Rear delts exercise
Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse FlyHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Rear delts
- Also works
- Upper back
- Equipment
- Dumbbell
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Fly?
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other.
- Soften your knees and hinge forward until your chest is nearly parallel to the floor.
- Let your arms hang with a slight bend in the elbows.
- Raise the dumbbells out to the sides until your arms are level with your back.
- Lower them slowly and keep your chest down.
Cues
- Arms out wide, like a T.
- Keep the elbow bend fixed.
- Back flat, chest stays down.
Common mistakes
- Standing up as you lift: use lighter dumbbells and hold your trunk angle.
- Bending the elbows into a row: lock in a slight bend and keep it.
- Swinging the weights: pause at the bottom and lift slowly.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Feet hip-width to slightly wider, toes forward, knees bent about 20°. One dumbbell in each hand, neutral grip (palms facing each other). Push the hips back until the trunk is close to parallel with the floor, about 80° from vertical. Back flat from pelvis to head, stomach braced, neck long, gaze at the floor just ahead of the feet.
The movement
Only the arms move, each hand sweeping an arc out to the side in the plane across the shoulders. The elbow angle does not change. Hips, knees and trunk angle stay fixed; the trunk does not rise as the arms lift.
End position
Arms raised out to the sides until they are level with the back, forming a T seen from the front. Upper arms perpendicular to the trunk, dumbbells level with or just forward of the shoulder line (towards the head), never back towards the hips. Elbow bend unchanged (about 15°). Palms now face the floor (no forearm twist). Shoulder blades drawn together lightly. Pause 0.5 s.
Tempo
Lift 1.5 s / pause 0.5 s / lower 2 s.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk angle from vertical | 80° | 70–90° | |
| Trunk angle change during the rep | 0° | under 5° | |
| Elbow flexion (fixed) | 15° | 10–25° | |
| Elbow flexion change during the rep | 0° | under 10° | |
| Arm direction at the top (side view) | perpendicular to the trunk | 0–15° towards the head | |
| Dumbbell gap at the start | 15 cm | 10–25 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 Bent-Over Dumbbell Reverse Fly 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.
