Band pull-apart
Stretch a band across your chest. More posture and shoulder health per minute than anything else in the library.
The movement
Arms out in front
01 Arms out in front
Arms straight out ahead at shoulder height, hands about shoulder-width on the band.
02 Pull apart
Sweep the hands wide until the band meets your chest; squeeze the shoulder blades.
How to do it
Setup
- Hold a light band in both hands at shoulder height with your arms straight out in front of you.
- Set your hands about shoulder-width apart, palms down or facing each other.
Execution
- Pull your hands apart until the band touches your chest and your arms are wide.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end and hold for a full second.
- Return slowly against the band without letting your shoulders roll forward.
Form cues
- Start the pull with your shoulder blades, not your hands.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the finish and hold a beat.
Common mistakes
- Using a band so heavy that your arms bend and your shoulders shrug.
- Rushing through reps without the squeeze at the end.
Worth knowing
- This should feel like work in your upper back, never a strain at the front of your shoulder. Use a lighter band if it does.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
If desk work has a direct antidote, this is it. The pull-apart trains the muscles between your shoulder blades and at the back of your shoulders, which are the ones holding your shoulder blades back against gravity and habit. The equipment lives in a drawer and the technique takes one set to learn.
It is also very hard to overdo. High reps, most days of the week, either as a warm-up before pressing or on its own, is the normal way to use it. Coaches often prescribe something like a hundred easy reps a day for shoulder health, and this is usually the exercise they mean.
Use a band light enough that every rep is a full one. Arms straight, band to your chest, one second of squeeze. Doing it properly with a light band beats grinding out half reps with a heavy one.