Cable Seated Rear Lateral Raise

Sit on a bench, hold the cable handles, and lean your torso slightly forward. Lower your shoulders and keep a soft bend in your elbows. The seated position reduces torso momentum and helps isolate the rear delts, so stabilize yourself with your hips and feet first.

Open your arms out and back to around shoulder height, thinking of your elbows spreading outside your hands. Think of the rear delts opening your arms behind you to reduce neck and trap involvement.

Pause briefly at the top, then slowly bring the handles back together. Stay controlled until you reach the starting position to take advantage of the cable's constant pull.

This movement makes it easier to feel the rear delts spread and draw back together steadily. Keep your neck relaxed and check that the work stays behind your shoulders.

Pulling with your traps or raising your torso makes your neck fatigue before your rear delts. If your hands reach different heights, one side takes over, so match both sides for speed and height.

Exhale as you open your arms and inhale as you return. Avoid abrupt tempo changes to make the rear-shoulder tension clearer.

Keeping a slight forward lean instead of sitting too upright increases rear-delt tension. Start with a light weight and build a stable 1-second top pause before adding load.