Training guide
A band pull-apart is about the simplest upper-back exercise there is: hold a light band at shoulder height with straight arms, pull it apart until it touches your chest, and return slowly. It needs no anchor and no gym, which is why it's the warm-up in so many of our workouts.
One small study has measured it: it works the middle and lower trapezius between your shoulder blades, the backs of your shoulders, a rotator cuff muscle and your upper trapezius together, and your grip shifts the balance. No trial has tested pull-aparts on their own for posture or shoulder pain.
This guide covers the steps on the 3D figure, the band and grip, what pull-aparts can and can't do, how many and how often, and the warning signs.
Stand tall holding a light band at shoulder height with your arms straight in front, sweep your arms out to the sides until the band touches your chest, and let them come back slowly. The one study of the exercise used 3 seconds each way.
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In 10 healthy men pulling at moderate effort, a level pull worked the middle trapezius at 56 to 62% of maximum, the lower trapezius at 37 to 52%, the back of the shoulder at 33 to 48%, the infraspinatus (a rotator cuff muscle) at 31 to 43%, and the upper trapezius at 45 to 60%, depending on the grip. It isn't just a rear delt exercise.
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Palms up drew more lower trapezius and rotator cuff activity; palms down more from the back of the shoulder and the upper trapezius. Pulling diagonally upwards drew the most trapezius activity overall, upper trapezius included, and diagonally down the least.
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No trial has tested pull-aparts alone. Strengthening programmes changed measured posture angles in trials, but pain didn't reliably improve, and the link between posture and pain is uncertain. Our rounded shoulders guide has the programme.
Workplace strength programmes eased neck and shoulder pain in office workers, including programmes built on very different exercises, and adding shoulder-blade squeezing exercises to a strengthening programme added nothing in one trial. Pull-aparts are a reasonable part of a mix, not a cure.
15 reps as a warm-up, as our workouts do; as training, 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15, two or three times a week (our editorial starting point). There's no evidence that 100 a day does more. Bands that slipped or snapped have caused serious eye injuries, so check yours for nicks before every set.
Standing, you pull a light band apart with straight arms at shoulder height until it touches your chest, your shoulder blades drawing back. It's the standing band version of the reverse fly: no anchor, no bench, no weights. The 3D figure shows it palms down; palms up, diagonal and overhead versions are taught in words below.
The middle and lower trapezius and the rhomboids that draw your shoulder blades back, the back of your shoulders (posterior deltoid) and the infraspinatus, which turns your arm out, with a fair amount of upper trapezius too: 15% to 73% of maximum across nine versions at moderate effort. It moves your shoulders with straight arms, so it's an isolation exercise for the upper back by our compound vs isolation guide's definition, not a compound lift.
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The move page suggests prone Y-T-W raises first. In a Delphi survey, 17 experts rated the band pull-apart 3.18 out of 10 for technique (low to moderate) and agreed it suits novices. You need to raise your straight arms to shoulder height without pain.
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Band tension rises the further you stretch it, so holding the band wider makes it easier and narrower makes it harder, and longer arms stretch it further (our reading of how bands work). Bands are sold by colour and tension, and both vary between brands, so choose by feel.
The face pull adds a high pull and an outward turn and needs an anchor; the reverse fly is the same movement with dumbbells, cables or a machine; Y-T-W raises do it lying face down, which kept the upper trapezius quieter relative to the middle and lower trapezius in muscle-activity studies.
The figures on this page come from EMG (electromyography: electrodes measuring how hard a muscle works over a few reps). It isn't a validated predictor of growth, so treat them as clues about which muscles work, not about what grows.
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The move page's 3 steps and cues; the band choice, breathing and pause are editorial, and the slow pace follows the one study of the exercise (3 seconds each way). The figure pulls palms down; palms up changes only the grip.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Band pull-apart
In a level pull, palms up drew 13.3 percentage points more lower-trapezius activity and 11.1 more infraspinatus activity than palms down (52% against 37%, and 43% against 31%, of maximum). Turn your palms up if your neck or upper trapezius complains.
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Palms down drew 13.5 points more posterior deltoid activity than palms up (48% against 33%) and 6.3 more upper trapezius activity than palms facing (60% against 53%). Middle trapezius activity was similar across grips, at 56 to 62%.
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Pulling diagonally upwards drew the most upper, middle and lower trapezius activity of the three directions, and diagonally down the least. A level pull sits between them, so keeping the pull level or slightly down keeps the upper trapezius quieter.
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Across 7 small studies, as corrected, elastic band training built strength like weights and machines in the arms and the legs. At matched effort, bands and dumbbells drew similar muscle activity in 16 women with neck and shoulder pain.
