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In this information-based article, I'm going to show the best way to perform the Bent Over Rear Delt Fly (bent over rear delt raise), and give you 5 different exercise variations you can use to greatly improve your posterior deltoids.

Having undeveloped rear delts can make your physique look incomplete and shallow from the side and rear view. Weak rear delts can be magnified even more if you have well or overdeveloped Triceps and anterior deltoids that dwarf the posterior deltoids.

I’m Psymon H., the 52-year-old warhorse, making his name from improving physiques and growing natural muscle with minimal equipment.

If you are lacking in the rear delt department, there are a few things you can and must do to tip the scales in your balance.

1: Prioritize with this rear delt workout

2: Improve and expand your knowledge of rear deltoid exercises; because knowledge is power and power build muscle.

Let’s tackle number two first by formally introducing the Bent Over Rear Delt Fly. This exercise in itself is a variation of the Rear Delt Fly exercise. The major difference is that the Rear Delt Fly is usually performed by having your torso supported on an incline bench, whereas the Bent Over Fly is carried out in the standing or seated position by hinging over at the hips.

While both exercises hit the posterior deltoids and muscles in the upper back, the bent-over version can be harder to perform especially if you have tight hamstrings or a weak lower back. Also, when it comes to form and execution, it can be more difficult to keep good form with the Bent Over Reverse fly because if you’re not paying attention to how you execute the movement, you can find yourself either lifting the torso with every repetition or rounding your lower back.

Before we tackle the best form and execution of the bent over dumbbell rear delt fly, let’s quickly get to grips with how the rear deltoid works, because once you know this you will see the importance of each cue.

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db Rear Delt Fly
rear delt dumbbell

The Rear Deltoid Has Three Roles…

1: The rear deltoids originate from the rear of the body and extend the shoulder backward while also hyperextending the shoulder, pulling it behind the line of your back.

2: When the arms are in an abducted position, it’s called transverse abduction.

3: As the rear deltoids insert on the lateral aspect and wrap around the arm when pulled, they externally rotate the shoulder.

To contract the rear delts effectively, you have to get your elbows up and behind the line of your back. Now we have a good perspective on the posterior deltoid and know what we need to do to contract and better work the muscle, let’s go ahead and perform our best ever set of Dumbbell Bent Over Fly.

Rear Delt Flies
rear delt exercises with dumbbells

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The Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Exercise:
(aka - Bent over Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly with Dumbbell)

Start Position

Bent over Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly with Dumbbell

Finish Position

Items Needed: One pair of dumbbells

Cue 1: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, holding your dumbbells at your side with a neutral grip.

Cue 2: Hinge over at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the ground. Bend your knees slightly and maintain a tabletop back.

Cue 3: At this point, the dumbbells should be hanging down below your shoulders. Tense your core before raising the dumbbells out to the side until your elbows are in line with your shoulders. Maintain a slight bend at the elbows and try not to fly the dumbbells back, but instead, keep them in line with your shoulders.

Cue 4: Maintain control of the dumbbells and slowly return them to the start position.

Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Mistakes To Avoid:

1: It’s easy to get carried away with using heavy dumbbells to the point that you let ego take over and end up sacrificing good form for too heavy-a-weight. When this happens, usually injury isn’t too far behind. Shoulder injuries are notorious for keeping you on the sidelines for extended amounts of time. You can’t build muscle when you’re injured, so don’t let your ego get the best of you.

2: Another mistake to avoid when doing the bent over rear delt raise is rounding the lower back. You are already in a vulnerable position when you hinge over at the hips, and can easily put yourself in line for a lower back strain by rounding your lower back.

3: If you don’t pay heed to form and execution, without realizing you can quickly turn this movement into a back exercise rather than a rear deltoid movement.

Now we’ve got this exercise in a good place, let’s throw in a few different variations

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Learn The High Cable Rear Delt Fly Here!

Variation 1: Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Seated
(aka - seated bent over rear delt raise)

Start Position

Finish Position

If you’re paying close attention to your form and execution, this is possibly the hardest Bent Over Fly variation simply because you have less room to work in, as you're almost lying on your lap. It's advised that you use less weight with the seated bent over rear delt raise.

Items Needed: Flat bench and one pair of dumbbells.

Cue 1: Sit on the edge of a flat bench with your knees together and the back of your knees being supported by the bench.

Cue 2: Holding your dumbbells at your side with a neutral grip, hinge over at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the ground. Maintain a flat back and tense your core.

Cue 3: Raise the dumbbells out to the side until your elbows are in line with your shoulders. Maintain a slight bend at the elbows and try not to fly the dumbbells back, but instead, keep them in line with your shoulders.

Cue 4: Maintain control of the dumbbells and slowly return them to the start position.

Mistakes to avoid:

1: Try not to lift your torso as you fly the dumbbells out to the side.

2: Try not to go too heavy with weights that control you, but only use weights that you can control with good form.

rear-delt flyes
list of rear delt exercises

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Variation 2: Single-arm Bent Over Rear Delt Fly – cable
( aka - Cable Bent Over Rear Delt Fly)

Single-arm Bent Over Rear Delt Raise – cable

Start Position

Finish Position

Although when doing the cable bent over rear delt raise you can do both arms at once, I like to do one arm at a time to make sure that I’m getting the best from the exercise by focusing on the rear deltoid in question. I also enjoy doing this exercise without a handle as I feel more stress on the rear delt, but you can attach a handle and try it both ways before choosing which style you prefer.

Items Needed: Low cable pulley system.

Set-Up: Set your cable in a low position.

Cue 1: Stand side onto the cable with feet hip-width apart. Grab the cable with the arm furthest away from the station using a pronated grip.

