Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Shoulders

Cable Rear Delt Fly

CableIsolationEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Delts

Also upper back & lats

You need

Cable station

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
Seen from behind
1Start
Seen from behind
2Squeeze
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Cross the cables at shoulder height
  2. 2Pull your arms apart and back
  3. 3Keep a soft, fixed elbow

Most common mistake

Rowing with bent elbows.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for shoulders
  • Keeps the work on the target muscle
  • Easy on the joints and recovery

Compare with

vs Reverse Pec Deckvs Rear Delt Row
A
For shoulders
#5 of 27
See the full list →
Research
83
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 83
Target tensionExcellent
Loaded stretchGood
ProgressionStrong
Low costExcellent

Cables keep the rear delts loaded across the whole arc, with little else able to take over.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SMachine Lateral RaiseMachine
  • SReverse Pec DeckMachine
  • ALean-Away Lateral RaiseDumbbell
  • SCable Lateral RaiseCable

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