This article is part of the dumbbell workout series, where I publish exercises for every muscle group. In this blog, I’ll show you the following 8 best rear delt dumbbell exercises:
- Bent-Over Lateral Raise
- Bent-Over Rear delt Row
- Single-arm Rear Delt Fly
- Seated Rear Delt Raise
- Incline Reverse Dumbbell Fly
- Side-Lying Rear Delt Fly
- Incline Posterior Delt Row
- Single-arm Rear Delt Row
The first three exercises can be done without a bench, while the next five require an adjustable bench.
These exercises will help you train your posterior delt from multiple angles and build strong, symmetrical, and defined shoulders.
About Rear Deltoid Muscles
Rear deltoids are one of three muscles that make up shoulders, along with anterior and lateral delts.
They are located on the back side of the shoulder, also known as the rear or posterior delts.
The rear delts connect the shoulder blade to the upper arm and help stabilize and support the scapula.
They work when you row the dumbbells toward your shoulder or raise your arms outward.
With the dumbbell exercises I’ve provided below, you can bolster your rear delts from multiple angles and build strong and symmetrical shoulders.
Strong posterior deltoids also enhance your ability to perform better during push and pull movements, such as bench press, overhead press, and barbell row.
Dumbbell Only Rear Delt Exercises (No Bench Needed)
Those who have dumbbells but no bench can perform these exercises to build strong and sculpted posterior delts.
1. Bent-Over Lateral Raise
- Grab one dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip.
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees and hinge forward at your hips while maintaining a neutral spine.
- Keep your arms straight underneath your chest with your palms facing each other.
- Inhale and raise your arms out until they reach your shoulder height. Maintain a soft bend in your elbows.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top and then lower the dumbbell to the start. That’s one rep.
Pros: This exercise helps strengthen the rear delt without a bench. The standing position also engages core muscles and helps improve balance and coordination.
Cons: Standing in a bent-over position can put stress on the lower back.
How to make it effective: Keep your core tight, maintain a flat back throughout the movement, and squeeze your shoulder blades at the top of each rep for a second or two.
Optimal sets and reps: To build muscle, perform three to five sets of 10-15 reps with light to moderate dumbbells. If you want to enhance your strength, aim for 6-8 reps per set.
2. Bent-Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Row
- Grab a pair of dumbbells with an overhand grip (palms over the grip).
- Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge forward at your hips until your torso is parallel to the ground.
- Keep your core tight, back straight, and arms straight underneath your shoulders.
- Inhale and row the dumbbells out until your elbows and shoulders are aligned.
- Feel the contraction in your rear delts, then lower the dumbbells back to the start.
Pros: This exercise targets the back of your shoulders from a different angle, and with the combination of flies, it helps build chiseled rear delts and a good-looking torso.
Cons: Like the bent-over reverse fly, loosening abdominal muscles or arching your back can put your lower back in an uncomfortable position and make your lumbar spine vulnerable to injuries.
How to make it effective: Rather than rowing the dumbbells with your elbows close to your body, which targets the lats more, you need to pull the weights toward the shoulders with your elbows flared out to your side.
Optimal sets and reps: Perform three to four sets of 10-15 reps with light to moderate weight. Avoid lifting heavy as this exercise is only meant to target the posterior delt, not the other muscles.
3. Single-arm Rear Delt Fly
- Get a dumbbell in your left hand with a neutral grip.
- Stand close to the wall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend forward with your glutes touching the wall. The wall support ensures stability.
- Bend your right arm and place the elbow on your knee to stabilize your torso.
- Raise your arm out to your side until it reaches just over your shoulder level.
- Feel the contraction for a brief moment, then return to the start.
Pros: This exercise allows you to bolster each side of your rear delt separately. It is great for people who want to fix strength and muscular imbalance between their shoulders and build proportional delts. The wall support also takes away the stress from the lower back and allows you to focus only on the working area.
Cons: It is one of the safest exercises and has no drawbacks.
How to make it effective: Keep your head down and neutral and ensure your torso is almost parallel to the floor to activate the rear delt to the highest.
Optimal sets and reps: Three sets of 12-15 reps on each side. Perform more sets and reps on the weaker side if you want to correct muscle imbalance and posture.
