Band pull-apart
Suggestions, not prescriptions. Exercises here pass automated checks. They have not been clinically reviewed, and no exercise is right for everyone. Adjust to your comfort and ability.
Spread a light stretchy band apart in front of your chest. It works the muscles between your shoulder blades, the ones that help you stand tall.
- Main focus
- Strength
- Level
- Starting
- Equipment
- Resistance bands
- Load
- Elastic resistance (heavier as it stretches)
- Stability
- Free: you control the whole movement
Before you start
- Warm up first with a minute or two of easy walking or marching in place, and cool down the same way after.
- Wear flat, closed shoes with a good grip, or go barefoot on a non-slip floor if that feels steady to you.
- Clear the floor around you. Keep a sturdy chair, counter or wall within reach for any move you do standing.
- Build up slowly. Add repetitions or minutes over weeks, not days. If you take a break, work back up gradually.
Talk with a doctor or physical therapist before you start if you have not been active for some time, if you have a health condition or a worry about exercise, if you have fallen or fear falling, or if a clinician has told you to limit activity. This library is general information, not medical advice.
What you need
A light resistance band about a yard long, checked for nicks or tears. Keep a chair nearby.
How to do it
- Stand or sit tall, feet flat. Hold the band with both hands, palms down, arms straight out in front of you, about shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your arms straight, move your hands apart to the sides, as if opening a book, until the band touches or nears your chest.
- Pause, and bring your hands back together slowly. Do not let the band snap back.
How much
To start: 5 slow pulls, once, then rest.
As it gets easier: 8 to 12 slow pulls, once or twice.
How it should feel: You should feel it between your shoulder blades, not in your neck.
Make it easier
- Sit down to do it.
- Use the lightest band, or hold it with a wider grip so there is less pull.
Make it harder
- Hold the end position for 2 seconds.
- Move up to the next band strength only when this feels easy.
Safety
- Check the band for nicks or tears before every use and replace it if it is damaged.
- Hold the ends firmly so a hand cannot slip.
- Keep your shoulders down away from your ears.
When to stop
- Stop and rest if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, sick to your stomach, or unusually short of breath.
- Stop if you feel sharp, sudden or joint pain. Muscles working hard is expected. Pain is a signal to stop.
- Stop and sit down if you feel unsteady and cannot settle yourself right away.
- Call your local emergency number for chest pain or pressure, fainting, or sudden weakness, numbness or trouble speaking.
- After any of these, do not repeat the exercise until you have talked with a doctor or physical therapist.
- The band slips or frays.
- You feel pinching or sharp pain in a shoulder or neck.
Other ways to do this movement
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Where this comes from
NIA: resistance bands are a muscle-strengthening option; beginners may start without resistance until comfortable; move slowly, breathe out on effort. Name and movement pattern from the screened catalog entry; all text is original and the amounts are Fitafter50's own conservative start.
- Three Types of Exercise Can Improve Your Health and Physical Ability, National Institute on Aging, NIH (Content reviewed Jan. 14, 2025).
This is general information, not medical advice. It does not diagnose anything or tell you whether an exercise is right for you. Adjust to your comfort and ability.