Machine Rear Delt Fly
The machine rear delt fly is done facing a pec deck and sweeping the handles back in a wide arc. It isolates the rear delts, the back of your shoulders. Use it to balance all your pressing and build fuller shoulders, since rows rarely take the rear delts close to failure.
Muscles worked
The machine rear delt fly trains the shoulders.
Primary
Weekly sets for shoulders
Hard sets per week that Swole.fit plans for shoulders, counting every exercise that trains it. Start a cycle near the growth line and climb toward the recovery limit before a deload.
How to do the machine rear delt fly
- 01Set the pec deck handles to the rear position and face the machine with your chest on the pad.
- 02Adjust the seat so the handles sit at shoulder height.
- 03Grab the handles with a neutral or overhand grip and a soft bend in your elbows.
- 04Sweep your arms back and out until they line up with your torso.
- 05Return slowly until your hands nearly meet in front of you, then repeat.
Coaching cues
- Arms out wide, not back
- Keep the shoulder blades fairly still
- Pinkies lead the way
Common mistakes
- Squeezing your shoulder blades hard turns the fly into a row, so focus on moving the arm, not the shoulder blade.
- Going too heavy makes you yank with momentum, so use a load you can control with a brief pause at the back.
- Dropping the elbows low shifts work to the lats, so keep your arms at shoulder height through the arc.
How Swole.fit programs it
Log it once and the app plans the next session for you.
- Most sets land between 8 and 15 reps, the range the plan steers isolation work toward for size.
- Week one starts around 2 to 3 reps in reserve. Each week you train a little closer to failure, ending around 0 to 1 in reserve before a deload week.
- Hit the top of the range on every set and the next session adds the smallest real jump in weight, rounded to the plates, dumbbells or stack you actually have.
- Sets for this exercise count toward your weekly volume for every muscle it trains: a full set for the primary muscles, half a set for the helpers.
The full method, with the maths, is in how mesocycles work.
Machine Rear Delt Fly alternatives
Same muscles, different tool. Swap in one of these when the equipment is taken or your joints want a change.
Log it. Let the app plan the next one.
Track your machine rear delt fly free. Swole.fit picks the next weight, counts your weekly sets and tells you when to deload.