Cable Seated Rear Delt Row

Sit at a seated row machine with your feet on the platform and hold a straight bar with an overhand grip wider than your shoulders. Sit tall, reach your arms forward, and lower your shoulders to start.

Raise your elbows to shoulder height, flare them out, and pull the bar toward your upper chest. Opening your elbows to the sides until they pass behind your torso keeps the rear delts doing most of the work.

Pause briefly in front of your chest, then slowly reach your arms forward to return. Keep your torso upright and control the tempo so your shoulders are not pulled forward.

Focus on the work gathering behind your shoulders and between your shoulder blades as you pull with flared elbows. If it feels like a regular seated row using your lower back muscles, recheck your elbow height.

Dropping your elbows toward your sides turns it into a regular lat-focused row. Leaning back to pull adds momentum, so keep your torso vertical and move only your arms.

Exhale as you pull and inhale as you reach your arms out. Exhaling through the pull keeps your torso fixed and makes it easier to hold the elbow path.

Start lighter than a regular row and choose a weight that keeps your elbows at shoulder height. Using the point where the bar meets your upper chest just below the collarbones as a marker keeps every rep's range consistent.