Improve Your Posterior Deltoid Strength With These Six Exercises

To be able to lift, push, and pull without injuring your shoulders, you must have powerful shoulders. It is necessary to work multiple muscles from various angles in order to build shoulder strength. In many exercises and everyday activities, the front of your shoulder — specifically, the anterior deltoid — has a tendency to be slightly dominant. Examples include raising your arms in front of you and pressing activities such as the bench press, which both require the anterior deltoid to function properly. This is targeting about rear delt exercises and its usefulness for your shoulder muscles.

It Is Equally Vital To Strengthen The Middle And Posterior Deltoids. A movement that involves bringing your arm backward while walking or pulling a lawn mower cord is performed by the middle deltoid, while the posterior deltoid extends your humerus behind you is performed by the posterior deltoid.

The posterior deltoid is also involved in externally rotating your shoulders, which is what you do when you rotate your hands out to produce the “I don’t know” sign.

These muscles all work together to keep your shoulders stable while performing everyday tasks such as carrying large supermarket bags with your arms down at your sides or lifting big objects. The posterior deltoids, on the other hand, can be difficult to target in the gym.

These six exercises will assist you in building rear deltoid strength as well as total shoulder strength. Try including a handful of these exercises into your normal strength-training sessions once a week.

1. Single-Arm Bent-Over Row.

This move is best performed on days when you are working on your shoulders and lower back muscles. This multi-joint activity, which can help you increase posterior deltoid strength, should be performed towards the end of your back day.

Dumbbells and a bench are required for this activity.

A number of muscles were worked, including the rear deltoids, the back, the biceps, and the transverse abdominals

How To Do Single-Arm Bent-Over Row:

1. Placing your left knee and left hand on the bench will help to stabilize you. Maintain the straightness of your left elbow.
2. Extend your right leg slightly beyond you, keeping your foot firmly planted on the floor as a point of stability. Maintain a flat back and a neutral spinal column.
3. Hold a medium-to-heavy dumbbell in your right hand, with your arm reaching down to the floor below the dumbbell.
4. Make a 90-degree bend in your right elbow, bringing it up and back until your upper arm is approximately in line with your lower chest.
5. At the very top of the exercise, squeeze your shoulder blades together tightly.
6. Lower the weight slowly and deliberately.
7. For 10–12 reps on one side, switch to the other arm before repeating the process. Work your way up to three sets.

Tip Of The Day:

During the exercise, try to keep your trunk steady and avoid rotating your spine. If you are unable to keep your trunk stable, either reduce the weight or stop the session and rest for a few minutes before continuing.

2. Standing Bend-Over Lateral Rise

When performing a long-arm lateral movement, begin with a smaller weight to avoid injury. As your strength increases, you can progress to a heavier weight.

It is possible to injure yourself when you begin a move like this with a large weight. But don’t be concerned; lifting smaller weights will still be a safe technique to increase your strength.

The following equipment is required: a pair of light to medium dumbbells

The following muscles were worked: posterior deltoids, middle deltoids, rhomboids, and middle trapezius.

How To Do Standing Bend-Over Lateral Rise:

1. Holding a pair of dumbbells with your palms facing each other is a good way to start.
2. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, gently bending your knees, and bending forward at the hips while maintaining a straight back. Weights should be held together below your chest, with your elbows relaxed and the weights close together.
3. As if you were spreading your wings, raise your arms up and out to the sides until they’re parallel to the floor.
4. At the apex of the exercise, squeeze your shoulder blades together.
5. Lifting the weights back to the starting position should be done slowly and carefully.
6. The weights should be light enough that you can do 10–12 reps with them. Work your way up to 2–3 sets.

Tip Of The Day:

Throughout the exercise, make an effort to keep your head in line with your trunk.

3. Cable Machine High Pull With Ropes.

Using this technique to vary your shoulder workout is a wonderful method to keep things interesting, but it does necessitate the use of some gym equipment. It is possible to effectively target your deltoids in a way that they are not accustomed to by altering the angles of your muscle training. This will aid you in your efforts to acquire strength.

It is necessary to have the following equipment: a cable machine with a double-handed rope attachment

The following muscles were worked: the rear and middle deltoids, the trapezius, and the rhomboids.

How To Do It:

1. Face the cable machine, with your feet hip-width apart and your back to it.
2. Adjust the cable attachment to a height that is approximately chest height, and then attach the rope handle to the cable attachment.
3. Take a step back so that your arms are stretching out in front of you and stand with your feet hip-width apart.
4. You should be drawing the ropes toward you, pulling them apart as you go. Your elbows should be kept up high in order to target those deltoids more effectively.
5. To return to the beginning posture, slowly and deliberately extend your elbows out to the side.
6. The weight should be light enough that you can do 10–12 reps with it. Work your way up to 2–3 sets.
7. Keeping your elbows bent 45–90 degrees away from your sides while pulling the rope apart and toward your chest is a good technique.
8. If you suffer pain or stiffness while your elbows are 90 degrees away from your sides (parallel to your shoulders), drop them to a position that is comfortable for you to avoid further discomfort.
9. Keep your head up and your gaze straight ahead, and keep your body tall so that you don’t arch your back while you’re walking.
10. A resistance band can also be used to complete this exercise, which should be placed in front of your body.

