The Best Way to Do the Machine Rear Delt Fly

Instructions

  1. Adjust the seat height so the handles are in line with your shoulders, then adjust the handles so your hands are as close together as possible.
  2. Grip the handles with your palms facing the floor (if the machine allows) and keep a slight bend in your elbows. Push your torso into the chest pad and shrug your shoulders forward as far as you can.
  3. Keeping your shoulders shifted forward, push your hands away from each other in an arc.
  4. Once your upper arms are roughly in line with your torso, reverse the motion and return to the starting position.

Expert Tips

  • Let the weight pull your shoulder blades forward, and keep them in that position throughout each rep. In other words, don’t pinch your shoulder blades together when you extend your arms to the side. This forces your rear delts to do most of the work instead of your traps.
  • Try using a false grip (no thumb) and try to avoid gripping the handles too hard. This helps ensure that your rear delts are doing most of the work.
  • Keep your torso as still as possible throughout each rep. If you find yourself heaving your upper body up at the top of each rep, you’re using too much weight.
  • If you feel your shoulder blades drifting toward each other during the top of each rep, use a slightly shorter range of motion to keep the focus on your rear delts.
  • Don’t let the weight yank your arms back to the starting position. The entire return should be controlled but only take about a second.

Workout Programming

Do 3 sets of 8–10 reps, taking each set 1–2 reps shy of failure, with 1–2 minutes of rest between sets. Perform the machine rear delt fly after the heavier, more technical exercises in your workout.

Your rear delts already get some work from most horizontal pulling exercises, so it’s often wise to train them on your pull days. You can also include the machine rear delt fly in an upper-body or full-body workout, as shown below.

Mike’s Take

The machine rear delt fly is my all-time favorite rear delt exercise, which is why it’s a fixture of my training and why I included it in my programs for men and women, Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger.

In a study conducted by researchers at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 12 men with weightlifting experience performed the reverse pec deck, seated row, and inclined lat pulldown. Rear-delt muscle activity was highest during the reverse pec deck (aka machine rear delt fly).

This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better for building muscle (high muscle activation doesn’t always mean more muscle growth), but it’s a strong sign it’s an effective exercise for training the rear delts.

Here’s why it’s such a great exercise:

  1. It isolates your rear delts well, so other muscles are less likely to limit how hard you can train them.
  2. It requires zero balance or coordination, making it easy to learn and perform even when you’re fatigued.
  3. It’s easy to set up and perform, and almost every gym in the world has one.

Furthermore, many find the machine rear delt fly more comfortable and stable than similar exercises, such as the dumbbell rear delt fly, rear delt row, and cable face pull.

You’ll also hear people call this exercise the “machine reverse fly.” When you do it on a pec deck that can be adjusted for rear-delt training, it’s commonly called the “reverse pec deck.”

Machine Rear Delt Fly Alternatives

  • Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly. The dumbbell rear delt fly also trains your rear delts, using dumbbells instead of a reverse fly machine.
  • Cable Face Pull. This trains your rear delts and the rotator cuff muscles that help stabilize your shoulder. The downside is that it can be hard to progress over time.
  • Prone Incline Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly. Lie face down on an incline bench set to about 30 degrees. This makes it much harder to cheat and prevents your low back from becoming a limiting factor.
  • Barbell Rear Delt Row. This is a great compound exercise for training your upper back and arms, including your rear delts. The downside is that it doesn’t isolate your rear delts as effectively as the machine rear delt fly.
  • Dumbbell Rear Delt Row. Same as the barbell rear delt row, but with dumbbells.

3 Machine Rear Delt Fly Workouts

Here are three sample workouts that show how to program the machine rear delt fly, whether you train it in an upper-body workout with a shoulder emphasis, a pull workout, or a full-body workout.

