Band Rear Delt Wide Row
How to Do the Band Bent Over Rear Delt Wide Row | In-Depth Guide [VISUAL LEARNERS]
Proper Form & Common Mistakes | Home Resistance Training
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE?
QUICK DEMO
QUICK DEMO
MUSCLES THIS WORKS
MUSCLES
MAIN MUSCLES WORKED IN Band Rear Delt Wide Rows
Rear Deltoid
The rear delt (aka posterior delt) is the back of your main shoulder muscle, called the deltoid.
OTHER MUSCLES WORKED:
- All portions of the deltoid muscle; scapular muscles (pectoralis minor, subclavius, latissimus dorsi, lower trap, serratus)
- External rotators ( infraspinatus and teres minor).
STARTING POINTERS
Starting Pointers
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
ALL WE'RE DOING:
In a bent over position, we're just going to bend our elbows to raise our arms up towards the ceiling.
The Rear Delt Wide Row is an effective exercise for targeting the rear deltoids and improving posture. This exercise is done with a resistance band and can be performed while bent over. It is an excellent rear delt row variation, as it helps to strengthen the muscles around the shoulder blades and upper back, which can help to prevent hunched shoulders.
This movement focuses on getting the arm behind the back - one of the primary roles of the deltoid muscle. The exercise does a good job of working the rear deltoid at the same time as the scapular stabilizers while decreasing the activation of the latissimus dorsi and triceps. The use of a band makes this exercise easy to adjust to increase or decrease the level of difficulty.
Rear Deltoid Wide Rows are a great exercise for improving your posture and to relieve tension in your neck or upper back after sitting for too long. Many people have a tendency toward stooped posture as they age - the upper back and shoulders begin to round forward. It is important to include exercises that help to fight this tendency.
This exercise is pretty simple - just lifting your arms out to the side and pulling them behind your back. This works the rear deltoid muscle and the posture muscles of the upper back while stretching the muscles on the front of the chest. Many of the rear deltoid exercises will include a rotation of the upper arm after pulling the arm back. The added rotation can be really hard if you are using heavier resistance. This exercise concentrates on moving the arm back, without the rotation at the end, so you may be able to use a heavier resistance band.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE
LOOKS
HOW Band Rear Delt Wide Rows SHAPE OUR BODY
Toned, balanced, capped shoulders, good posture.
PROPER FORM
PROPER FORM: Band Rear Delt Wide Row
EQUIPMENT, SETS & REPS
EQUIPMENT
Main set (3: Light/Med/Heavy)
X-Heavy Band (I recommend getting this too if you plan to use resistance bands frequently).
SUGGESTED STARTING WEIGHT FOR WOMEN:
Light to moderate resistance
SETS & REPS:
2 sets of 8 reps
PACE:
Moderate up and slower down.
BODY POSITION
BODY POSITION FOR THE Band Rear Delt Wide Row
BAND: Secured under both feet.
FEET: Shoulder width apart, toes straight ahead.
BODY STANCE: Knees slightly bent to provide a stable base. Hinge at hips to lean the torso forward 60-90 degrees - dependent on low back strength and hamstring length, must be able to keep your spine in a neutral position and stable. It is ok to lean over further (up to 90 degrees) but your back must be neutral and sternum lifted, chest broad. Increasing the lean increases the muscle activity in the back - further than 90 degrees (parallel to the floor) will decrease the muscle activity.
HAND/GRIP: Neutral or pronated grip on ends of band, whichever is more comfortable.
ARM: Bring your arms out wide, so that your hands are 3-4 inches outside of your feet. Elbows relaxed. The band may be loose in the starting position - the rear deltoid is going to be most active as the arms move back.
NECK: Relaxed, neutral, uninvolved in movement.
HOW TO DO
HOW TO DO Band Rear Delt Wide Rows
CUE: The movement comes from your upper arm moving back, think of leading with your elbows.
Pull your shoulder blades together and your upper arm up (backwards relative to the torso) at 80-90 degrees AWAY from your body (elbow is not close to body).
Let your elbows bend as your upper arm moves behind your body. The elbow will lift away from your body as it moves backwards (elbows out).
Your upper arm should be as far as possible behind your back with elbows high and bent to 70-90 degrees. Squeeze and hold for 2 - 3 seconds at the top of the movement.
Return to the starting position and repeat.
HOW TO SAFELY GET OUT OF THE EXERCISE
From the starting position, release the band.