Cue 2: Hinge over at the hips and slightly bend your knees. Maintain a flat back throughout the movement.

Cue 3: Rest your free hand on your knee and start with the working arm in front of your body. With a slight bend at the elbow, lead with your pinky finger and fly the cable out to the side so that it stays in line with your shoulder.

Cue 4: Pause briefly at the top of the movement when your elbow is level or just above the line of the deltoid. Return to the starting position.

Extra Tips:

1: Try not to jerk the weight up but instead use a smooth motion to fly to the top of the movement.

2: Start with a light to moderate weight and practice using good form while maintaining control of the weight and cable at all times.

3: Try not to use momentum to shift the weight as this robs the rear deltoids of much of the work.

4: Maintain a slight bend at the elbows so as not to place unwanted stress and strain on the area.

Rear Delt Flys
deltoid dumbbell exercises

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Variation 3: Band Bell Single-arm Bent Over Rear Delt Fly
(aka - dumbbell band bent over rear delt fly)

Start Position

Finish Position

This is a great alternative to using a cable and a variation that does its best work at the top of the movement because of the ascending tension of the band.

Believe it or not, you won't need to go heavy with this rear delt fly variation which makes this perfect for any home workout and any lifter with tight hamstrings or a weak lower back.

Items Needed: One dumbbell, one light resistance band, and an upright anchor.

Setup: Loop your band at the bottom of an upright anchor ensuring that the band and the anchor are secure under tension.

Cue 1: Lay the band out on the floor looped around the dumbbell. Stand side-on and just behind the end of the band. Pick up the band/bell combo with the hand furthest away from the anchor and hinge over at the hips.

Cue 2: Take a side step away from the anchor to allow for a little tension to mount in the band. At this point, your head should be directly in line with the band/bell combo. Place your other hand on your thigh to help you maintain a square position.

Cue 3: While keeping yourself square on, raise the band/bell out in a fly motion until your elbows are level with the line of your back. Slowly return to the start of the exercise.

You can also perform the Single Arm Bent Over Rear Delt Fly with Band version ( aka - band bent-over lateral raise), by using the same setup as the Band/Bell variation.

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Start Position

Finish Position

Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly
rear delt dumbbell

Variation 4: Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Head On Bench
(aka - head-on-bench dumbbell rear delt raise)

Start Position

Finish Position

If you want to make any bent over rear deltoid fly harder and much stricter, just place your forehead on the edge of an incline bench and tell yourself not to lift it from the bench until you’ve completed the exercise.

Items Needed: Incline bench and one pair of dumbbells

Set your bench up at a 75-degree angle and turn it around so that the back of the bench is facing you.

Cue 1: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, holding your dumbbells at your side with a neutral grip.

Cue 2: Hinge over at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the ground. Rest your forehead on the edge of the bench, bend your knees slightly and maintain a table-top back.

Cue 4: Maintain control of the dumbbells and slowly return them to the start position.

Best Rear Delt Exercises
rear delts dumbbell

Variation 5: Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Version 2
(aka - Bent Over Reverse Dumbbell Fly

Start Position

Finish Position

This is a close variation of the original Bent Over Rear Delt fly, but the only difference is where you fly the dumbbells. You will need a lot more core and shoulder strength to make good use of this bent over rear delt raise.

Items Needed: One pair of dumbbells

Cue 1: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, holding your dumbbells at your side with a neutral grip.

Cue 2: Hinge over at the hips until your torso is nearly parallel to the ground. Bend your knees slightly and maintain a tabletop back.

Cue 3: At this point, the dumbbells should be hanging down below your shoulders. Tense your core before raising the dumbbells out at a 45-degree angle in front of you until your elbows are in line with your shoulders.

Cue 4: Maintain control of the dumbbells and slowly return them to the start position.

Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Alternative:

When it comes to alternative exercises for the Bent Over Rear Delt fly there are a few rear deltoids exercises you can choose from.

Supinated Single Arm Row aka Bent Over Underhand Dumbbell Row:

Start Position

Finish Position

This is a formidable exercise for effectively contracting the rear delts because the premise of the movement is to get your elbows up and behind the line of your back. You can do this exercise by either hinging at the hip (as in the picture) or by leaning over on a bench.

Items Needed: One Dumbbell

Cue 1: Hold one dumbbell with a supinated grip and hinge over at the hip. With feet shoulder-width apart, start with the dumbbell in between your feet.

Cue 2: Retract your shoulder blades by pulling them back and tensing your core muscles.

Cue 3: Row the dumbbell in line with your shoulders until your elbow is behind the line of your shoulder blades.

Cue 4: Squeeze your rear deltoid at the top of the position before slowly lowering the dumbbell to the start position in between your legs

Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Alternative 2:
Face Pulls Into Press

This is a potent rear delt, rhomboid, mid and lower trap muscle exercise. Learn to do the exercise properly and reap all of the rewards.

Position 1

Items Needed: Pulley cable, two rope attachments & a bench.

Cue 1: Attach two ropes to an overhead pulley and grab each rope with palms facing each other.

Cue 2: Start the movement with outstretched arms and protract your scapular.

Position 2

Cue 3: Pull the ropes back and you rotate your palms forward as if you are performing a Back Double Bicep Pose.

Position 3

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Retract your scapula and keep your elbow below your shoulder joints.

Cue 4: Push straight up overhead before reversing the movement back to the beginning.

For More Bent Over Rear Delt Fly Alternatives Check Out the Best Rear Delt Dumbbell Exercises For a Beefy Rearview Appeal.

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The Bent Over Rear Delt Fly is but one piece of the jigsaw. If you are serious about improving your underdeveloped rear delts Try This Rear Deltoid Dumbbell Workout For A Huge Size Advantage.

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