I’m one of those gym nerds who loves training odd muscle groups like rear delts, so when I found myself wondering what the best compound exercises for rear delts were the other day, I knew I had to find all the best ones. As usual, I was surprised at how many I found that I didn’t know about. It’s incredible to me that, after 13 years of lifting weights, I’m still running into new exercises. Just goes to show you how deep this game runs.
I’m focusing on compound rear delt exercises in this article, as I’ve written about isolation exercises for rear delts elsewhere. And compound movements will always give you the most bang for your buck. Rear delts are no exception to that rule. If you want truly massive and strong rear delts, my advice is to combine these compound exercises with targeted isolation exercises.
Ready to discover the 11 best exercises for rear delts? Let’s get to it!
11 Best Compound Exercises for Rear Delts
Standing Cable Rope Face Pull
1. Stand shoulder width apart, with an athletic stance, slightly bent at the knees
2. Using a neutral grip, grab each side of the rope
3. Step back until tension is felt in the rope
4. Pull rope towards your face, pulling outwards and away from your head
5. Stop once your hands are lined up with your ears and control rope as it returns to starting to position
Pro Tip: Use two ropes, gripping one in each hand, for an even deeper stretch
Standing Band Face Pull
1. Tie band around pole slightly higher than head level so you are pulling down at an angle
2. Stand about shoulder width apart, with an athletic stance, slightly bent at the knees
3. Keeping a neutral grip, slide hands up the band until you can grab the loop, using it as a handle
4. Step back until tension is felt in the band
5. Pull band towards your face, pulling outwards and away from your head
6. Stop once your hands are lined up with your ears and control band as it returns to starting to position
Pro Tip: Use two bands, one in each hand, for an even deeper stretch
Band Pull
1. Tie band so it is at neck level
2. Hold end of band with an overhand grip, keeping elbows slightly flexed
3. Pull band until arm is fully straightened out on the side of the body
4. Control band as it contracts to original position
Pro Tip: Keep your body stable and avoid twisting in this position so you can focus on targeting your rear delts
Seated High Cable Row With Handled Bar
1. Sit down on cable row machine with a slight bend in the knees
2. Pull bar towards your upper chest, squeezing shoulder blades together
3. Pause for a brief moment before slowly controlling bar as it returns to starting position
Pro Tip: Try out different bar attachments to hit your rear delts in slightly different ways
High Pull Pendlay Row
1. Stand with feet shoulder width apart (or slightly wider)
2. Bend over, keeping back parallel to the floor and upper legs bent at a 45 degree angle
3. Grab barbell with a wide, overhand grip
4. Keeping head tucked in, row barbell to upper chest, pausing briefly at the top
5. Control bar as it lowers to the ground
Pro Tip: Keep back as flat as possible throughout the movement and squeeze shoulder blades together at the top
Kroc Row
1. With one arm holding on to object for support, bend over and grab dumbbell, using a grip halfway in between neutral and overhand
2. Body should be turned towards dumbbell
3. With back just about parallel to the floor and knees bent, row dumbbell up to chest
4. Control dumbbell as it lowers back to starting position
Pro Tip: Kroc rows are not meant to be like traditional dumbbell rows. You’re supposed to use heavier weights with these. Feel free to use a little extra body English to get the job done. This exercise is all about pulling heavy weights for as many reps as possible.
Incline Rear Delt Dumbbell Row
1. Set incline bench to 45 degree angle
2. Facing bench, kneeling on seat cushion, with chest touching top of bench, let head hang
over end of bench
3. Grab dumbbells using an overhand grip
4. Row dumbbells to upper chest, squeezing at the top
5. Control dumbbells as they lower to starting position
Pro Tip: Try using a neutral grip as well and pulling to your lower chest
Barbell Face Pull
1. Set incline bench to 45 degree angle
2. Lay facing bench, with sternum pressed tightly to upper bench
3. Grabbing barbell with a wide, overhand grip, row barbell up to face level
4. Pause briefly at top and lower barbell slowly back to starting position
Pro Tip: Keep these light, as heavier weights may be a bit awkward for your shoulders. You can try these with an EZ curl bar as well
Inverted Row
1. Lay underneath secured barbell or smith machine and extend legs straight in front of you
2. Using a wide, overhand grip, grab the barbell and position yourself so it is in line with your upper chest
3. Pull body upwards until upper chest touches bar
4. Pause for a brief moment, and then lower body slowly to the floor
Pro Tip: Add a weight plate or dumbbell on your stomach to increase the resistance
Single Arm High Band Row
1. Tie band to the bottom of a pole so it is as close to the ground as possible
2. Bend over at a 45 degree angle, with non-rowing hand resting on knee
3. With a neutral grip on rowing hand, hold end of band and pull to upper chest
4. Control band as it contracts to original position
Pro Tip: Take these slowly, really feeling the stretch in the rear delt
Band Pull Apart
1. Stand straight about shoulder width apart
2. Utilizing an underhand grip, hold each side of band with arms held straight out in front
3. Pull band apart until it touches your chest
4. Control band as it contracts back into original position
Pro Tip: Go with a lighter band and focus on slow, proper form with this one
FAQ
Q: How often should I train rear delts?
A: It depends on your overall training split. For example, if you are doing a classic bro bodybuilding split, training each muscle group once a week (back day, leg day, arms day, etc.), then you should hit rear delts once a week. If you are doing an upper lower split, then you may want to hit rear delts twice a week, since you will be training upper body twice a week. Keep your rear delt training in line with your training split.
Q: Should I train rear delts with back or shoulders?
A: This is a personal preference, but I prefer to hit rear delts with back. Rear delts have always seemed like a back exercise to me because they are active in pulling movements, like rows. I can understand why people would train them with shoulders since they are part of the deltoid muscles, and bent over dumbbell raises target rear delts specifically. Try training them with back for a few weeks, then switch to shoulders and see which one you prefer.
Q: Do pull ups hit rear delts?
A: Yes. Pull ups are an amazing compound movement which hit many muscle groups. There are a couple reasons I didn’t include them on this list:
-
- It’s harder to progress with pull ups since you are somewhat limited by your own bodyweight
- The mechanics of pull ups are such that it’s difficult to perform them in a way which optimizes and prioritizes rear delt involvement. This is much easier to accomplish with rows, where you can simply pull the bar/band/cable/dumbbell higher up on your body to get more rear delt activation
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