How to Perform Rear Delt Rope Pull: instructions and video

The rear delt cable pull exercise is very effective to train your rear deltoid muscle or your posterior deltoid muscle. The deltoid is the uppermost muscle of our shoulder girdle that gives a beautiful shape to our shoulder.

For bigger and stronger shoulders you have to train each deltoid muscle fiber equally. In this article, you will know how to do the rear delt rope pull exercise correctly.

If you strengthen your deltoid muscle regularly it will build Shoulder strength and prevent muscular imbalance preventing trauma or injury of the shoulder joint.

In the rear delt, cable pull exercise mainly the posterior head of the triceps is targeted but some additional muscles are also involved like the rotator cuff muscle and muscle around the shoulder joint.

The anatomy of rear delt

The posterior part of the deltoid muscle is originated from the scapula (the lateral third of the spine of the scapula) and is inserted into the deltoid tuberosity of the humerus ( bones of the arm).

The main function of the rear delt muscle is the extension, external rotation, and horizontal abduction of the shoulder.

In the rear delt cable pull, exercise two main muscles are highly targeted posterior deltoid and rotator cuff(which consist of four major muscles supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis)

Where the posterior deltoid is primarily responsible for extension and horizontal abduction and the rotator cuff is responsible for external rotation and internal rotation movement.

Variations of rear delt rope pull

You can target your posterior deltoid with this rope pull exercise in different ways. It actually makes it more accessible to hit your muscle in a new way.

In the cable crossover machine, you can adjust your rope angle accordingly, just make sure you are pulling the cable horizontally(slightly from down) toward your face.

1. Standing rear delt rope pull

Standing rear delt rope pull is the most effective exercise to train your posterior deltoid muscle. In this exercise, two major movements are occurring horizontal abduction and external rotation. So you are hitting two major muscles rear delt and rotator cuff by the rear delt cable pull.

Our goal should be to perform the exercise perfectly and maximize muscle hypertrophy.

Muscle worked in standing rear delt cable pull

In this standing cable pull exercise, two main muscles are involved, apart from these two muscles, many other muscles are involved because of the whole shoulder complex movement.

Primary mover

Posterior part of the deltoid muscle

Secondary Mover

Rotator cuff(supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis), Trapezius, Triceps, and Rhomboids.

How to do standing rear delt cable pull

1. Attach a dual grip triceps rope to a cable pully about your lower chest level .
2. Hold both ends of the rope by each hand and step backward until the cable is pulled taut.
3. Hold the rope end tightly and loosen your arms, and shoulder until you feel stretched on your upper back.
4. Keep your body upright and keep engaging your core muscles during exercise.
5. Slightly back your hip, your knee will be slightly bent means a loose knee.
6. Keep your foot distance as you are comfortable.
7. Keep your elbow out to the side symmetrically and your armpit should make a 90-degree angle with your body.
8. Take a deep breath(inhale) and pull the rope towards the back until your elbow reaches the level of the shoulder line. Keep in mind that
9. Your both arm and shoulder are kept in the same line, elbow don,t cross your back .

Keep in mind during performing rear delt rope pull

1. Hold your rope with a neutral grip, wrist will be upwards.
2. The angle of the rope should be towards your neck or face .
3. To do more effectively keep your shoulder blade protracted .
4. Perform a complete range of motion to get enough hypertrophy.
5. Keep your weight light accordingly, don’t use heavy weights in this exercise.

You need to use light-weight accordingly, do not use heavy-weight, as it will injure your shoulder joint and muscle. Perform 4 to 5 sets of 12-15 repetitions to get enough hypertrophy which is help to grow your muscle.

2. Kneeling Rear Delt Rope Pull

In the kneeling rear delt rope pull exercise, you are targeting the mainly posterior head of the deltoid muscle. Along with this, you are targeting Trapezius, subscapularis, latissimus dorsi, and shoulder surrounding muscle.

During this exercise sit on your knees, tighten your core muscle, keep your back upright and perform this exercise perfectly.

Muscle worked in kneeling rear delt cable pull

Primary mover

Posterior deltoid muscle and rotator cuff muscle.

Secondary mover

Trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and other shoulder surrounding muscles.

How to do kneeling rear delt cable pull

1. Attach a dual-grip triceps rope to the high point of the cable pully about your lower chest level.
2. Hold the rope end by each hand, and take some steps back until the cable is pulled taut.
3. Get onto your knee facing towards the cable pulley machine.
4. Keep your arm loose until you will feel a stretch on your upper back.
5. Pull the cable backward by hand until your hand grips are in front of your shoulder.
6. Slowly return to the described starting position. Repeat for advised repetition.

