Band pull-apart
Muscles worked : Rear deltoids, rhomboids · Middle trapezius
How to do it
- Hold the band with both hands, arms extended in front of you at chest height, with slight tension already present.
- Pull your arms apart, keeping the elbows straight, until the band touches your chest.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end of the movement.
- Return slowly to the start position, controlling the band’s tension.
Common mistakes
- Elbows bending during the pull-apart: it turns the movement into a row and reduces the work on the rear shoulder.
- Swinging the torso to help pull the arms apart.
- Snapping back on the return instead of controlling the band’s tension.
Where you should feel it
The work should be felt between the shoulder blades and at the back of the shoulders, not in the forearms or biceps. Tension in the upper trapezius signals the shoulders rising instead of staying down.
Range of motion
Pull apart until the band touches your chest or upper torso, no further: beyond that, the tension drops and the shoulders take over.
Tempo and breathing
One to two seconds to pull apart, two to three to return while controlling the tension. Exhale pulling apart, inhale on the return.
What works, precisely
The rear deltoids and rhomboids draw the shoulder blades toward the spine, the middle and lower trapezius stabilize the shoulder blade against the rib cage. The elbow extensors stay isometrically engaged to keep the arms straight throughout.
Movement mechanics
Horizontal shoulder abduction in the transverse plane, against increasing resistance: the band’s tension is lowest with arms extended in front and highest with arms apart — the opposite of a bodyweight load, which stays constant through the range.
Benefits
- Strengthens the back of the shoulder, often under-worked compared to the front in everyday movements.
- Balances the shoulders when several pushing movements (push-ups, presses) are already present in the session.
- Needs only a band and a square metre of floor.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Use a lighter band, or hold it wider to reduce resistance.
- Harder : Use a stronger band, or slow the return down to four seconds.
- Move on when : When three sets of fifteen go by without the shoulders creeping up toward the ears.
Precautions
Stop the movement if pain shows up at the front of the shoulder rather than between the shoulder blades: that signals a poor shoulder position.