COMMON MISTAKES
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT TO AVOID WITH THE Band Rear Delt Wide Row
KEY TIP:
Guess what? Good news! Many avoids are the same for most movements. Once you learn the basics, there's really only a few extra avoids for each individual movement.
1. Avoid arching spine
AVOID: Avoid arching your low back.
WHY NOT?
- Can lead to low back joint injury, muscle strain, or damage over time.
WHAT TO DO:
- Maintain a neutral spine position.
- Troubleshooting suggested fixes
- Poor core strength: activate your abdominal muscles, or do choose a position with more support.
2. Avoid rounding spine
AVOID: Avoid rounding (flexing) your low back.
WHY NOT?
- Can lead to muscle strain or low back joint injury, it will also decrease the activation of the targeted muscles.
WHAT TO DO:
- Maintain a neutral spine position.
- May be caused by poor back extensor strength: choose a position with more support.
3. Avoid Bending Wrists
AVOID: Avoid moving through your wrists.
WHY NOT?
- Poor alignment (bent forward or backward) or repetitive movement through the wrist can lead to joint and/or soft tissue irritation or injury over time.
WHAT TO DO:
- Your wrists should be in line with your forearm and should be still throughout the exercise.
4. Avoid locking knees
AVOID: Avoid straightening or locking the knees of standing legs.
WHY NOT?
- This tends to decrease the lumbar curve, pull on the hamstrings and decrease the muscle activity of the legs.
- Locking the knees puts stress on the knee joint and can make it more difficult to maintain a neutral spine.
WHAT TO DO:
- If you feel pressure or discomfort in the low back or knees, try bending the knees.
- Keep the knees soft, with a slight bend.
5. Avoid too Much Resistance
AVOID: Avoid sacrificing range of movement for increased weight.
WHY NOT?
- The deltoid will become most active towards the end of the movement when the upper arm is behind your shoulder joint and externally rotated.
- Increasing the weight may prevent you from being able to get to this position.
6. Avoid rounding Shoulders
AVOID: Avoid shoulders riding up.
WHY NOT?
- This can lead to neck and/or shoulder injury over time and it prevents you from using the correct muscles.
- You may feel neck discomfort, find that you are pressing down with your head, or gripping with your neck muscles.
WHAT TO DO:
- Check in to make sure that you are not gripping neck muscles in an attempt to stabilize the shoulders: relax the neck and activate the core muscles more, activate the scapular stabilizers in retraction and depression.
- The neck should be neutral and relaxed, with space between the earlobe and top of shoulder.
WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY
WHAT & WHY
BENEFITS OF TRAINING THE rear deltoid
WHAT
This exercise is designed to work muscle on the back of the shoulder - the back (posterior or rear) part of the deltoid muscle. These muscles are worked by moving the arm back, and slightly behind the body. The rear deltoid also helps to rotate the arm the underside of the arm up.
Rear Deltoid Wide Rows are a great exercise for improving your posture and can help relieve tension in your neck or upper back after sitting for too long. This exercise is pretty simple - just lifting your arms out to the side and pulling them behind your back. This works the rear deltoid muscle and the posture muscles of the upper back while stretching the muscles on the front of the chest.
Two of the main functions of the rear deltoid are moving the arm behind the back and rotating the arm outward. It is harder for the rear deltoid to rotate the arm backwards than it is to move the arm back. Concentrating on working on only moving the back without adding the rotation of the arm can make it easier to lift more weight.
WHY BOTHER DOING IT?
WHY
WHY DO WE EVEN CARE?
WORK THE SLIGHTLY IGNORED PART OF OUR SHOULDER MUSCLE
The deltoid muscle is the large visible muscle on the top of the shoulder. The muscle can be thought of as having 3 different parts, each part moves the arm in a different direction. The rear deltoid or posterior deltoid is the part of the muscle that lies on the back side of the shoulder. The other two parts of the deltoid muscle lift the arm to the front and to the side of the body. In our everyday lives, and even in our workouts, we spend a lot of time moving our arms to the front and to the sides of the body. We spend very little time moving our arms behind us.
This might make you think that the rear deltoid does not need to be strong. But it is important to know that all three parts of the muscle need to be able to work together to keep the shoulder joint healthy. The entire deltoid muscle works to stabilize the shoulder joint when you use your arm, and when you are lifting or carrying a heavy object. A well-balanced deltoid muscle is needed for healthy shoulder movement and posture. If you strengthen the front and middle deltoids but not the rear deltoids, then you will create an imbalance. Keeping all three parts of the deltoid muscle strong and healthy can improve posture, make lifting and carrying easier, and prevent injury. The rear deltoid raise also works the muscles of the back, including the muscles around the shoulder blade that work to correct a slumped posture position.
