Reverse Cable Fly
A rear delt fly between two shoulder-height cables, crossed in front of you and opened out to the sides. It isolates the rear delts with help from the rhomboids and mid traps. Choose it over dumbbells for tension that stays on through the whole range, including the stretched start.
Updated
Primary muscles: Rear Delts. Supporting muscles: Rhomboids, Traps. Equipment: Cable machine.
Muscles worked
Primary
Equipment
How to do it
- Set both pulleys at shoulder height and stand in the middle of the station.
- Grip the left cable with the right hand and the right cable with the left hand, arms crossed in front of the chest.
- Soften the elbows and set the shoulders down away from your ears.
- Open the arms out to the sides in a wide arc until the hands line up with your body.
- Pause for one count without pinching the shoulder blades hard.
- Return under control until the arms cross again.
Watch for
- Bending the elbows and turning the fly into a row.
- Leaning back to swing the cables open.
- Shrugging as the arms open.
- Letting the hands drift down below shoulder height.
Breathing
Exhale as you open the arms, inhale as they cross back.
Tip
For the single-arm version, stand side-on to one pulley, take its handle with the far hand and open that arm away from the tower.
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