A light one you can pull 15 to 20 times with straight arms and no shrugging (our editorial starting point). If it's too hard, hold it wider; too easy, hold it narrower, then move to the next band. Choose a latex-free band if you're allergic to latex, and replace any band with nicks or a sticky, perished surface.
Everything about grip and direction comes from 10 healthy men aged about 36 doing 3 slow reps of each version. No study has tested any version for strength, size, posture or pain.
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10 healthy men pulled a band at moderate effort (5 out of 10) in 3 hand positions and 3 directions. Peak activity ranged from 15% to 73% of maximum across the muscles and versions: the trapezius and the back of the shoulder worked hard, and so did the upper trapezius.
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In 29 adults at matched 10-rep loads, a band reverse fly anchored at shoulder height drew slightly less rear-shoulder activity but more upper-trapezius and side-shoulder activity than a face-down dumbbell reverse fly. At matched effort, bands and dumbbells drew similar activity in 16 women with neck and shoulder pain.
Raising the arms out to the side lying face down, turned out, kept the upper trapezius low relative to the middle and lower trapezius in three EMG studies (45, 30 and 27 people). If your neck takes over in a standing pull-apart, Y-T-W raises are the face-down version.
We found no trial of band pull-aparts on their own for strength, posture or pain. The nearest: 2 weeks of face-down dumbbell reverse flys in 20 young adults reduced a forward-shoulder measure more than chest stretching (to 4.5 against 5.5 cm, from about 6.2 cm). That's a tiny, short study with no pain outcome.
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Corrective exercise programmes improved measured forward-shoulder posture by a large amount in the 18 trials that measured it (of 28 small trials, 901 people, in the review), but pain didn't change significantly. Strengthening, not stretching, changed upper-back and neck posture across 23 studies of 969 people. Pull-aparts fit such programmes; none tested them alone.
Adults with neck pain had a slightly more forward head than adults without across 15 snapshot studies, but not adolescents; upper-back rounding didn't differ between people with and without shoulder pain across 10 studies. Snapshots can't show which came first.
As one part of a mix with rows, face pulls, Y-T-W raises and chest stretches, as in our rounded shoulders guide, which uses 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15. Posture changes slowly: give any programme several weeks, and judge it by how you feel and move as much as by how you look.
In 48 women with trapezius muscle pain, specific strength training cut their worst neck pain by 35 points out of 100, against 5 points briefly with cycling. In 447 office workers, one hour a week of five dumbbell exercises, reverse flys among them, cut neck pain by 1.1 to 1.9 points on a 0 to 9 scale. In 198 workers, 2 minutes a day of band lateral raises cut pain by 1.4 points out of 10. These are randomised trials, but all from one research group.
In 47 office workers, a programme of just two exercises, a push-up plus and a press-up with bands for extra load, also cut neck and shoulder pain (2 points). No single exercise looks essential; doing a progressive programme does.
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Shoulder-blade-focused exercise gave small, short-term pain benefits across 8 trials at low certainty, and adding shoulder-blade retraction exercises to a strengthening programme added nothing in 60 people. For a new episode of rotator cuff pain, up to six physiotherapy exercise sessions did no better than one advice session in 708 people, while for long-standing impingement a specific rotator cuff and shoulder-blade programme cut decisions for surgery from 63% to 20% in 102 people.
In 55 male weight trainers, those with signs of impingement had weaker outward rotators and lower trapezius, and in another study those who trained their outward rotators less often had signs of impingement. Snapshots like these can't show cause.
Use pull-aparts inside our shoulder impingement or neck pain plan, keeping pain to about 5 out of 10 or less, settled by your next session. The NHS says not to make up your own strenuous exercises or use heavy gym equipment while your shoulder hurts, so keep the band light and the plan's doses.
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A shoulder warm-up programme cut shoulder problems in 660 elite handball players (17% against 23%), and another cut them in adolescent handball players. But a rubber-band strengthening programme made no difference in 579 players, and pooled across 3 trials the effect is uncertain, at low certainty. None tested pull-aparts alone.
As one part of your warm-up before throwing or pressing, with outward rotations and rows, rather than as a programme on their own (our view).
Wall angels, 8 slow reps, and prone Y-T-W raises, 5 of each letter for 2 rounds (our upper back mobility routine); band pull-aparts, 15 reps as a warm-up (our workouts) or 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 as training (our editorial starting point; the move page gives no dose); the standing band reverse fly with the band anchored, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15, stopping 2 or 3 reps short (its move page's editorial starting point); the incline dumbbell reverse fly, 2 sets of 12 to 20 (our dumbbell upper body workout B); and face pulls, 3 sets of 12 to 20 (our workouts).
The 3D figure shows the palms-down pull; these change the grip or the path.
