shoulders rolling forward. It strengthens some underused muscles and helps pull my shoulders back where they should be.
Another reason why I do them is similar to you my PT recommended I do them when I had the rotator cuff issues and due to sitting for most of the day at work.0 -
Scottgriesser wrote: »
I really need to look into these then. I had a full tear repair a couple of years ago and my ROM is really screwed. I did the PT religiously and it helped a lot, but even taking into account the partial tear in the other shoulder I never got the ROM back in the repaired side.
No harm in trying em out. Throw a few of them at the end of every workout for a month. I'll bet it improves. I too have a partial tear in my non-repaired shoulder and that is actually the shoulder where I felt the pain the most. I should do the stretches I mentioned more than I do, but the combination of the two certainly helped me.
Yep, the non repaired is my problem side pain wise too - given the reponses here I think it's time to get some bands - thanks0 -
This is really interesting, thank for posting I am new to weight lifting and hadn't heard of this exercise yet, I will add it to my weight lifting routine! I also spend most of my day sitting at a desk and I am also having a hard time progressing on my OHP, so hopefully this will help!0
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Interesting variety of responses
For myself, back training & implementing lifestyle changes to mitigate against kyphosis/rolling over shoulder stance has been somewhat automatic practice (even lying down with chest supported on a yoga block). For the general population (mostly men), international chest/bench day = Monday (ironically, I always start the week off with back & biceps (pullday) after a period of rest days). #Priorities...Back (Pull)>/= Legs >>> Chest (Push)
Face-pulls are nothing new or revolutionary...the movement is extremely similar to the old school Scott Press (Larry Scott):
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I believe another reason why they are a bit more mainstream/popular/whatever you wanna call it is because of increased use of cell phones. That shoulders in / neck down for hours a day is increasing the amount of "hunch backed nerdnecks" we have in society. Myself included.
This is one of the best corrective exercises for that.8 -
Face pulls are pretty low on the rung of the lifting latter for ROI for the majority of lifters in just about every goal I can think of other than competitive physique or body builder.
There are simply better options for most goals.3 -
Again, limited room for progression due to lack of stability with this exercise...same problem with the glute pull through. Facepulls get boring really fast for more advanced lifters once one starts entering that 20+ rep/set zone and or simply adding more sets as a means to progress0
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvtD3znOqao
Exactly...high rows. I will give him credit for finally making a video on rear delts without once mentioning facepulls, lmao1 -
Keto_Vampire wrote: »Again, limited room for progression due to lack of stability with this exercise...same problem with the glute pull through. Facepulls get boring really fast for more advanced lifters once one starts entering that 20+ rep/set zone and or simply adding more sets as a means to progress
Jeff Nippard has a few various that allow for much higher progression. The one i use from his deck is a face pull while posting my leg up.
Personally, i face pull at the end of the night as it's helped a lot with posture. It was also recommended by one of the physical therapist that i lift with for the posture reason.
But also keep in mind that i use it as an accessory to the larger lifts. And like all moves, they can provide value in terms of variety. Because honestly, i get tired of just hitting the big compound lifts.4 -
I do them after my PT suggested them.
They’re not really for rear delts, they’re a secondary muscle for the lift. They are mostly for those criminally ignored little muscles of the rotator cuff and middle back.
I don’t like the lack of stability either. I do almost all back exercises with some kind of support. For these, I sit on the floor with slightly bent legs, heels on the floor and toes on the weight stack. Much better stability this way.
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Also, I’d suggest videoing your lifts. I was doing clavicle pulls and didn’t even realize it until I saw my video. It helped me improve my form which I’m still working on.0
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Type of machine I'll do high rows with but with seat as low as possible with stable feet support using "bad" posture to hit rear delts as opposed to lower lats (elbows out to sides with prone grip)
Alternatively lying t-bar row with similar (high) positioning works well too (I just prefer the row machine because it feels more grounded and doesn't have the notoriously funky strength curve of a t-bar row - most demanding in middle of ROM)
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I started these as an addition to RC PT, trying to keep it from getting any worse. I figure a month or so ought to show if I can expect improvement.0
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