When talking about rear delt exercises, some form of reverse fly comes to mind. While the reverse fly is good, the impact of the rear delt row is massive on your rear delts.
The rear delts are the most overlooked part of your shoulder muscles. Workouts like barbell/dumbbell rows, machine rows, lat pulldowns, pull ups, and so on do activate the rear delts to a certain extent, but none of them really target the rear delts optimally. It is an often neglected fact that rear delts need to be targeted separately.
Rowing movements are typically performed on back days. Hence, you might think that the rear delt row is a back-day workout. Well, the rear delts are located on the back of your shoulders, and for that reason, some of the rowing exercises that you perform on back days somewhat activate the rear delts.
What is Rear Delt Row
The rear delt row or the rear deltoid row is an exercise for your posterior deltoids, commonly known as rear delts. It can be performed with a barbell, dumbbells, a cable machine, or a rowing machine.
As the name suggests, it involves a rowing motion, something that is extremely common during back training. While the rear delt row is similar to the barbell, dumbbell, and machine rows that you perform for your lats and rhomboids, certain shifts in detail, like upper arm and elbow positioning, make this workout primarily target the rear delts.
What Muscles Does It Target
As already mentioned, the rear delt row mainly targets the posterior or the rear deltoid. It is actually a solid upper-back exercise as well. Apart from the rear delt, other muscles that are activated with this exercise are –
- Trapezius
- Teres major and minor
- Rotator cuff
- Rhomboids
In addition, every version of a rear delt row involves core activation.
Why Perform This Exercise
Your trusted rear delt builder: This exercise is designed to target your rear delts, a part of your shoulder that is highly neglected. As the rear delts actively participate in providing shoulder stability, you just can’t expect to neglect this muscle and get away with it.
Overloading the rear delt: Like every muscle group, the rear delts respond to progressive overload. While the reverse fly is good for your rear delts, it doesn’t allow you to use anywhere near as much weight as the rear delt row does. Hence, rear delt rows are better for muscle growth.
More rear delt contraction: The more your upper arm can get behind your body, the more contraction the rear delts get. During rear delt flys, your elbows don’t get to bend enough, restricting your upper arms’ ability to go behind enough to get maximum rear delt contraction. However, with the rear delt row, your elbows are allowed to bend much more. This allows your upper arms to move further back, allowing you to have a much better contraction.
Rear Delt Row Exercises
There are a number of rear delt row variations. Each has its own benefits. Here, we will discuss these variations to make sure optimal rear delt growth –
- Bent Over Barbell Rear Delt Row
- Chest Supported Dumbbell Rear Delt Row
- Rowing Machine Rear Delt Row
Bent Over Barbell Rear Delt Row
This exercise is best for overloading your rear delts. It is similar to the barbell row that targets your lats. However, in this exercise, we will flare the elbows out a lot more, which will activate the rear delts instead of the lats. As you may have already realized, we will need a barbell to perform this exercise.
The Guide:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your back straight, bend over at the waist until your upper body is almost parallel to the floor. Bend your knees and keep a proud chest.
- Reach down and grab the barbell with an overhand grip, both hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Engage your core. This is your starting position.
- Ben your elbows and pull the barbell up until it touches your upper chest. As you lift the barbell up, flare your elbows out. Your upper arms should be perpendicular to your torso. Anything less will bring more focus on the lats and less on the rear delts.
- Once you are at the top, pause briefly and slowly lower the barbell back to the starting position with control.
Think of getting your elbows back behind your body as much as possible as you pull the barbell upwards for maximum rear delt activation.
Chest Supported Rear Delt Row
This is another excellent exercise for overloading the rear delts. As a bench supports the chest, it also eliminates the cheating element. We will use a pair of dumbbells instead of a barbell for a greater range of motion
The Guide:
- Get an incline bench and lie on your chest. Place your toes on the floor.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip. Your spine should be neutral and core engaged. Your arms should be fully extended downward. This is your starting position.
- Bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells up as high as you can go. Think of getting your elbows as far behind your back as possible. As you pull the dumbbells up, flare the elbows out so that your upper arms create a 60-degree angle with your torso.