Hold the band with your palms facing up: more lower trapezius and infraspinatus, less upper trapezius than palms down. A good choice if your neck tends to take over.
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One hand finishes up and out, the other down and out; swap sides each set. The upward pull drew the most trapezius activity overall, upper trapezius included.
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Start with the band overhead, arms straight, and pull it apart as your arms come down to shoulder height in front of your head. Only for shoulders that move freely overhead (our view).
A hospital handout for shoulder training advises against weights behind the head, and our lat pulldown guide found no benefit in behind-the-neck pulling. No study has tested a band there; keep the band in front (our view).
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Hold the end position with your arms out to the sides for 3 seconds, 10 times, as our Pilates arm workout does, or do prone Y-T-W raises.
Use a lighter band or hold it wider, try palms up, and think "shoulders down" before each rep.
The band is too heavy. Keep your arms straight, as the move page says, and hold it wider.
Ribs down, chin level; stop where the band touches your chest (our view).
Let your arms come back slowly, about as long as the pull. The study used 3 seconds each way.
A firm, brief pause is enough: squeezing hard didn't change mid-back activity in rows, as our row and reverse fly guides explain. Draw your shoulder blades back and down instead.
Replace it. Bands that slipped or snapped have caused bleeding inside the eye. Keep your face out of the band's line.
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No study has tested doses for band pull-aparts, and the move page gives none. These are our starting points, matching our workouts and plans.
1 set of 15 reps with a light band before pressing or pulling, as 77 of our workouts do.
2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15, stopping 1 to 2 reps short of failure, with about 60 seconds' rest, two or three times a week: our editorial starting point, as in our rounded shoulders guide. Our plans let the last set of small moves go to 0 to 2 reps short; going to failure added little in a review of 15 studies.
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2 sets of 12 to 15, as our Pilates for posture workout does at the end of a session.
Add reps up to 20, then slow the return, then hold the band a little narrower, then move to the next band, as our plans' double progression does.
Pull-aparts add useful volume for the small upper-back muscles. For more muscle, rows and face pulls let you add load more easily; about 10 or more hard sets a week for your back is our plans' mark.
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There's no evidence that daily pull-aparts, or 100 a day, do more for posture or shoulders. Rehabilitation programmes that used daily home exercises were prescribed and supervised. Light daily sets are fine if you enjoy them; two or three times a week is plenty.
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A couple of minutes of easy movement and shoulder circles before your first set, as our plans and the NHS suggest.
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Both train the upper back and the backs of the shoulders. The face pull adds a high pull and an outward turn and needs an anchor; the pull-apart needs only a band, which is why it's the usual warm-up. Many programmes use both, and our face pull guide puts pull-aparts a step below face pulls in its shoulder-blade ladder.
The same movement with dumbbells, cables or a machine, easier to load. Our reverse fly guide covers the grips and the bench set-ups.
Rows bend your elbows and add your lats and biceps, and you can load them far more. Pull-aparts don't replace rows; they add work for the muscles between and behind your shoulder blades.
Band outward rotations with your elbow at your side train the rotator cuff more directly; our shoulder mobility and stability routine pairs them with pull-aparts.
Warm up with shoulder circles, 3 slow circles each way with each arm (the move page's editorial starting point). Band outward rotations, 2 rounds of 12 to 15 each arm, scapular push-ups, 10 reps, and the doorway chest opener, 30 seconds each side with your elbow at or below shoulder height (our shoulder mobility and stability routine); band rows, 3 sets of 10 to 15 (the move page's editorial starting point); chin tucks, 10 reps (our upper back mobility routine).
3D demoShoulder CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoStanding band external rotationBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoScapular push-up (push-up plus)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBand rowBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoDoorway chest openerBeginner · A wall
3D demoChin tuckBeginner · No equipmentThe upper back mobility routine and the shoulder mobility and stability routine use pull-aparts as strength work; the resistance band workout puts them in a circuit; the back workout at home and the bench press technique workout use them to warm up; Pilates for posture ends with them.
A 12-minute routine for a stiff upper back and rounded shoulders: chin tucks, wall angels, Y-T-W raises and open books.
12 minBeginner8 movesA foam roller, A wallA 25-minute band routine for healthy shoulders: move the shoulder and upper back through their range, then strengthen the rotator cuff and shoulder blades.
25 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bandA full-body resistance band workout: squats, rows, push-ups, presses, pull-aparts, band walks, good mornings and flyes.
30 minBeginner9 movesA band, An anchor pointA back workout at home with dumbbells and a band: pull-ups or band-assisted pulls, two rows, face pulls, reverse flys, shrugs and Romanian deadlifts.
40 minIntermediate14 movesA band, Pull-up barA 30-minute practice session for the bench press: shoulder blade work, push-ups and dumbbell presses, then the empty bar with the safety arms set.