Upper-Body Workout with the Machine Rear Delt Fly

Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Pull-up: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Cable Lateral Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Machine Rear Delt Fly: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

Pull Workout with the Machine Rear Delt Fly

Chest-Supported Machine Row: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
V-Grip Lat Pulldown: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Cable Lateral Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Machine Rear Delt Fly: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

Full-Body Workout with the Machine Rear Delt Fly

Barbell Back Squat: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets | 4–6 reps | 2–3 min rest
One-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3 sets | 6–8 reps | 2–3 min rest
Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest
Machine Rear Delt Fly: 3 sets | 8–10 reps | 1–2 min rest

To progress these workouts, use double progression: use a weight that allows you to work within the given rep range, take each set 1–2 reps shy of failure, and once you hit the top of the range for your first set, add weight.

Muscles Worked by the Machine Rear Delt Fly

Back anatomy showing the posterior deltoid, trapezius, rhomboids, infraspinatus, and teres muscles

The machine rear delt fly is an upper-body exercise that primarily trains your posterior deltoids or “rear delts,” the muscles behind your shoulder joints on your upper back.

Your lateral deltoids (side delts) and infraspinatus (a rotator cuff muscle on the back of your shoulder blade) also contribute.

Your mid-traps and rhomboids (muscles between your shoulder blades) help pull your shoulder blades together. Keeping your shoulder blades pushed forward limits that movement so your rear delts do most of the work.

More Shoulder Exercises

The post The Best Way to Do the Machine Rear Delt Fly appeared first on Legion Athletics.

https://ift.tt/vjE6Xn1 September 22, 2026 at 06:00PM Legion Athletics

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Expert Guide to Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine

Image
Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine is a bulking workout plan designed to boost muscle growth and strength gain. Unlike many strength training programs, the Generic Bulking Routine is for a very specific set of people. Specifically, it’s for those who are eating plenty of calories, are looking to gain lean muscle mass fast, and have at least 12 months of experience with weightlifting. In this article, you’ll learn what the routine is, why it’s one of the best bulking workout plans on the internet, and everything you need to know to get started on the program, including the workouts, schedule, exercises, rest times, progression scheme, and more. Table of Contents What Is Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine? A Complete Guide to Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine Schedule Exercises Bulking Workout Routine Rest Progression What Is Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine? The Generic Bulking Routine is a 4-day strength training program created by Lyl...
Read more

The Complete Guide to Mike Mentzer’s Workout Routine

Image
Most people think building muscle requires doing more—more sets, more reps, and more hours in the gym. Mike Mentzer disagreed. His workout routine took the opposite approach: short, brutally intense workouts followed by long recovery periods. This approach worked for Mentzer and even inspired bodybuilding legends like Dorian Yates to follow his methods. But how did Mentzer train exactly? And does his workout routine hold up to modern science? In this article, you’ll get a full run down of Mentzer’s workout plan, learn what science says about his methods, and learn how to adapt his program for maximum results. Key Takeaways The Mike Mentzer workout routine emphasizes low volume, training to failure, and extended rest between workouts, but these principles don’t align with how most people like to train or what research shows drives muscle growth. Mentzer’s workout plan is a 3-day split (chest and back, legs and abs, and shoulders and arms) with just one heavy set per exercise ...
Read more

Your Next Chest Routine for Mass: 7 Must-Do Pec Exercises

Image
Many gymgoers think that the only exercise you need for a massive chest workout is the bench press. While it’s true that the bench press is one of the very best chest exercise s for gaining size and strength, it’s not enough on its own to develop truly impressive pecs. A true chest routine for mass must include exercises that allow you to train your pecs with heavy weights, through long ranges of motion, and at varying angles. What’s more, these exercises must allow you to lift progressively heavier weights over time, since this is essential for muscle growth.  From my experience training thousands of people, the exercises that work best as the basis of a chest day workout routine are: Barbell bench press Incline barbell bench press Dumbbell bench press Incline dumbbell bench press Close-grip bench press Dip High-to-low cable fly In this article, you’ll learn why these exercises should be the foundation of every good mass-building chest workout program , discov...
Read more