How to do the Rear Delt Row (High-Elbow)
Step by step
- Hinge forward at the hips with a dumbbell in each hand, back flat, arms hanging.
- Row the weights up and out, flaring your elbows high and wide away from your body.
- Aim your elbows toward the ceiling rather than tucking them to your sides.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades and rear shoulders at the top of the pull.
- Lower the dumbbells back down slowly until the arms hang again.
The thing people get wrong
The flared high-elbow path is what shifts the work to the rear delts. Tucking the elbows turns it into a regular back row.
Coaching cue
Keep your back flat and your hips completely still so only your arms move.
Stay safe
Keep your back flat rather than rounded; hinging under load with a rounded back strains your lower back.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Start with light dumbbells and hinge only until your chest is at about 45 degrees.
- Harder: Pause for two seconds at the top of each row.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Rear delts
- Secondary: Upper Back
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.