The bent-over dumbbell fly isolates your rear delts: a small muscle, so the weight is light and technique is everything.
1Starting positionStart2End positionFinish
Setup
Stand with dumbbells, feet hip-width, hinge forward until you're nearly parallel to the floor, back flat, knees soft. Arms hang down, palms facing each other, elbows slightly bent.
Execution
Hold the dumbbells and hinge forward until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor — standing with soft knees, or seated on the end of a bench with your chest to your thighs. Flat back, arms hanging down, palms facing each other — starting position.
Exhale and raise your arms out to the sides in an arc to shoulder height, squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Inhale and lower the dumbbells back down slowly.
Common mistakes
Squeezing your shoulder blades and pulling with your back — think of reaching wide, not pinching your blades.
Rocking your torso — the hinge stays fixed.
Lifting above your back line — shoulder height is enough.
Rounded back in the hinge — keep it flat, or lie chest-down on an incline bench.
Not sure about your form? Send me a video of a set — I'll take a look and tell you what to fix first.
