Exercise Profile
- Target Muscle Group
- Exercise TypeStrength
- Equipment RequiredDumbbell
- MechanicsIsolation
- Force TypePull (Bilateral)
- Experience LevelBeginner
- Secondary Muscles
Traps, Triceps
Target Muscle Group
Shoulders
Bent Over Rear Delt Fly (Head on Bench) Overview
The head on the bench bent over rear delt fly is an exercise that isolates the rear delt muscles of the shoulder.
It is a variation of the bent over rear delt fly. Some lifters find they are better able to isolate their rear delts by placing their heads on an incline bench. Doing so limits the amount of momentum you can generate to move the weight.
Bent Over Rear Delt Fly (Head on Bench) Instructions
- Position an incline bench at roughly 70-80 degrees and select the desired weight from the rack.
- Hinge from the hips until your until your head is resting comfortably on the incline bench and allow the arms to hang straight down from the shoulders with a neutral grip.
- Take a deep breath and pull the dumbbells towards the ceiling using the rear deltoids.
- Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position under control.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Bent Over Rear Delt Fly (Head on Bench) Tips
- 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.
- Keep the abs braced and don’t arch the back at the top of the movement.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Allow the arms to move freely but don’t lock out the elbows.
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