The Rear Delt Dumbbell Exercises with Bench
You can do various rear delt exercises with dumbbells if you have a flexible bench at home.
Below, I’ll show you the five best exercises you can do to nail your rear delts using a bench and dumbbells.
1. Seated Rear Delt Dumbbell Raise
- Sit on the edge of the bench, holding one dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip, feet flat on the ground.
- Keep your arms straight beside your legs with your palms facing inwards.
- Slightly lean your torso toward your thighs. Maintain a flat back. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your elbows softly bent, raise the dumbbells out to the sides until you feel a full contraction in your rear delts.
- Pause for a moment and then lower the dumbbell to the start. That’s one rep.
Pros: This exercise elicits the highest muscle contraction in your rear delts and helps build chiseled shoulders.1 ACE Research Identifies Top Shoulder Exercises by Samantha Sweeney, M.S., John P. Porcari, Ph.D., Clayton Camic, Ph.D., Attila Kovacs, Ph.D., and Carl Foster, Ph.D – American Council of Exercise. The sitting position provides stability to the torso while raising your arms out to your sides, allowing you to hit your rear shoulders with heavier dumbbells.
Cons: Besides requiring a bench, it has no downside.
How to make it effective: Keep your feet on the floor and buttocks on the bench, and maintain a soft bend in your elbows. These little things ensure each rep will produce a decent contraction.
Optimal sets and reps: Perform four sets of 12 reps with a shorter rest period between sets. If this is the only exercise you do on a specific day, you can increase the number of sets.
2. Incline Reverse Dumbbell Fly
- Grab one dumbbell in each hand with a neutral grip.
- Lie prone on an incline bench (30-45 degrees) with your chest on top of it.
- Keep your arms straight below your shoulders with your palms facing each other.
- Lift your arms out to the sides until your upper back is fully contracted.
- Hold for a second, feel the stress, and then return to the start.
Pros: The dumbbell reverse fly is an isolation exercise that forges the rear deltoid.2 Franke, Rodrigo & Botton, Cíntia & Rodrigues, Rodrigo & Pinto, Ronei & Lima, Cláudia. (2014). Analysis of anterior, middle and posterior deltoid activation during single and multijoint exercises. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness. 55. It also works to strengthen the shoulder girdle and major upper back muscles (rhomboids and trapezius), which are very important for overall shoulder health.
Cons: Lying on your stomach and chest can make you feel uncomfortable, and you won’t be able to perform a higher number of reps.
How to make it effective: Keep your head in a neutral position, utilize the full range of motion to elicit maximum contraction, avoid swinging the dumbbells, and use momentum. Every rep should be nice and slow.
Optimal sets and reps: Shoot for three sets of 8-12 repetitions using light dumbbells.
3. Side-Lying DB Rear-Delt Fly
- Set a bench at the height of a 30-45 degree incline.
- Grab a dumbbell in your right hand and lie on your left side on the bench.
- Bend your knees and grab the bench with the opposite hand for support.
- Lift the weight toward the ceiling until your arm is straight over your shoulder.
- Pause for a second, and then return your arm to the starting point.
Pros: This exercise involves lying laterally on a bench and lifting one arm at a time. It is another great way to hammer the rear deltoids and improve shoulder looks and strength.
Cons: Lying laterally on an incline bench requires balance and stability, or else you won’t be able to do it effectively. So, you should avoid this exercise if you’re a beginner or overweight.
How to make it effective: Lie properly on the bench and grip it firmly so you won’t fall off. Use only light-medium weighted dumbbells.
Optimal sets and reps: Aim for 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps. It is a unilateral exercise and allows you to train each side separately. So, you should give more attention to the inferior side.
4. Incline Dumbbell Posterior Delt Row
- Grab a dumbbell in each hand and lie on a 30-45 degree incline bench with your toes on the floor.
- Keep your head in a neutral position and arms extended below your shoulder with your palms facing in.
- Pull the dumbbells up with your elbows out until you feel the contraction in your posterior delt.
- Stay in that position for a moment, and then lower your arms to the start.
Pros: This exercise, also known as incline dumbbell face pull or simply dumbbell incline row, targets the rear deltoid, traps, and rhomboids and helps improve the shape of your shoulder and back. (1)
Cons: Lying prone can put stress on the chest and stomach and can disrupt your breathing, limiting the number of reps you can usually do in a seated or standing position.
