Exercise:

Bent Over Cable Lateral Raise

Target Muscle:

Shoulders (Posterior Head)

Cable Machine, Single-Hand Attachment

Set the pulley at the very bottom of the cable machine and take one step to the side. Grab onto the attachment with the hand that is furthest away from the machine with your palm facing in, and place your opposite hand on your knee for support.

Bend your knees and tilt your body forward so that your torso is parallel to the floor or just slightly higher. Extend the cable out in front of you toward the floor, and with a slight bend in your elbow, raise it out to your side in a circular motion until your upper arm is parallel to the floor with your palm facing down.

Lower the cable back down following the same path until you feel a good stretch in your rear delt, and repeat.

- In order to maximize the tension on the rear delt, allow your upper arm to hang forward throughout the exercise and do not retract your shoulder blades as you raise the cable upward. When you retract your shoulder blades, the muscles of the mid-back begin to take over.

- Make sure to raise the cable directly out to your side, perpendicular to your body. Doing so prevents involvement of the lats.

- Always favor moderate weights and strict form on this exercise. Trying to go too heavy and using a lot of momentum can make it increasingly difficult to effectively isolate the rear delts.

- Do not raise your upper arms any higher than parallel to the floor. Once you go past parallel, the tension is taken off of the posterior deltoid and the upper back begins performing the bulk of the work.