Head-Supported Rear Delt Raise

How to do it

1. Set an incline bench upright enough to rest your forehead on the top of the pad while standing bent over.
2. Stand behind it with a dumbbell in each hand, hinged forward, forehead resting on the pad.
3. Let the arms hang straight down with the palms facing each other.
4. Set a small bend at the elbow and hold it.
5. Raise both arms out to the sides until they are level with your body.
6. Lower under control until the arms hang straight again.

Common mistakes

• Pushing into the pad with the head to help. The forehead rests there so the torso cannot rise; pressing into it turns the neck into part of the lift.
• Squeezing the shoulder blades together to move the dumbbells. That is a straight-arm row done by the rhomboids and middle trapezius; the blades stay still while the arms travel.
• Pulling the elbows back toward the hips. Back is a row, out to the side is a raise, and the rear deltoid only gets the second.
• Choosing this version to lift more. Head support removes the cheating rather than adding strength, so the honest weight is usually lower than the unsupported version.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Posterior DeltoidShoulders