How to make it effective: Lift the dumbbells up with your elbows pointing outward rather than tucked to your sides to ensure you feel the maximum contraction in your rear delt during each rep.
Optimal sets and reps: I recommend using relatively heavier dumbbells for this movement and a moderate rep range of roughly 8-10 reps for gaining muscle mass.
5. Single-arm Rear Delt Dumbbell Row
- Stand on your left foot and place your right knee and hand on the bench.
- Lean forward while maintaining a flat back, and grab a dumbbell in your left hand with an overhand grip.
- Keep your arm straight below your chest with your palm facing in and your elbow pointing out.
- Pull the dumbbell at your side as high as possible to contract your rear delt.
Pros: This single dumbbell exercise allows you to train your posterior delts with heavy dumbbells and helps you grow your muscles. Besides the shoulders, it also activates traps, rhomboids, and biceps and develops a muscular upper body.
Cons: This exercise has no flow other than it requires access to a gym bench.
How to make it effective: Keep your elbow pointing out while pulling the weight up to your body. Look down and maintain a neutral head position throughout the movement. Utilize the full range of motion by driving your elbow up until your posterior delts are entirely engaged during the ascent phase and letting your arm fully down during the descent phase.
Optimal set and reps: Aim for three sets of 8-10 reps on each side. Perform more sets and reps on the weaker side if you want to correct strength imbalance.
Can You Build Your Rear Delts with Dumbbells Only?
Yes, the dumbbells provide enough resistance to build strong and chiseled rear delts.
Rear delts are not superior muscles like the chest, back, or leg. They are small and can be easily targeted with dumbbells.
Dumbbells provide a great range of motion and allow you to adjust the angle so that you can effectively hammer your posterior deltoid.
With dumbbells, you can also perform unilateral exercises, meaning you can use one arm at a time to focus on each side individually.
Single-arm exercises prevent overusing the dominant side, help improve strength imbalances and muscular symmetry, enhance posture, and lower the risk of shoulder injuries.
When You Should You Train Posterior Delts?
You can train your rear delt either on the back or shoulder day whenever is convenient for you.
Here’s how you can integrate posterior delt exercises into your dumbbell workout:
| Shoulder Day | Back Day | Back & Shoulder Day |
|---|---|---|
| Overhead Press | Bent-over Row | Bent-over Row |
| Lateral Raises | Lat Pullover | Incline RD Row |
| Rear Delt Raises | Single-arm Row | Overhead Press |
| Rear Delt Row | Incline DB Row | Rear Lateral Raises |
| Shrug | Rear Delt Raises | Upright Row |
Optimal sets and reps – 3 sets for beginners, 4 sets for intermediate lifters, and 5 sets for advanced lifters. Keep the rep range 8-14 per set.
How Often Should You Train Your Rear Delts?
Training rear delts once a week is enough for a normal fitness enthusiast. However, those who want to build huge shoulders should train their posterior delts twice a week.
Whether you train once or twice a week, make sure you use a combination of rows and flies and single-arm and dual-arm exercises to build perfect rear delts.
The Bottom Line
The rear deltoid is a relatively small muscle at the back of the shoulder. People often forget to train these muscles or leave them underdeveloped.
However, it is important to work on each deltoid equally when it comes to achieving sturdy and rounded shoulders.
You can do multiple dumbbell exercises for your rear delts to build strength and muscularity, whether you have a bench or not.
All you need is a set of light to heavy dumbbells, a little space at your home network or gym, and a list of all the exercises I’ve outlined above.
Besides dumbbells, you can also integrate rear delt resistance band exercises for more varieties.
References
- 1ACE Research Identifies Top Shoulder Exercises by Samantha Sweeney, M.S., John P. Porcari, Ph.D., Clayton Camic, Ph.D., Attila Kovacs, Ph.D., and Carl Foster, Ph.D – American Council of Exercise.
- 2Franke, Rodrigo & Botton, Cíntia & Rodrigues, Rodrigo & Pinto, Ronei & Lima, Cláudia. (2014). Analysis of anterior, middle and posterior deltoid activation during single and multijoint exercises. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness. 55.
