How to do the Cable Rear Delt Fly
Step by step
- Set two pulleys to about shoulder height and cross the cables in front of you.
- Grab the left handle with your right hand and the right handle with your left.
- Start with arms out front and a soft elbow bend, then open your arms wide and back.
- Squeeze the rear shoulders at the end, then return under control.
The thing people get wrong
Lead with your elbows and keep the bend fixed - a small squeeze back is enough. Do not let your arms straighten into a full swing.
Coaching cue
Keep your hands at shoulder height through the whole sweep so the back of your shoulders stay loaded.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Go lighter and open only as far as you can without your elbows straightening out.
- Harder: Hold the wide, squeezed position for two seconds on every rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Rear delts, Upper Back
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.