PROMOTES MORE CONTROLLED MOVEMENT OF OUR SHOULDER
It is interesting (at least to me) to think about how the muscles work. Muscles work together to coordinate movement, so even though one muscle is primarily responsible for a specific movement - if the other muscles are not balancing out the primary mover - our movement would be very uncontrolled.
For example: throwing a ball, even though the front of the shoulder and the chest muscles are doing most of the work to pull the arm forward forcibly, the back of the shoulder needs to be putting on the brakes - just the right amount at just the right time in order to control the movement. If the muscles on the front overpower the muscles on the back of the shoulder - the upper arm bone would move forward in the shoulder joint. Over time, this can damage the joint or the soft tissues of the joint.
WORKS THE REAR DELT FOR BOTH IT'S FUNCTIONS + BONUS ROTATOR CUFF WORK!
These exercises are designed to target the rear deltoid by working it into both it's main functions:
1. extension
2. external rotation
The exercise does a good job of working the rear delt at the same time as the rotator cuff muscles (infraspinatus and teres minor) which is important for establishing good movement patterns.
This exercise is done in a bent over position. To hold the position, the muscles of the back of the legs (gastroc/soleus, hamstrings and gluteus maximus) need to be active. The back extensor muscles will work to hold the torso against the downward pull of gravity. The resistance is pulled back (as opposed to pulled down or up at an angle) so the scapular muscles, especially the mid and lower traps, rhomboids, and serratus anterior will help with the movement.
LOOKS LIKE THE BOMB.COM
I think defined rear delts just look awesome on a woman! I'm not usually into trying to look all a certain way, but there's something super attractive to me about having nice shape in this area.
EVERYDAY LIFE
EVERYDAY LIFE &
MUSCLE FUNCTION
HOW WE USE OUR rear deltoid MUSCLES IN EVERYDAY LIFE
1. REACHING BEHIND THE BODY
- Tending a kid in the back seat
- Reaching into the back pocket
- Bringing the arm back to throw a ball (overhand)
2. PULLING
- Pulling a car door shut
- Pulling a refrigerator door open
3. ROTATING THE ARM UP (EXTERNAL ROTATION)
- Reaching the back of your head for washing, brushing your hair
- Pulling a shirt off over your head
- Reaching the top of a zipper
- Scratching your upper back
- Turning your outstretched arm with the palm up (need shoulder external rotation and forearm supination)
- Receiving change in the palm of the hand
4. WORKS WITH THE OTHER PARTS OF THE DELTOID MUSCLE (ANTERIOR, MIDDLE FIBERS OF THE DELTOID) TO STABILIZE THE SHOULDER JOINT
- Improves the ability to lift and carry heavy objects (the arm has a stable base to work off of).
- Injury prevention
HOW TO FEEL WHAT MUSCLE IS WORKING
How to Feel What Muscle is Working
Take your opposite hand and place it on top of your shoulder. You should feel a hard, flat surface right on top close to the shoulder joint. Drop your fingers right below the bony surface. Hold your upper arm up (approximately 50 - 60 degrees out to the side) with the elbow bent. Push the upper arm back. You should feel the rear fibers of the deltoid activate under your fingers. It can help to push your elbow into the back of the chair or a wall.
SCIENCY STUFF
ALLLL MUSCLES & WHEN
ALL MUSCLES WORKING & WHEN DURING THE Band Rear Delt Wide Row
The back extensors and hip extensors are active isometrically to hold the bent-over position when the arms are lifted. The middle and lower traps, rhomboids, serratus anterior work to stabilize the shoulder blades in towards the spine (retraction) and down the back (depression) so that the arm muscles have a stable base to work off of.
The beginning of the movement (bottom) is initiated by the scapular retractors pulling the shoulder blades together to facilitate the extension of the shoulder.
The arms are pulled back with concentric contraction of the posterior deltoids. As the arms move backwards (towards the ceiling because you are bent over) The end of the range of the movement is full shoulder extension, with assistance from the rotator cuff and scapular muscles. The contribution from the triceps is minimized by the bent elbow position.
The arm is lowered back to the starting position through eccentric contraction of the posterior deltoid.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
