Isolation · Dumbbells

Dumbbell Reverse Fly

A bent-over or chest-supported exercise where you raise dumbbells out to the sides. It targets the rear delts and helps balance pressing work. Good for most lifters looking to build shoulder balance and posture.

Primary
Rear Delts
Secondary
Back
Starting rep range
12–18 reps
Target effort
2 reps in reserve
Progression
1 kg jumps

Muscles worked

The rear delts pull the arms out and back, with the rhomboids and mid traps assisting. Keeping the arms wider and slightly soft at the elbow keeps the focus on the rear delts.

How to set up

  1. Hinge forward at the hips until your torso is near parallel, or lie chest-down on an incline bench.
  2. Hold light dumbbells under your chest with palms facing each other.
  3. Keep a slight bend in the elbows.
  4. Brace your trunk and keep your neck neutral.

How to do each rep

  1. Raise the dumbbells out to the sides in a wide arc.
  2. Stop when your arms are about level with your torso.
  3. Lower slowly for 2-3 seconds.
  4. Lead with the elbows, not the hands.

Common dumbbell reverse fly mistakes

Using too much weight

Choose light dumbbells you can raise without swinging.

Squeezing the shoulder blades hard

Focus on moving the arms out wide rather than pinching the blades together.

Lifting the torso

Keep your torso still or use a chest-supported bench.

Sets, reps, and progression

Surpass starts the dumbbell reverse fly at 12–18 reps with about 2 reps in reserve. As an isolation exercise it fits well after your main compound lifts.

Use higher reps, around 12-20, and add weight in small jumps. If dumbbell jumps are too big, add reps or a pause at the top.

Know what to lift next time

Surpass shows what you lifted last time beside a target for this set, and adjusts it from your reps and RIR. Free on iPhone, no account needed.

Track it free in Surpass

Dumbbell Reverse Fly alternatives

These train the same main muscles. Swap when the equipment is busy, something hurts, or progress has stalled for several weeks.

Band Pull-ApartRear Delts · Resistance bandFace PullRear Delts · CableRear Delt Machine (Reverse Pec Deck)Rear Delts · MachineRear Delt FlyRear Delts · Dumbbells

Programs that use it

Push Pull Legs (6-Day PPL)6 days a week · intermediateArnold Split (6 Days)6 days a week · advanced5-Day Bro Split5 days a week · intermediate

Calculators

1RM CalculatorNext Set CalculatorPlate Calculator

Questions

What do reverse flies work?

Mainly the rear delts, with the rhomboids and mid traps assisting.

Reverse fly vs face pull?

Both train the rear delts. The reverse fly isolates them more, while the face pull adds rotator cuff work.