30 minBeginner7 movesA band, A dumbbellA 20-minute Pilates routine for posture: breathing, head and shoulder-blade control, back strength and upper-back mobility, with no loaded rounding.
20 minBeginner13 movesA wall, A bandBoth resistance band workouts in this plan use band pull-aparts.
Keep the band light and the range pain-free, within the 5 out of 10 rule, and follow our shoulder impingement guide, which uses light band work.
Arms out to the side and moving back is a position to rebuild gradually. Follow the stages in our shoulder dislocation guide before you add pull-aparts, as our reverse fly guide says.
Turn your palms up and pull level or slightly down, which drew the least upper-trapezius activity, and keep your chin level.
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Use latex-free bands, as our band workouts advise.
Pull-aparts are done standing with a light band, so they suit pregnancy if you already exercise. Stop if you feel uncomfortable, too hot or unwell, as the NHS says.
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If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; arm pain that comes on suddenly with pressure, heaviness or squeezing across your chest; severe difficulty breathing, or a chest that feels tight or heavy; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in your arm or shoulder, an arm or shoulder that's hot or cold to touch, pain after an injury or a fall, severe pain in both shoulders, or feeling feverish or unwell. Go to A&E if, after an injury, you can't move your arm or your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape. See a GP if shoulder pain is getting worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
Or a muscle that looks thinner: see a GP or physiotherapist, as our back of shoulder pain guide says, because a nerve can be involved.
See a GP if neck pain or stiffness doesn't go away after a few weeks, painkillers haven't worked, or it comes with other symptoms such as pins and needles or a cold arm.
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Go to A&E or call 999 if a band hits your eye at high speed, your sight changes afterwards, or you have severe eye pain, an eye you can't move or keep open, or blood or pus coming from it. Don't drive yourself. In two case series of 11 patients each, bands that slipped or snapped caused bleeding inside the eye and, for some, lasting loss of vision. Glasses or sports goggles help.
Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
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Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
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No trial has tested them alone. Strengthening programmes changed measured posture angles, but pain didn't reliably change, and the link between posture and pain is uncertain. Pull-aparts are a sensible part of a programme, not a fix.
Shoulder-blade exercise gave small, short-term benefits at low certainty, adding retraction exercises to a strengthening programme added nothing, and for a new rotator cuff problem more physiotherapy did no better than one advice session.
They work the middle, lower and upper trapezius and the infraspinatus at similar levels: an upper-back exercise as much as a rear-shoulder one.
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No study supports a daily or a 100-rep dose. The trials that helped neck pain used anything from 2 minutes a day to an hour a week of progressive training.
Whole warm-up programmes cut shoulder problems in handball, but a rubber-band programme didn't and the pooled effect is uncertain. Pull-aparts alone are untested.
Band training built strength like weights in 7 small trials. Choose a band that makes the last reps hard.
Hold a light band in both hands at shoulder height with your arms straight in front. Sweep your arms out to the sides until the band touches your chest, then let them come back slowly.
The middle and lower trapezius between your shoulder blades, the back of your shoulders and the infraspinatus, a rotator cuff muscle. In the one study of the exercise, the upper trapezius worked hard too.
Either. Palms up drew more lower-trapezius and rotator cuff activity; palms down more from the back of the shoulder and the upper trapezius. If your neck or upper trapezius complains, turn your palms up.
15 reps as a warm-up, as our workouts do. As training, 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15, two or three times a week, is our starting point.
You can do light sets often, but there's no evidence that daily pull-aparts, or 100 a day, do more for posture or shoulders. Two or three times a week is plenty.
Not on their own, as far as anyone has tested. Strengthening programmes change measured posture angles, but pain didn't reliably change, and no trial has tested pull-aparts alone. Our rounded shoulders guide has the programme.
They're a reasonable part of a shoulder programme, not a cure: shoulder-blade exercise gave small, short-term benefits, and adding retraction exercises to a strengthening programme added nothing in one trial. Follow our shoulder impingement guide.
Both train the upper back and the backs of your shoulders. The face pull adds a high pull and an outward turn and needs an anchor; the pull-apart needs only a band, which is why it's the usual warm-up. Many programmes use both.
A light one you can pull 15 to 20 times with straight arms and no shrugging. Colours and tensions vary by brand, so choose by feel, and check the band for nicks before every set.
They add useful volume for the small upper-back muscles, and bands built strength like weights in small trials. For more muscle, rows and face pulls let you add load more easily.
Yes, if you like: a set of 15 is the warm-up in our bench press workouts. It warms up the upper back you set against the bench.
Yes, with a sound band. Bands that slipped or snapped have caused serious eye injuries, so keep your face out of the band's line and replace worn bands.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
