Machine Reverse Flyes

Also known as: Reverse Fly Machine, Rear Delt Fly Machine, Reverse Pec Deck

StrengthPull

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Body Part: Shoulders

Description

Sit facing the pad of a rear delt machine and sweep both arms out to your sides at shoulder height to build the backs of your shoulders and upper back. The rear delts do most of the work, helped by the middle and lower traps between your shoulder blades and a little by the side delts. The pad holds your torso still, so your lower back stays out of it and there's nothing to balance. It's usually the pec deck machine: you sit the other way round and open your arms instead of closing them.

How to Perform

Set the seat so your hands are level with your shoulders when you sit tall. The arms should travel at shoulder height, not above it.
If there's a start-position adjuster at the top of the machine, set the handles in front of your chest about a hand's width apart.
Sit facing the machine with your chest against the pad, feet flat on the floor and knees bent to about 90°.
Take the short horizontal handles with an overhand grip, palms down. Your arms point straight ahead with a slight bend in the elbows.
Keep that elbow angle fixed and sweep both arms out and back in a wide arc, as if pushing the handles apart rather than pulling.
Stop when your arms line up with your shoulders and your body makes a T. Squeeze your shoulder blades, shoulders down, and hold a second.
Let the handles travel back along the same arc over 2–3 seconds until they almost meet. The plates only touch down after your last rep.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Secondary Muscles:

Tips

Work in 2–4 sets of 10–20 reps, taken close to failure. Add reps at the same weight until you reach 20 in each set with the one-second hold, then go up one plate and drop back to 10. A full plate is a big jump for the rear delts, so use the small add-on weight if the machine has one.
You should feel it at the back of your shoulders and between your shoulder blades. Burning on top of the shoulders means you're shrugging; tired biceps mean your elbows are bending into a row.
New to it? Use the lightest weight and stop when your hands are about 45° out. Once that feels easy, make the same weight harder with a 2-second hold at the T and a 3-second return.
Substitutes: Cable Rear Delt Fly for constant tension over a longer arc, Dumbbell Incline Rear Lateral T Raise as the closest free-weight version with chest support, and Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raise when all you have is dumbbells.

Common Mistakes

Bending the elbows and rowing the handles toward you, so your arms take over. Set a slight bend at the start, keep it until the set is done and push the handles apart.
Peeling your chest off the pad or rocking back to get the weight moving. Chest and belly stay on the pad; if you need the rock, the weight is too heavy.
Pulling the arms behind the line of your shoulders and pushing the chest out. Stop at the T and hold it there, because going further just pinches the front of the shoulder.
Fast, short reps where the plates slam down and the hands never come back in front. Take 2–3 seconds on the way back, until the hands nearly meet, without letting the plates touch.