Lying Rear Delt Barbell Raise Overview
The lying rear delt barbell raise builds the back of your shoulders. These are your rear delts, the muscles behind your shoulders. It also works your middle back. You need a barbell and a bench. You lie face down and raise the bar out to the sides. Most people forget their rear delts. This move fixes that. Strong rear delts give you better posture and healthy shoulders. Lying face down keeps you from cheating. The lying rear delt barbell raise is a strict, honest move. It fits on shoulder days, back days, or pull days. Use it as a helper move. It suits lifters who want balanced, strong shoulders.
What Is The Point of the Lying Rear Delt Barbell Raise?
The lying rear delt barbell raise builds strong rear delts and better posture. This move fixes rounded shoulders and creates balanced shoulder development.
How To Do The Lying Rear Delt Barbell Raise
- Set a flat bench and lie face down on it with your chest supported and a light barbell on the floor beneath you. Reach down and grab the bar with an overhand grip a bit wider than shoulder width, arms hanging straight down.
- Press your chest into the bench and set your shoulder blades so you have a stable base. Take a breath and brace your core so your torso stays flat and still.
- Let your arms hang straight toward the floor with a soft, fixed bend in the elbows. This is your starting position, and that elbow bend stays the same for every rep.
- Begin the raise by driving the bar up and out to the sides using your rear delts, leading with your pinkies and keeping the elbows soft. Think about moving the weight with the back of your shoulders, not your arms.
- Raise the bar until your upper arms reach about shoulder level and your rear delts are fully working. Keep the movement wide and out to the sides rather than pulling the bar toward your chest.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top and pause for a beat, feeling the rear delts and upper back contract. Avoid shrugging the traps up toward your ears.
- Hold the top contraction briefly, keeping your chest pinned and your neck neutral. Do not use momentum to fling the bar up.
- Lower the bar slowly back to the hanging start over about two to three seconds, resisting gravity the whole way. Keep the elbow angle fixed as you lower.
- Exhale as you raise and inhale as you lower, keeping the reps strict and light. Aim for 12 to 15 reps for 3 to 4 sets, since the rear delts respond best to lighter loads and higher reps with a good squeeze.
Lying Rear Delt Barbell Raise Form Tips
- Keep your chest pressed into the bench. Do not lift it.
- Keep your arms nearly straight. A small elbow bend is fine.
- Lift the bar out to the sides, not just up.
- Lead with your pinkies. This targets your rear delts.
- Move slowly up. Then lower even slower.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.
- Breathe out as you lift. Breathe in as you lower.
- Keep your neck relaxed. Do not lift your head.
- Use a light weight you can control.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Lying Rear Delt Barbell Raise
- Using too much weight and turning it into a row. A heavy bar makes you bend the elbows and pull toward your chest, which shifts the work to the lats and traps instead of the rear delts. Go light so you can raise the bar out to the sides with a fixed elbow angle.
- Bending and straightening the elbows through the rep. Changing the elbow angle turns the raise into a pressing or rowing motion and takes the rear delts off tension. Set a soft, fixed bend and hold it for the whole movement.
- Pulling the bar toward your chest instead of out wide. A vertical pull hits the mid-back and lats rather than the rear delts. Drive the bar up and out to the sides so the rear delts do the work.
- Shrugging the traps up toward your ears. Letting the shoulders ride up recruits the upper traps and steals the work from the rear delts. Keep the shoulders down and think about squeezing the shoulder blades together instead.
- Swinging the torso or using momentum. Heaving your body to fling the bar up cheats the rear delts and can strain the low back. Keep your chest pinned to the bench and move the bar with the shoulders alone.
- Rushing the lowering phase. Dropping the bar fast wastes the eccentric on a small muscle that needs controlled tension. Lower over two to three seconds and resist gravity the whole way.
- Raising the bar too high past shoulder level. Going too high shifts the work into the traps and out of the rear delts. Stop when your upper arms reach about shoulder height where the rear delts peak.
- Not squeezing at the top. Coasting through the top skips the peak contraction where the rear delts finish the rep. Squeeze the shoulder blades together and pause for a beat at the top.
- Craning the neck to look forward. Lifting the head strains the neck and pulls your upper body out of position. Keep your neck neutral with your gaze down at the bench.
- Losing the chest contact with the bench. Peeling your torso up lets the body swing and recruits the wrong muscles. Keep your chest pressed into the pad for the whole set.
- Holding your breath through reps. Freezing your breath adds pressure with no benefit on a small isolation move. Exhale as you raise and breathe steadily through the set.
- Gripping unevenly on the bar. An off-center grip loads one rear delt more than the other and can build an imbalance. Set your hands evenly and check them before you start.
Lying Rear Delt Barbell Raise Workout Tips
- Go light and keep the reps strict. The rear delts are small and respond far better to controlled, lighter loads than to a heavy bar you have to heave.
- Keep a soft, fixed bend in your elbows the whole set. Locking the elbow angle keeps the movement a raise rather than a row and keeps the rear delts loaded.
- Drive the bar up and out to the sides, not toward your chest. Leading wide with your pinkies puts the work squarely on the rear delts.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top. A firm contraction makes the rear delts and upper back finish the rep and reinforces the connection.
- Lower over two to three seconds. Controlling the eccentric keeps tension on a small muscle that grows best with steady, deliberate reps.
- Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears. Avoiding a shrug keeps the traps from stealing the work from the rear delts.
- Chase the mind-muscle connection with the back of your shoulders. Thinking about moving the bar with the rear delts is the surest way to actually train them.
- Program this as an accessory after heavier back or shoulder work. The rear delts are often a weak point, so dedicated volume here pays off for balanced shoulders and posture.
- For most lifters 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps works best. Higher reps with a good squeeze suit the rear delts better than heavy low-rep sets.
- Stop the raise at about shoulder height. Going higher hands the work to the traps and off the rear delts.
- Keep your chest pinned to the bench and your neck neutral. A quiet, supported torso keeps the movement isolated to the shoulders.
- Progress with tiny load jumps while keeping the reps strict. Small increases build the rear delts without tempting you to swing.
- Try dumbbells or a reverse pec deck on other days. Varying the tool keeps the rear delts challenged from different angles for fuller development.
- Match both sides with an even grip. Symmetric hand placement stops one rear delt from taking over and building an imbalance.
- Add a peak squeeze hold on your last set. Pausing at the top ramps up the contraction on the rear delts and improves the connection.
- Film a set from the side occasionally. Video reveals bending elbows or a body swing far better than the lift feels while you are face down.
- Be patient with this one. Rear delts are stubborn and easy to undertrain, so consistent light, strict volume over months is what finally builds them out.
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