Machine Reverse Fly

Muscles worked

Shoulders

Primary muscle

Rear delt

Equipment

Machine

Movement pattern

Pull

Difficulty

Intermediate

What it is for

Hypertrophy

Also known as

Reverse pec deckMachine rear delt fly

Watch the full tutorial

• Using so much weight that the torso rocks back on every rep. The rear deltoid is small and does not move big loads; momentum hides it. Lower the stack until you can keep the chest on the pad and still for the whole set.
• Shrugging the shoulders toward the ears as you open. The upper trapezius takes over that portion and the upper back stops working. Keep the shoulders down and think about driving the elbows back, not up.
• Letting the elbows drop below the hands. With a low elbow the movement turns into a row and the lat comes in to help. Keep elbows and hands level, with the slight elbow bend fixed.
• Letting go on the way back. The controlled closing phase is half the stimulus, and it also keeps the stack from banging. Return over two or three seconds without letting the pads fully touch.

Which muscles does the machine reverse fly work?

The rear deltoid is the primary muscle: it is what moves the arm backward in the horizontal plane. The rhomboids and middle trapezius work at the end of the range, when the shoulder blades come together, and the infraspinatus and teres minor stabilise the shoulder. The triceps stays out of it as long as the elbow keeps the same angle through the set.

Machine, dumbbell or cable reverse fly: which one should I choose?

The machine fixes the torso and the path, so it is the easiest version to learn and the one that allows the least momentum. With dumbbells, bent over or face down on an incline bench, the torso has to hold itself up and the tension disappears at the bottom. The cable, two-arm or single-arm, keeps tension through the whole arc but demands more control. To learn and to load, the machine; to vary the stimulus, the others.

How high should the handles be and where should the elbows go on the machine reverse fly?

Set the seat so the handles are at shoulder height: higher brings in the upper trapezius, lower brings in the lat. The elbows stay slightly bent and level with the hands, never below them, and that angle does not change during the set. Bring the arms back to the line of the torso; going past it only adds shoulder blade travel, not rear deltoid work.

How much weight and how many reps should I use on the machine reverse fly?

The rear deltoid is a small muscle working through a long lever, so the load is light and the reps are high: a usual range is 12 to 20 with a brief pause at the back. If finishing the set needs a jerk of the torso or a shrug, the weight is too much. Many coaches program it at the end of a shoulder or back session, for two or three sets.