Dumbbell Reverse Fly

Muscles worked by the Dumbbell Reverse Fly

Primary

Rear DeltsPosterior Deltoid

Secondary

RhomboidsRhomboid MusclesTrapsTrapezius

Also called: rear deltoid, posterior delt, rear delt, back delt, posterior deltoid.

Equipment

Dumbbell

Also called: db, dumbell, hex dumbbell, rubber dumbbell, hand weight.

How to do the Dumbbell Reverse Fly

1. Hinge forward at the hips holding dumbbells with arms hanging down.
2. Keep your back flat and knees slightly bent.
3. Raise the dumbbells out to the sides until level with your shoulders.
4. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.
5. Lower the dumbbells back with control.
6. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Form tips

• Use a light weight so the rear delts do the work, not momentum.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.
• Keep a soft, fixed bend in your elbows throughout.

At a glance

Dumbbell Reverse Fly in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Cable Face Pull
• Dumbbell Face Pull
• Rear Delt Fly
• Ring Face Pull
• Banded Rear Delt Stretch
• Cable External Rotation
• Arnold Press
• Bulgarian Split Squat

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "dumbbell-reverse-fly",
  "name_en": "Dumbbell Reverse Fly",
  "name_de": "Kurzhantel Reverse Fly",
  "name_es": "Pájaro Invertido con Mancuernas",
  "description_en": "A hinged isolation exercise raising dumbbells out to the sides, targeting the rear deltoids and upper back.",
  "description_de": "Eine Isolationsübung in vorgebeugter Haltung, bei der du Kurzhanteln seitlich anhebst und die hinteren Schultern sowie den oberen Rücken trainierst.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de aislamiento inclinado que levanta las mancuernas hacia los lados, trabajando los deltoides posteriores y la espalda alta.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "equipment": "dumbbell",
  "body_part": "shoulders",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "posterior_deltoid"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "rhomboids",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "reverse-fly",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Hinge forward at the hips holding dumbbells with arms hanging down.",
    "Keep your back flat and knees slightly bent.",
    "Raise the dumbbells out to the sides until level with your shoulders.",
    "Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.",
    "Lower the dumbbells back with control.",
    "Repeat for the desired number of reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Beuge dich an den Hüften nach vorne, Kurzhanteln in den hängenden Armen.",
    "Halte den Rücken flach und die Knie leicht gebeugt.",
    "Hebe die Kurzhanteln seitlich bis auf Schulterhöhe.",
    "Spanne die Schulterblätter oben zusammen.",
    "Senke die Kurzhanteln kontrolliert zurück.",
    "Wiederhole die gewünschte Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Inclínate hacia adelante desde las caderas sujetando mancuernas con los brazos colgando.",
    "Mantén la espalda recta y las rodillas ligeramente dobladas.",
    "Sube las mancuernas hacia los lados hasta la altura de los hombros.",
    "Aprieta los omóplatos en la parte superior.",
    "Baja las mancuernas de forma controlada.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones deseado."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Use a light weight so the rear delts do the work, not momentum.",
    "Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.",
    "Keep a soft, fixed bend in your elbows throughout."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Nutze ein leichtes Gewicht, damit die hinteren Schultern arbeiten und nicht der Schwung.",
    "Ziehe oben die Schulterblätter zusammen.",
    "Halte die Ellbogen durchgehend leicht und fest gebeugt."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Usa un peso ligero para que trabajen los deltoides posteriores, no el impulso.",
    "Aprieta los omóplatos juntos arriba.",
    "Mantén una flexión suave y fija en los codos en todo momento."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/dumbbell-reverse-fly-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/dumbbell-reverse-fly-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "dumbbell-reverse-fly");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.