StrengthIn review

Dumbbell Rear-Delt Row

A two-dumbbell row with the elbows wide to train the rear deltoids.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Horizontal pull
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Bilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and hinge at the hips.
Let the arms hang below the shoulders. An optional bench can support the chest.

Do the rep

Row with both elbows moving out and back toward shoulder height.
Lower both dumbbells to straight arms without moving the torso.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when both elbows move out and back beside the torso and both arms return to straight under control.

Breathing

Exhale as you row; inhale as you lower.

Cues

Keep the elbows wide.
Keep the torso still.
Use a load you can lower slowly.

Common mistakes

Torso moves to lift the weights
What you seeThe chest rises or the trunk rotates during the pull.
FixReduce the load and hold the torso still.
A stable torso keeps the load in the rowing movement.
Weights drop on the return
What you seeThe elbows straighten suddenly as the dumbbells fall.
FixLower the weights slowly to straight arms.
A controlled return lets the user stop the rep safely.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if you cannot hold the torso still or the wide elbow path causes pain.
End the set when you cannot complete the stated rep under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Rear deltoids · moderate confidence
Upper back · moderate confidence
Mid-back · moderate confidence

Assisting

Latissimus dorsi · moderate confidence
Biceps · moderate confidence
Trapezius · moderate confidence
Forearms and grip · moderate confidence
Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence

Equipment

Dumbbell

Optional: Bench

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and hinge at the hips. Let the arms hang below the shoulders. An optional bench can support the chest.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Camera candidate

How this page was checked

Draft. A coach reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 10, written from the blueprint CSV row and the owner rules approved on 2026-10-12 in #340. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the owner rules; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints unless an exception is stated; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Rule 4 skips no aliases in this batch. All 21 rows remain separate draft records; the owner can make overlaps aliases in the switch-on PR.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_face_pull, the closest Wave 1 record. Timed use remains disallowed; no Wave 1 review evidence is claimed for this draft.
Exception to the CSV horizontal-pull row role mapping (rule 2): wide elbows target the rear deltoids. Keep horizontal-pull as the movement pattern but use secondary_pull and isolation_target, as ex_face_pull.
Skill tier beginner (rule 3): a new user can perform one clean rep in the first session with a suitable load.
Failure cost moderate (rule 3): the user must control the stop, as ex_one_arm_dumbbell_row. The chest-supported row takes the cost of its dumbbell path.
Exception to CSV home False (rule 1): home is yes because the required dumbbells and bench are home items.
Rule 1 sets dumbbell quantity 2: the movement uses two dumbbells, as ex_dumbbell_biceps_curl.
Anatomy exception to the generic CSV row hints: rear-deltoids move to primary and lats move to secondary for the wide-elbow row. Coach review must confirm the muscle priorities.
Prescription uses load-and-reps with load in kg (rule 1), as ex_one_arm_dumbbell_row and ex_dumbbell_biceps_curl. The load_unit constraint states the unit explicitly; load basis and rep range still need review.
The wide elbow angle, grip, and finish range need coach review. Chest support is optional, not a required setup.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

Train it in Allena

Allena plans your week around the days you can train, logs every set, and coaches your form from the camera.

Get the app