incline Rear Delt Raise - Dumbbell+ ball
How to Do the Chest Supported Rear Delt Raise with Dumbbell & Stability Ball | 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 Dumbbell Ball Rear Delt Raises
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:
While "resting" over a stability ball, we'll raise our arms out to our sides.
The chest-supported rear delt raise is an effective exercise for targeting the rear delts and upper back muscles. It can be done with a dumbbell and fitness ball and it's an excellent incline bench alternative. By doing this exercise regularly, you can improve your posture and reduce pain in your neck and back caused by poor posture.
Using a stability ball to incline over for the rear deltoid raise is a nice way to work the muscles on the back of the body - the back and leg extensors (muscles on the back of the entire leg). The inclined body is supported but on an unstable surface. This will work the muscles of the torso and legs differently (the muscle activation - how much and when, what kind of contraction, will have to be constantly changing) than when standing or leaning on a stable surface.
The position of the ball limits the forward movement of the arm - this is nice because it lets you really concentrate on the part of the movement that uses the rear deltoid the most - pulling the arm back and rotating it outward. If you hold your arms up and do not allow them to rest on the ball in between reps, there will be some tension on the muscles that pull the shoulder blades back and the rear deltoid throughout the set - this is a nice bonus strengthening.
HOW TO DO THE EXERCISE
LOOKS
HOW Dumbbell Ball Rear Delt Raises SHAPE OUR BODY
Toned, balanced, capped shoulders, good posture.
PROPER FORM
PROPER FORM: Dumbbell Ball Rear Delt Raise
EQUIPMENT, SETS & REPS
EQUIPMENT
SUGGESTED STARTING WEIGHT FOR WOMEN:
3-5 lbs
SETS & REPS:
2 sets of 8 reps
PACE:
Moderate up and slower down.
BODY POSITION
BODY POSITION FOR THE Dumbbell Ball Rear Delt Raise
BODY STANCE: Place your torso over the ball, the torso inclined approximately 70 -90 degrees.
If your stability ball is too large to achieve this, 2 ways to fix that are
- Let some air out of your ball (which may or may not be a pain depending on whether you need to refill it for other movements)
- Use a nice thick 2-3” foam balance cushion under your knees to raise your body up higher off the ground - here’s the one I use:
LEGS: Knees hip-width apart, toes anchored to the floor for support. Usually, your hips will be directly over your knees but it is fine if your hip is in front of your knee but it would be more stress on your lower legs.
If you bend your knees more to sit back on your lower legs, this is fine and can be easier on your core muscles.
HAND/GRIP: Neutral grip or pronated, whatever feels more comfortable.
ARM: Arms to the sides of the ball, hands wider a few inches wider than shoulder-width. Elbows relaxed. Hands will probably be on the floor unless your ball is really big or your arms are very short.
NECK: Relaxed, neutral, uninvolved in movement.
HOW TO DO
HOW TO DO Dumbbell Ball Rear Delt Raises
CUE: Think of leading with your elbows as your arms move back and with your hands as your upper arm rotates back. The rear deltoid is most active during the second half of the movement.
Pull your shoulder blades and your upper arms back.
Let your elbows bend as your upper arm comes back behind your body. Your elbow will lift away from your body as it moves backwards (elbows out).
Lift your forearm to rotate your upper arm up (so the hands come upward towards the “don’t shoot” position).
Your upper arm should be as far as possible behind your back and away from your side approximately 50 - 60°. Your elbow bent to 70-90° at the end of the movement.
For lowering the weight, stop before you touch the floor to keep tension on the muscle.
HOW TO SAFELY GET OUT OF THE EXERCISE
From the starting position, set the weights on the floor, bend your knees and press back to tall kneeling, then standing.
COMMON MISTAKES
COMMON MISTAKES
WHAT TO AVOID WITH THE Dumbbell Ball Rear Delt Raise
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 elbows dropping
AVOID: Avoid letting the upper arm drop down as up rotate the arm.
WHY NOT?
- This will take the tension off of the deltoid and will decrease how much the muscle is working.
WHAT TO DO:
- Keep the upper arm lifted and concentrate on rotation of the bone in the socket.
2. Avoid Arching Low Back
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.
3. 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.
4. Avoid too heavy weight
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.
5. 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 from the underside of the arm up.
This is a fun version of the standard rear deltoid raise. This movement uses a ball to lean the torso over. This is a nice option if you are not comfortable standing in a bent over position. Your torso is being held up by the ball, but the legs need to work to hold the ball still. The arms are lifted up out to the side and then rotated out, into the “don’t shoot” position.
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 Dumbbell Ball Rear Delt Raise
The back extensors and leg extensors are active (combination of isometric, concentric and eccentric) to hold the torso stable inclined over the ball. 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 posterior deltoid with some help with the triceps, works concentrically to pull the upper arm back. The scapular muscles (rhomboids, mid and lower traps, serratus, lats, pecs) work to hold the scapula back and down.
As the elbows bend the posterior deltoid will kick in more and more with less tricep activity. The rear deltoid acts concentrically to move the upper arm back and into external rotation. The infraspinatus and teres minor will help with external rotation.
The end of the range of the movement is full shoulder extension and external rotation.
The arm is moved back to the starting position through eccentric contraction of the posterior deltoid.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
