rear delt fly

The Rear Delt Fly can be performed with dumbbells or on a machine called the “peck dec”, in this case the exercise is also known as the “reverse fly”. Here we are going to explore how to perform this exercise using dumbbells. It primarily targets the rear delts (shoulders), but as with many exercises, other muscle groups are recruited from a secondary perspective.

Let’s delve into the muscles worked, how to perform the Rear Delt Fly, benefits, common mistakes to avoid, reps and sets, how to progress this exercise, how and where to fit it into your workout plan and finally other exercises targeting the same muscle groups.

Muscles Worked When Doing Rear Delt Flys

Here are the key muscles worked during Rear Delt Flys:

Rear Deltoids: Your rear deltoid muscles are at the back of your shoulders and are responsible for various shoulder movements.

Infraspinatus Muscles: These rotator cuff muscles are situated in the upper back at your shoulder blades.

Teres Minor Muscle: Another rotator cuff muscle in the upper back.

Traps: your traps are recruited from a secondary perspective in this exercise.

You can use the muscle highlighted image at the top of this page for a visual guide of the muscles worked.

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How to Perform Rear Delt Flys

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to perform Rear Delt Flys correctly:

1. Equipment: You need a set of dumbbells that you can safely manage. Start light, master the move, then load it.

2. Standing Stance: Stand with your feet at approximately shoulder width apart. Maintain a slight bend in your knees for stability.

3. Hinging Forward: Hinge forward at your hips while keeping your back straight lean forward pointing your chest towards the floor. Ensure that your back & core remain in this fixed position throughout the exercise. The lower you go, the more upper back engagement you will achieve.

4. Dumbbell Position: Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms fully extended, hanging towards the floor.

5. Raise the Dumbbells: Lift both dumbbells simultaneously out to the sides, while keeping your arms straight.

6. Full Contraction: At the top of the exercise, squeeze your shoulder blades together for complete muscle engagement.

7. Back to Start: Slowly lower the dumbbells back down through the same clean and controlled movement. This completes one rep. Continue for your desired number of reps and sets.

8. Rear Delt Fly on a Bench: You can also perform this exercise on a bench. Simply set one up to an appropriate angle, this can be from a 45 degree angle to a complete flat bench. With that, lay your chest down on the bench with the top of your chest aligned with the top of the bench. Then perform the exercise from point 4 above.

Benefits of Rear Delt Flys

Here are some benefits of adding Rear Delt Flys into your workout plan:

Rear Delt Development: Strengthening the rear delts contributes to well-rounded shoulders and supports overall shoulder stability.

Improved Posture: This exercise will contribute towards improving your overall posture.

More Upper Body Strength: Another benefit is enhancing your overall upper body strength, helping you to perform other overhead, pull and upper body exercises with more power.

Rear Delt Fly: Common Mistakes to Avoid

To get the best out of Rear Delt Flys, avoid these common mistakes:

Overextension: Take your arms back as far as comfortably possible, but do not overextend.

Bouncing or Momentum: It’s not uncommon to see people using momentum to get through this exercise, we don’t recommend doing that. So perform the exercise with good clean reps, through your shoulders, keeping the rest of your body completely still.

Improper Form: Sloppy form can lead to inadequate muscle engagement or worse, injury. Take the time to learn how to perform this exercise properly. Start light and add weight gradually.

Reps and Sets

The number of reps and sets you perform depends on your current strength with this exercise.

Beginners: Start with simply mastering the move. Keep in mind that if you’re just starting out, 3 reps is a valid set.

To determine how many reps/sets of Rear Delt Flys you should start with, you first need to figure out how many reps you can comfortably perform. Then add 2, and perform that number of reps for 3 sets.

For example; let’s say you can perform 4 reps comfortably. Add 2 to make 6 reps. Perform those 6 reps 3 times over, allowing yourself sufficient rest inbetween.

Experienced lifters: You know your body and its abilities better than anyone, use your own judgment.

We recommend that you avoid performing more than 12 reps per set. If you’re comfortably performing 12 reps for up to 6 sets, it’s time to make the exercise more challenging.

How to Make the Rear Delt Fly More Challenging

To make this exercise more challenging, gradually increase the weight you are working with. Another thing you can do is perform the exercise at a much slower pace, increasing your time under tension.

How to Incorporate Rear Delt Flys into Your Workouts

Incorporate Rear Delt Flys into your Shoulder or Back Workout Plan. This is a dumbbell exercise and so it should be positioned in the middle of your workout.

You should always prioritise compound exercises, the exercises that work the most muscle groups, use the most weight and expend the most energy. Work your way down to smaller isolation / lighter weight exercises from there. You can learn more about the importance of exercise order here.

Exercises That Work Similar Muscles to Rear Delt Flys

Similar exercises include Front Raises, Lateral Raises, Dumbbell Shrugs, T-Bar Rows, or an Upright Row. You may also want to consider complementary compound exercises such as the Military Press, or Barbell Push Press.

A combination of compound and isolation exercises is recommended for well rounded results.

You can find more Shoulder Exercises at the bottom of this page. Or you can check out our entire exercise database broken down by muscle group here.

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