- Pause briefly at the top and slowly lower the dumbbells back down, maintaining control.
We use an incline bench for this exercise because a flat bench will not allow you to achieve a full range of motion. I have seen a lot of experienced lifters using an underhand grip instead of an overhead grip for this exercise. But if you are just starting out, I would recommend using the overhand grip.
Seated Rear Delt Row
Seated row station is a very popular gym equipment. It is typically used to train your back muscles. You can attach a number of handles and train different parts of your back. You can also use this to train your rear delts. For this exercise, you can use a lat pulldown bar or a straight bar as attachments. As you will need to assume a wider grip, you can’t use a V-shaped or a rope attachment.
The Guide:
- Sit on a row station with your feet firmly planted on the leg rest. Reach out and grab the lat pulldown bar with an overhand grip. Your hands should be wider than shoulder-width apart. Your knees should be bent.
- Maintain an upright position for your upper body. Drop your shoulders, stick out your chest, and maintain a neutral spine.
- Your arms should be fully extended in front of you. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your upper body straight, pull the bar towards your chest. While doing so, flare your elbows out, making sure your upper arms are perpendicular to your torso. This will ensure rear delt activation.
- Once the bar touches your chest, pause for a moment and extend your arms back to the starting position, maintaining full control.
It is very important not to lean backward as you pull the bar towards you as it will defeat the purpose of hitting the rear delts. If you find yourself leaning backward, chances are you are pulling too heavier weight.
Some Tips
- Always use a weightlifting belt while performing these workouts. It will assist your core muscles and significantly reduce injury risks.
- If you are struggling with your grip strength, feel free to use weightlifting straps. Especially when you are pulling really heavy.
- Pay close attention to your breathing as this is just as important as maintaining proper form. During pulling movements, exhale as you pull and inhale as you return to the starting position.
- Hit failure on each set. This is something a lot of people don’t do. Every set is a quality set when you hit failure.
- When training the rear delts, the emphasis should always be to flare your elbows out. With the elbows close to your sides, you activate your lats more. The more your elbows are flared out, the more you activate the rear delts.
- In addition to flaring the elbows out, you should also look to get your upper arms as further back behind you as possible. This will ensure maximum contraction of your rear delts.
Other Variations
Other variations of the rear delt fly include –
- Cable Machine Rear Delt Row
- Chest Supported Rear Delt Row With Barbell
- Bent Over Dumbbell Rear Delt Row
- Seated Cable Rear Delt Row
- Single Arm Rear Delt Row
FAQs
What do rear delt rows work?
Rear delt rows primarily target the posterior deltoids, also known as the rear delts. In addition, it targets the trapezius, teres major and minor, rotator cuff, and rhomboids.
What row is best for rear delt?
There are many variations of the rear delt row, each with its own advantage. For optimal gains, you need to incorporate several variations of the rear delt row. But my two best picks for the rear delt row are – bent over barbell rear delt rows and chest supported dumbbell rear delt rows.
Do rows work rear delts?
Rows do work the rear delts. But traditional rows like the barbell or dumbbell rows with your elbows close by your sides will primarily work the lats. To activate the rear delts, the elbows need to be flared out and the upper arms should be perpendicular to the torso.
Do barbell rows work rear delts?
Bent over barbell rear delt row is one of the best exercises to build strength and definition to your rear delts. It allows you to overload the rear delts, something that rear delt flys don’t.
Are rear delt exercises necessary?
Training the rear delts is extremely important and not just for the aesthetics. Rear delts play a huge role in stabilizing your shoulders. They also aid you in many pulling movements.
Conclusion: Rear Delt Row
Guys, if you have been neglecting the rear delts, it’s time to stop. Your weekly back workouts aren’t enough and it’s time to acknowledge that they need separate attention. Don’t get fooled by their size; these muscles are extremely important.
While the rear delt flys will help you get started, they fall short in many aspects. Your real gains will only come once you start incorporating rear delt rows in your workout routine.
We have discussed some of the best variations of the rear delt rows that are guaranteed to give you results. Give them a try, and watch your rear delts grow.