6 of the Best Rear Delt Exercises

6 of the Best Rear Delt Exercises. The rear or posterior deltoids (“delts”) are muscles nestled at the back of your shoulders. They help stabilize the shoulders and participate in movements of the arm about the shoulder joint. Training your rear delts is as important as training any other muscle for improving strength, size, and overall function.

While there are many ways to train the shoulders as a whole, incorporating exercises that directly target the muscles of the upper back, to include the rear delts, is likely a good idea for most. Our top-recommended rear delt exercises that we’ll cover today are: Pendlay/barbell row, wide grip lat pulldown, 1-arm dumbbell row, bent over dumbbell flyes, reverse pec deck fly, and face pulls.

Rear Delt Muscles Anatomy

The deltoid a triangular muscle that arises from the scapula (shoulder blade) and the clavicle (collarbone) and inserts into the humerus as part of the shoulder girdle. The shoulder girdle is made up of the proximal humerus, scapula, and clavicle. In addition to the deltoid muscle, the shoulder girdle also encompasses the rotator cuff, trapezius and other periscapular stabilizing muscles, triceps, latissimus dorsi, and pectoralis major and minor.

The deltoid is made up of three distinct sets of muscle fibers — anterior, middle (or acromial), and posterior. [9] Its base connects to the spine of the scapula and the lateral third of the clavicle. 

The deltoid as a whole is a multifaceted muscle which has several roles, such as lifting the arm, rotating it externally, and stabilizing the movements of other muscles in your arm and back. Specifically, the posterior fibers of the deltoid muscle stabilizes shoulders and primarily aids the latissimus dorsi to extend the arm while walking.

6 Exercises to Improve Posterior Deltoid Strength

The posterior deltoids help with many pulling movements and stabilize the shoulder joints. Rowing, pull-ups, and other exercises can help to improve posterior deltoid strength.

You need strong shoulders to be able to lift, push, and pull without injury.

Gaining shoulder strength requires working many muscles from different angles. The front of your shoulder — the anterior deltoid, in particular — tends to be somewhat dominant in many exercises and everyday movements.

For example, the anterior deltoid is involved in raising your arms in front of you and also aids in pressing movements such as the bench press.

But strengthening the middle and posterior deltoids is important too.

The middle deltoid raises your arms out to the sides, and the posterior deltoid extends your humerus behind you, in movements such as bringing your arm backward when walking or when pulling a lawn mower cord.

1. Single-arm bent-over row

The days you work your shoulders and back are the perfect time to add this move. Try to finish off back day with this multi-joint movement that will help you gain posterior deltoid strength.

Equipment needed: dumbbell and bench Muscles worked: rear deltoids, back, biceps, transverse abdominals.

How to do it:

1. Place your left knee and left hand on the bench. Keep your left elbow straight.
2. Extend your right leg slightly behind you, keeping your foot on the floor for support. Keep your back flat and spine neutral.
3. Hold a medium to heavy dumbbell in your right hand, with your arm reaching down toward the floor.
4. Bend your right elbow, pulling it up and back so your upper arm is roughly in line with your lower chest.
5. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
6. Lower the weight with control.
7. Repeat on 1 side for 10–12 reps before switching to the other arm. Work up to 3 sets.

2. Standing bent-over lateral raise

When doing a long-arm lateral movement, start with a lighter weight. You can work up to a heavier weight as you get stronger.

Starting a move like this with a heavy weight can set you up for injury. But don’t worry — a lighter weight will still provide a safe way to build strength.

Equipment needed: a pair of light to medium dumbbells Muscles worked: posterior deltoids, middle deltoids, rhomboids, middle trapezius

How to do it:

1. Hold a pair of dumbbells, keeping your palms facing each other.
2. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, slightly bend your knees, and bend forward at the hips, keeping your back straight. Your elbows should be soft, and the weights should be together below your chest.
3. Raise your arms up and out, as if spreading your wings, until they’re parallel to the floor.
4. Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top of the movement.
5. Lower the weights back to the starting position, slowly and with control.
6. The weights should be light enough to do 10–12 reps. Work up to 2–3 sets.

