Written by Patrick Dale, PT, ex-Marine

Seated Rear Delt Row (Image via YouTube/Onnit Academy)

When it comes to deltoid training, most people focus on their deltoids by doing lots of overhead presses and lateral raises. However, those exercises only work two of the three available deltoid heads – anterior and medial.

So, what about the rear delts?

The rear deltoid is often ignored or forgotten and, as such, woefully underdeveloped. That’s a shame because good rear delts can add a lot to your upper back shape and size and are critical for shoulder health and stability.

It’s time to stop treating your rear deltoids as an afterthought!

Give them the attention they deserve by including dumbbell rear delt rows in your shoulder or back workouts.

Dumbbell rear delt rows are a compound exercise. That means they involve several joints and muscles working together. The main muscles involved in this exercise are:

Posterior deltoids – the deltoids are your primary shoulder muscles. There are three deltoid sections or heads: anterior (front), medial (side), and posterior (rear). As their name suggests, dumbbell rear delt rows hit the posterior deltoids. The functions of the posterior deltoids are horizontal extension, extension, and external rotation of the shoulder joint.

Trapezius and rhomboids – the trapezius and rhomboids are your upper back muscles. They’re located across and between your scapulae or shoulder blades. Dumbbell rear delt rows target the middle fibers of the trapezius and the rhomboids. These muscles work together to draw your shoulder blades back and together, which is a movement called retraction.

Biceps brachii – located on the front of your upper arms, the biceps brachii, or biceps for short, flexes your elbows and supinates your forearms. However, because rear delt rows are typically done using light weights, the biceps don’t really get much of a workout during this exercise.

Get more from dumbbell rear delt rows while keeping your risk of injury to a minimum by following these guidelines:

This exercise can also be done standing if preferred.

Not sure if dumbbell rear delt rows deserve a place in your workouts? Consider these benefits and then decide!

Accessible – all you need for dumbbell rear delt rows is a pair of light dumbbells and somewhere to sit. Use a chair if you don’t have a bench. You can also do this exercise from standing. As such, it’s a very accessible exercise that most lifters should be able to do.

An excellent postural exercise – dumbbell rear delt rows work the muscles responsible for maintaining good posture and preventing slouching and rounded shoulders. As such, it’s the ideal exercise for anyone who spends long periods sitting at a desk.

Easy to do – the dumbbell rear delt row is easy to learn and master. It’s ideal for beginners but is also suitable for more advanced exercisers. Using light weights means it not as intimidating as some other rowing exercises, such as single-arm bent-over rows and Kroc rows.

While dumbbell rear delt rows are a mostly beneficial exercise, there are also a couple drawbacks to consider:

You must keep your elbows away from your sides – most rowing exercises are done with the arms close to the sides. This is the best way to recruit the lats. However, dumbbell rear delt rows must be done with the arms up and perpendicular to the body, or they won’t be as effective. This takes a little practice and discipline. However, using too much weight may mean you end up doing lat rows instead of rear delt rows.

Rounded lower back – done seated or standing, there may be a tendency to round your lower back during this exercise, especially if you have tight hamstrings. A rounded lower back is a weak lower back and prone to pain and injury. As such, you must do your best not to round your back during dumbbell rear delt rows.

Using heavy weights – dumbbell rear delt rows are not meant to be done with ultra-heavy weights. Using big dumbbells will undoubtedly result in more lat and less rear delt engagement. If you like to lift heavy, and struggle to keep your ego in check, you may find that this exercise turns into just another rowing exercise and your rear delts won’t get much benefit.

Dumbbell rear delt rows are a highly effective posterior shoulder and upper back exercise, but that doesn’t mean you need to do them all the time. There are plenty of variations and alternatives you can use to keep your workouts productive and interesting:

The wide grip seated cable row works just like dumbbell rear delt rows but is much easier because it’s done in a more comfortable seated position. This takes some stress off your lower back and leaves you free to focus on working your rear deltoids and upper back. You can do this exercise on any standard seated cable row machine using a long lat pulldown bar.

Learn more about wide grip seated rows here.

