Reverse Fly
Trains the Posterior Deltoid.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner

How to do it
- Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand and hinge forward from the hips until your torso is close to parallel with the floor.
- Let the dumbbells hang below your shoulders with your palms facing each other.
- Set your back flat and a small bend at the elbows.
- Raise both arms out to the sides until they are level with your body.
- Lead with the elbows and keep them travelling outward rather than backward.
- Lower under control until the arms hang straight down again.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the elbows back toward the hips. Back is a row; out to the side is a fly, and the rear deltoid only gets the second one.
- Standing up as the set gets hard. The hinge is set before the first repetition; rising turns the movement into an upright raise and lets the traps take it.
- Going heavy enough to need a swing. Hinged over with no support, a swing is the only way a heavy dumbbell moves, and a swung dumbbell is not being lifted by the rear of the shoulder.
- Rounding the back to hold the hinge. If a flat back will not reach parallel, take a higher torso angle or rest the head on an incline bench — both keep the spine out of it.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Posterior DeltoidShoulders