The Dumbbell Seated Rear Delt Fly is a beginner-friendly dumbbell strength exercise that targets the shoulders. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesShoulders
Secondary muscles—
EquipmentDumbbell
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Dumbbell Seated Rear Delt Fly
Sit on the edge of a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet planted shoulder-width apart.
Hinge forward from the hips until your chest is close to your thighs and your arms hang straight down.
Keep a small bend in the elbows and palms facing each other, with the dumbbells underneath your shoulders.
Raise both dumbbells out to the sides in a wide arc until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.
Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top and feel the rear shoulders working.
Lower the dumbbells under control along the same arc and reset before the next rep.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Builds the rear shoulders for visible 3D shoulder shape.
Balances out heavy pressing volume in any push program.
Improves posture by strengthening the upper-back stabilizers.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Using too much weight and swinging the torso, which turns the lift into a row instead of a fly.
Bending the elbows and pulling instead of keeping a fixed angle and lifting from the rear shoulders.
Shrugging the shoulders up at the top, which transfers the work to the upper traps.
Sitting upright instead of hinging forward, which lets gravity bypass the rear shoulders entirely.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Dumbbell Seated Rear Delt Fly, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