If you are one of those people who can’t help but use their legs or lower backs during seated or bent-over rows, this is the exercise for you. Lying face down on a bench means your lower back is removed from the movement entirely, so you’re left free to focus on your rear delts and upper back. This is also a good exercise for anyone with lower back pain.

Bent-over rows are something of a classical bodybuilding exercise. Some trainers view them as being too old-school. However, despite being a less fashionable exercise, bent-over rows are still a great back builder.

Done with a wide, overhand grip, the bent-over row also delivers an excellent posterior deltoid and upper back workout. That said, you will need to work hard to maintain the proper position and avoid rounding your lumbar spine.

Discover more about bent-over rows here.

Reverse cable crossovers are an excellent posterior deltoid exercise. Unlike most free-weight rear delt movements, the target muscles are under almost constant tension, and it’s much harder to use momentum to lift the weights. This all adds up to a very effective and efficient way to train your rear delts and upper back.

For variety, do this exercise using one arm/cable at a time.

Face pulls target your entire upper back, i.e., the mid-traps, rhomboids, AND posterior deltoids. They’re an excellent postural exercise and one that could add some thickness to your upper back muscles. Face pulls are also good for your shoulder health and could help ward off shoulder joint pain.

However, to get the best possible results, make sure you keep your arms up and really drive your elbows back. If you don’t, you could end up using your lats more than your rear delts and upper back.  

Learn more about face pulls here.

Where dumbbell rear delt rows are a compound exercise, dumbbell rear delt raises are more of an isolation exercise as they don’t involve your biceps. This doesn’t make them any better or worse than the rear delt row, only different. As such, they could be a valuable addition to your training library, and you can use them anytime you need an alternative to rear delt rows.

This exercise can also be done standing if preferred, but you’ll probably find it easier if you rest your head on the back of a bench to support your spine.

Rear delt exercises don’t come much more convenient than the band pull-apart. You can do this exercise almost anywhere and anytime. As well as being an excellent posterior shoulder exercise, the band pull-apart is a valuable postural exercise and a powerful antidote to all the sitting that most people do.

A few sets of band pull-aparts will also help wake up your shoulder stabilizers to make any upper body workout more productive and safer.

Read more about band pull-aparts here.

T-bar rows are a very popular lat exercise. They’re typically done using a narrow, neutral grip. However, most T-bar row machines also have a wide grip, and that’s perfect for working your rear deltoids and upper back. Because of the angle of your torso during T-bar rows, you may find this exercise more lower-back-friendly than other types of bent-over row.

Learn all about T-bar rows in our in-depth guide.

This exercise is performed on the pec deck machine, but the movement is reversed. Reverse pec deck flyes require less stabilization than other rear delt exercises as the action is guided by the machine. As such, you don’t have to worry about balancing the weight or coordinating your movements. Because of this, most exercisers will be able to use heavier weights which is very beneficial for muscle hypertrophy.

Like most rowing exercises, most people associate inverted rows with the latissimus dorsi. And while this can be a good lat exercise, you can also modify it to make it much more rear delt and upper back-centric. Simply move your hands out wider and pull your chest up to the bar.

There are three deltoid heads – anterior, medial, and posterior – and they all need to be trained pretty equally to build an aesthetically pleasing and structurally solid upper body.

There are plenty of rear deltoid exercises to choose from, but the dumbbell rear delt row is among the best. You can do it as part of your shoulder workout or when you train your back.

Regardless of when you do it, this exercise will help strengthen and build your underused, underdeveloped posterior deltoids, and it deserves a place in your workout library.

Patrick Dale is an ex-British Royal Marine, gym owner, and fitness qualifications tutor and assessor. In addition, Patrick is a freelance writer who has authored three fitness and exercise books, dozens of e-books, thousands of articles, and several fitness videos. He’s not just an armchair fitness expert; Patrick practices what he preaches! He has competed at a high level in numerous sports, including rugby, triathlon, rock climbing, trampolining, powerlifting, and, most recently, stand up paddleboarding. When not lecturing, training, researching, or writing, Patrick is busy enjoying the sunny climate of Cyprus, where he has lived for the last 20-years.

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