Rear delts exercise
Chest-Supported Rear Delt RaiseHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Rear delts
- Also works
- Upper back
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Chest-Supported Rear Delt Raise?
- Set the bench to a low incline and lie face down with your chest on the pad.
- Let the dumbbells hang below your shoulders, palms facing, elbows slightly bent.
- Raise your arms out to your sides until your elbows are level with your shoulders.
- Pause, then lower slowly to a full hang.
Cues
- Lead with your elbows.
- Arms out wide, not back.
- Chest stays on the pad.
Common mistakes
- Rowing the weights up with bent arms. Fix: lock the slight elbow bend and keep it the same all the way.
- Sweeping your arms back towards your hips. Fix: keep your upper arms square to your body, out to the sides.
- Shrugging or lifting your chest. Fix: go lighter and keep your shoulders down and your chest on the pad.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Adjustable bench back set to a low incline of 30° from the floor, close to flat but high enough that the hanging dumbbells clear the floor [1]. Lie face down with the chest and stomach on the pad, chin just past the top edge, feet on the floor (balls of the feet), legs straight or slightly bent [2]. A dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other. Stomach braced, chest pressed into the pad, head in line with the upper back.
The movement
The elbows lead the dumbbells out and up in a wide arc across the body; the upper arms travel square to the trunk, not towards the hips [1]. Most of the motion is at the shoulder joint (the arm opening out sideways); the shoulder blades only finish the movement. The trunk, legs and head stay still. Lower along the same arc to a full hang.
End position
Upper arms out to the sides, square to the trunk, elbows level with the shoulders [1]; dumbbells in line with the shoulders or slightly towards the head, never behind the shoulder line [2]. Palms facing the floor, the little-finger side turned a little higher than the thumb side so the elbows stay above the wrists [1]. Elbows still about 20°. Shoulder blades drawn back a little; chest still on the pad. Hold 0.5 s.
Tempo
Raise 1.2 s / hold 0.5 s / lower 1.8 s.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bench incline from the floor | 30° | 20–45° (see variant notes) | |
| Trunk angle from vertical (on the pad) | 60° | equals 90° minus the bench angle, fixed | |
| Elbow flexion | 20° | 10–30° [1], change under 5° through the rep | |
| Upper arm angle to the trunk at the end (front view) | 90° | 85–100° [1] | |
| Elbow height at the end | shoulder height | ±5 cm [1] | |
| Dumbbells relative to the shoulder line at the end (side view) | 0–5 cm towards the head | never behind (towards the hips) [2] | |
| Chest gap from the pad | 0 cm | under 2 cm |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Chest-Supported Rear Delt Raise is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