Keep in mind during kneeling rear delt rope pull

1. Keep your core muscle engaged during exercise.
2. keep your waist straight and stable to prevent injuries.
3. During cable pull, don’t lean backward.
4. focus on your exercise, and build a good mind-muscle connection.

Also in this exercise don,t use heavy weights, use lightweight accordingly and perform exercises with concentration. Perform three to four sets of 12 repetitions to make your posterior deltoid hypertrophic.

Read More: Perform Reverse Cable Crossover Perfectly

3. Sitting Rear Delt Rope Pull

Sitting rope pull is another alternative position of rear delt rope pull exercises. In this position, you are targeting your posterior deltoid and rotator cuff muscle.

In this exercise, you have to sit on an exercise bench, straighten your lower back, upright your upper back, and perform slowly.

Muscle worked in sitting rear delt cable pull

Prime mover

Posterior deltoid muscle

Secondary mover

Rotator cuff, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and surrounding shoulder muscle.

How to do sitting rear delt rope pull

1. Attach the dual rope cable to the midpoint of the cable pulley machine.
2. Set your pulley height accordingly, after sitting on the bench, the pulley height will be horizontal with your overhead level after sitting.
3. Keep your bench some step back, hold the rope tightly and sit on that.
4. Loosen your upper back until you feel enough stretch on your back.
5. Pull the dual cable backward slowly up to your shoulder level, feel the contraction, and slowly release.
6. Slowly return to your starting position. Repeat for the desired repetition.

Keep in mind during sitting rear delt rope pull

1. Sit straight on the bench and don’t lean more backward.
2. Keep your core engaged for the whole time.
3. Don’t use heavy weights in this exercise.
4. Do the exercise slowly and concentrated, pull the weight, hold for 2 seconds at the end of the range, and release.

In this exercise when you are sitting on the bench, make sure your back and whole spine are straight and upright. Perform three to four sets of 12 repetitions for desired muscle growth.

Programming anterior delt exercises into your routine:

The anterior delt is the frontmost muscle of the shoulder joint and it makes your shoulder stronger and bulkier. You can do some isolation movement to train your front delt muscle, but many other body part exercises are present by which your anterior deltoid muscle gets tension and make hypertrophy.

Chest Day

Exercises	Sets and Reps
Barbell Bench Press	4 sets x 5-8 reps
Chest Fly	3 sets x 8-12 reps
Incline DB Bench Press	3 sets x 8-12 reps
Parallel Dips	3 sets x 10-15 reps

Shoulder Day

Exercises	Sets and Reps
Overhead Press	3 sets x 6 reps
Arnold Press	3 sets x 8-12 reps
DB Front Raise	3 sets x 8-15 reps
Lateral Raise	3 sets x 8-15 reps
Rear Delt Flys	3 sets x 10-15 reps
Upright Rows	2 sets x 10-12 reps

PPL Split or Upper Lower

Upper lower split means, if you are training your shoulder and chest together, then you have to focus on the big compound presses and add one anterior delt isolation exercise in. In this kind of exercise, the anterior head of the deltoid gets more attention.

If you want to grow your delts faster then make sure you are intensely training them during workout days that you are focusing on the shoulder.

Exercises	Sets and Reps
Overhead Press	3 sets x 6 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press	3 sets x 12 reps
Dumbbell Front Raise	3 sets x 16 reps
Rear Delt Fly	3 sets x 10-15 reps
Flat Bench Fly	3 sets x 10-12 reps
Close Grip BB Bench Press	3 sets x 10-15 reps

Bottom line

In this article, we discuss how to perform rear delt rope pull correctly. As you have cleared up the best possible way to perform this exercise. Just keep in mind that always use light weight for cable pull. Heavy weight can injure your shoulder joint and muscle.

That’s it! Next time when someone wonders, “How to Perform Rear Delt Rope Pull?” Take charge and start explaining. Have question? Don’t hesitate to let me know in the comment section below. I will try my best to answer all of them. Thanks for visiting.

Frequently asked questions

---

References

• https://teachmeanatomy.info/upper-limb/muscles/shoulder/extrinsic/
• https://www.skimble.com/exercises/48402-cable-rope-rear-delt-pullback-how-to-do-exercise
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7706677/
• https://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/cable-face-pull