Pro-Tips Include The Following:

4. Rear Deltoid Machine.

At your local gym, you may actually find an equipment that is specifically designed to work the posterior deltoid muscles. This makes it quite simple to safely and effectively isolate specific muscles in a demanding manner.

The following equipment is required: rear deltoid machine

The muscles that were exercised were the back deltoids, middle trapezius, and rhomboids.

How To Do Rear Deltoid Machine:

1. Place your feet on the pad and sit on the machine. You’ll appear to be sitting on it backwards, but for the sake of this exercise, you’re perfectly positioned. Raising or lowering the seat height so that the handlebars in front of you are level with your shoulders is a good idea.
2. Holding the handles in either a palms-down or palms-facing-each-other position, press your arms back, maintaining them as straight or slightly bent as possible.
3. Try to clench your shoulder blades together as if they were a set of elevator doors.
4. Keep your hands in this position for 2 seconds, then return to the beginning position with your hands in front of your body. This should be done gently and with control.
5. Perform 10–12 reps.

Tip For You:

Keep your chest pressed against the pad and avoid arching your back too much.

5. Assisted Pull-up.

Despite the fact that pullups are a very effective training movement, the majority of people lack the upper body power to complete one without assistance. While performing this exercise, you will be working not only your posterior deltoids but also your lats, trapezius, and biceps.

The following equipment is required: an assisted pullup machine.

The muscles that were exercised were the latissimus dorsi, deltoids, middle and lower trapezius, and biceps.

How to Do Assisted Pull-up :

1. Make necessary adjustments to the weight deduction on the machine’s side. Decide on the appropriate quantity and set it.
2. Climb onto the knee pad and push it down until it is low enough for you to rest both knees on it comfortably. Your knees should be hip-width apart when you sit down.
3. The outer handles should be held over your head, with your palms facing away from the center.
4. Make a lowering motion with your arms and return to the beginning position.
5. Pull your body up until your chin is level with or above the handles on either side of the handles.
6. Hold the position for a few seconds, and then slowly drop yourself to the ground with precision. Maintain your shoulder blades’ engagement at all times. They should be pressed both back and down on the table.
7. Start with 6–8 repetitions and work your way up to 10–12 repetitions.

Pro-Tips Include The Following:

• Begin with a weight that is small enough to make the exercise hard but still allowing you to execute the movement correctly and with good form at the same time.
• If you are able to complete any reps without the aid (while maintaining proper form), you can begin without the support and graduate to utilizing it when you are unable to accomplish any more reps without the assistance.

6. Side-Lying External Rotation.

It is the goal of this exercise to emphasize the external rotation motion that the rear deltoid muscle does. As well, it works on some of the muscles in the rotator cuff (infraspinatus and teres minor).

Equipment required: a towel and a dumbbell.

The following muscles were worked: the rear deltoid, the rotator cuff, the middle trapezius, and the rhomboids.

How To Do Side-Lying External Rotation :

1. Lie down on your side with a light dumbbell in your hand.
2. Lie your upper arm on your side and bend one of your elbows 90 degrees to the side. You can use a towel roll to support your broad shoulders by placing it between your upper arm and your torso.
3. Adjust the position of your arm on your torso to the greatest extent possible without allowing your upper arm to drift away from your body. For 1–2 seconds, hold the position, and then slowly lower it back to the beginning position. Perform 10–12 reps.

Pro-Tips Include The Following:

• Maintain your upper arm’s resting position against your body and allow it to revolve like a door hinge.
• Maintain your body’s stability and avoid rotating your torso backwards. Instead of trying to acquire greater movement from your torso, work with the range of motion that is already accessible in your shoulders.

The Bottom Line

The posterior, or rear, deltoids are significant shoulder muscles that are involved in a variety of pulling activities, as well as shoulder stabilization and protection. It is logical to strengthen them in order to maintain healthy shoulder mobility.

Prior to beginning any workout plan, it is recommended that you consult with a healthcare expert before beginning these activities. A certified trainer should also be involved in order to ensure that you are utilizing the machines securely and to your advantage.

For those who want to build their shoulders in a balanced manner, including these maneuvers in their regular shoulder workouts will assist to counteract the heavier, front-loaded actions that are commonly seen in other standard gym exercises.