3. Face Pulls

Face pulls are an extremely effective rear delt exercise to challenge your back, arms, and core. They target the traps, rhomboids, and, most importantly for us, the rear delts.

Face pulls involve a horizontal pull (moving weight from out in front of you into the midline), a movement plane that is not too common across other exercises, but is very efficient at activating the rear delts, which is why we think it deserves a place in our rear delt workout list.

How To Do Face Pulls For Rear Delts:

• Attach the rope extension to the cable machine, and move the cable so it sits just above head height.
• Take the two ends of the cable in both hands, thumbs on top of the cable, palms facing down.
• Take a couple of steps back, until your arms are fully extended up in front of you. Feet should be shoulder-width apart.
• Lean back slightly, and engage your core.
• Pull the rope towards your forehead, aiming to get the handles towards your ears, letting the elbows flair out to the side, level with your wrist and hands.
• Pause, squeeze your rear delts, then reverse the movement, slowly extending the arms back to the starting position.

4. Barbell Row

The king of movements when it comes to building back size and strength, the barbell row is a compound exercise (recruits multiple muscles), primarily targeting the rear delts and traps, lats, and rhomboids. Not only does that make it great for building your rear delts, but it’ll take your core stability and grip strength up a notch, benefiting other lifts too.

How To Do A Barbell Row For Rear Delts:

Set up as if you are about to deadlift:

• Stand with your mid-foot under the bar, feet shoulder-width apart.
• Squat down, placing your hands on the bar in an overhead grip, thumb width outside of legs. Keep your back flat, chest up, head and neck in line. Focus your eyes just ahead of your feet.
• Lift the bar as you stand, until you are standing fully upright, holding the bar.

Now, you are ready to perform the barbell row:

• Stand tall, chest up, core engaged.
• Hinge over, pushing your bum back, bending your knees slightly, moving the bar down your thighs until the bar reaches your kneecaps and your chest is at a 60-degree angle with the ground.
• Start the row: pull the barbell upwards towards your belly button, driving the elbows back, squeezing the shoulder blades.
• Pause, then bring the barbell back down to the starting position. Repeat.

Tip: Feeling it in your traps rather than rear delts? Make sure you aren’t too upright when performing the row. This could cause the row to turn into more of a ‘shrug’, therefore emphasizing the upper traps.

5. Single Arm Dumbbell Row

Our favourite rear delt dumbbell exercise is the single-arm dumbbell row. This unilateral exercise isolates one side of your body, allowing for more targeted stimulation of the muscles.

How To Do A Single Arm Dumbbell Row For Rear Delts:

• Set up the weight bench in the flat position. Select a moderate-to-heavy single dumbbell.
• Holding the dumbbell in one hand, kneel on the bench with the opposite leg, placing the non-rowing hand on the bench. The other foot should be firmly planted on the ground.
• Keeping a flat back and engaged core, ‘row’ the dumbbell up, driving the elbow backwards until the dumbbell is in line with your chest.
• Pause, then slowly lower back to the starting position. Repeat.

6. Side-lying external rotation

This exercise focuses on the external rotation motion that the rear deltoid performs. It also targets some of the rotator cuff muscles (infraspinatus and teres minor).

Equipment needed: towel, dumbbell.

Muscles worked: rear deltoid, rotator cuff, middle trapezius, rhomboids.

How to do it:

1. Lie on your side, holding a light dumbbell.
2. Place your upper arm on your side with your elbow bent at 90 degrees. If you have broad shoulders, place a towel roll just between your upper arm and your torso.
3. Rotate your arm on your torso as far as you can without letting your upper arm drift off your body. Hold for 1–2 seconds, and then slowly lower it back to the starting position. Do 10–12 reps.

Rear Delt Exercises: 5 FAQs