Exercise Profile
  • Target Muscle Group
  • Exercise TypeStrength
  • Equipment RequiredCable
  • MechanicsIsolation
  • Force TypePull (Bilateral)
  • Experience LevelBeginner
  • Secondary Muscles
    Traps
Target Muscle Group

Shoulders

Shoulders Muscle Anatomy Diagram

Bent Over Low Pulley Rear Delt Fly Overview

The bent over low pulley rear delt fly is a variation of the bent over rear delt fly and an exercise used to target the muscles of the shoulder. Specifically, the exercise will target your rear deltoids.

The bent over low pulley rear delt fly can be performed during your shoulder workouts, upper body workouts, and full body workouts.

Bent Over Low Pulley Rear Delt Fly Instructions

  1. Position two cables at the bottom of the cable pulley machine and attach a handle.
  2. Hinge forward, reach across your body, and grab the handle with a neutral grip. Repeat for the opposite arm.
  3. Allow the arms to hang straight down and keep a soft bend in the knees.
  4. Keep the elbows slightly bent and pull the handles laterally without squeezing the shoulder blades together excessively.
  5. Slowly lower the handle back to the starting position under control.
  6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Bent Over Low Pulley Rear Delt Fly Tips

  1. Ideally we want to focus on the rear deltoids, not the scapular retractors so movement at the shoulder blade should be limited. Move the shoulder within the joint, not the shoulder blade on the ribcage.
  2. Keep the abs braced and don’t arch the back at the top of the movement.
  3. If you can’t hinge to 90 degrees, then hinge as far as comfortably possible while completing the exercise. Or, you could also take a seated position to complete the exercise as well.
  4. If you experience shoulder pain during the movement then it may be beneficial to rotate the dumbbells until the thumbs are pointing away from one another and the palms are facing forward. This is also known as a supinated grip and will externally rotate the shoulder.
  5. Don’t jut your head forward during the movement - this about stimulation for a small muscle group. Focus during the movement and don’t just rely on momentum.
  6. Allow the arms to move freely but don’t lock out the elbows.
2 Comments
Josh
Posted on: Thu, 11/30/2017 - 04:14

The video says "Position two cables at chest height", but the cables are as low as they can go!

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JoshEngland
Posted on: Thu, 11/30/2017 - 08:43

Hi Josh,

Good catch! I've added this video to our list of exercises needing to be updated. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Thanks again!