Rear Delts, Pesky Blighters !

[DarkLord]

Through much training now I've discovered that the rear delts really are pesky little buggers to stimulate, even and a controlled speed they seem to go beyond fifteen reps. If I add a bit more weight, it's too much and form falls into failure. Is it advisable to stick with cables, as I am now, as gravity plays a huge disadvantage ?

[F_Mac]

Rows, face pulls, and cleans will give your rear delts plenty of stimulation.

[Firehawk]

trick is to keep your elbows up, don't let them fall, because then you end up using lats. . With face pulls, keep elbows up high and on each rep when you pull that weight to your forehead, pause for a second.

F-mac has turned 'gear whore' so he don't even bother training those muscles anymore. He does quarter squats, rack pulls, and 4-board presses and that's it, so take his advice accordingly :

j/k Canuck...lol

Try bent over rows with the elbows out. That'll kick you rear delt growth into high gear.

[EliteLift]

the one exercise i have found most effective for rear delt stimulation is heavy bent over dumbell rows in the 4-6 rep range, that being said you say that very small weight increments make a very big differnce in how many reps you are able to do. this makes me question your form, for example when doing rows arch your back like you would during a deadlift, try not to shrug or use your shoulder blades in any way and keep your shoulders parellel and if you want to simulate your rear delts even more flair your elbow out away from your torso.

its very easy to get away with bad form on pulling movments so be certain you are useing proper form.

[Firehawk]

There's a delt fly movement that if done right will hit them pretty good, and it only takes 10lb-20lb dbs to hit it. Lie on your stomach on an incline bench set about 45 degrees, or 30 degrees, whatever you feel is better, put the DB's out so your arms are perpendicular to your body, keeping fists pointed downward, lift the DB's out toward your ears, keeping arms slightly bent (never bend them during this exercise once you begin), and keeping arms up even with your ears (don't let elbows drop). With very light weight this puts all the pressure on the rear delts and not any tendons or other muscles if done right.

[F_Mac]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

F-mac has turned 'gear whore' so he don't even bother training those muscles anymore. He does quarter squats, rack pulls, and 4-board presses and that's it, so take his advice accordingly :

Full range work is for losers. :

[EliteLift]

yeah my agility and flexiblity really suck. i guess i am a pretty big looser

[.V.]

Originally Posted by EliteLift

yeah my agility and flexiblity really suck. i guess i am a pretty big looser

They will get better. Is your avatar your pic? If so, then don't worry about rear delts. You can't shape what you don't have. Simply work on conditioning for general health and work on basic, heavy movements for building muscle. Then as your body changes you may see places that need to be "caught up" with the rest, then you can add extra work for these.

In reality, the squat, dead, bench, and row are all you need for basic overall improvement of the muscles. They hit everything. Want to do some abs, direct arm work, or pullups - fine, do them then. But they aren't requirements because the "basic 4" will take care of the whole body.

My rear delts suck compared to my middle and anterior delts, but since I'm not a bodybuilder and my training isn't "physique specific" I don't care. If I ever decide to add more muscle and do another contest...then I'll worry about rear delts.

Think about it:
Squat - legs, abs, back
Dead - legs, abs, back, traps, (yes, rear delts too)
bench - chest, anterior delts, triceps
Row - (when done like it should be as a dynamic pendalay row), biceps, hamstrings, glutes, low back, rear delts...and of course, it's primary target - upper back.

Dead and row also hit the forearms pretty good too.

[Todd]

When working shoulders, make sure to include bent-over d-bell laterals for the rear delts, as well as Cable Rear Delt Flyes, as shown here. I do one, or both of these exercises strictly for rear delts, because these both hit the rear delts DIRECTLY.

You can also get second-hand stimulation from bent-over rows, t-bar rows, etc, as others have already mentioned.

Good luck.

[EliteLift]

hey welch yeah thats me in my avatar (old pic too).theres no doubt that those are the most overall effective exercises, although i think that pullups deserve a spot on that list.

i was mostly replying to f-mac's arrogant comment, my sarcasim might not have been noticed. after all i am quite happy with my goals thus far...

[F_Mac]

Just out of curiosity..........how was my comment arrogant?

[.V.]

It wasn't arrogant. It was just a couple of powerlifters teasing each other. Sometimes, some of the jokes between long time members may be misunderstood.