Cable Standing Rear Delt Horizontal Row (with rope)

How to do the Cable Standing Rear Delt Horizontal Row (with rope)

1. 1Set a cable pulley to roughly chest or upper-chest height and attach a rope handle.
2. 2Grip the ends of the rope with a neutral (palms-facing) grip and step back until the cable is taut, standing tall with a slight bend in your knees.
3. 3Brace your core, keep a small bend in your elbows, and raise your upper arms so your elbows point out to the sides at about shoulder height.
4. 4Pull the rope toward your face or upper chest, leading with your elbows and driving them high and back rather than squeezing your hands together.
5. 5Spread the ends of the rope apart as you pull, drawing your shoulder blades together at the end of the movement.
6. 6Pause briefly at the peak with your rear delts fully contracted, keeping your torso upright and still.
7. 7Lower the rope under control, letting your arms extend forward and your shoulder blades protract slightly to feel a stretch.
8. 8Complete your reps, then step forward to return the weight stack to its resting position.

Form tips

• Keep your elbows high and flared out to the sides so the work stays on the rear delts instead of shifting to the lats or upper back.
• Lead the pull with your elbows, not your hands — think about driving your elbows back and apart rather than rowing the weight to your body.
• Use a light to moderate load and a controlled tempo; this is an isolation move where form and the mind-muscle connection matter more than weight.
• Stay tall and avoid rocking your torso back to generate momentum, so the rear delts do the lifting.
• Pause and squeeze for a beat at the fully contracted position to maximize tension on the posterior deltoid.

Common mistakes

• Dropping the elbows low and pulling toward the waist, which turns the movement into a back row and takes tension off the rear delts.
• Using too much weight and leaning back or jerking the cable, which recruits momentum and the larger back muscles instead of isolating the rear delts.
• Squeezing the rope ends together at the top instead of spreading them apart, which reduces the rear-delt contraction.
• Shrugging the shoulders up toward the ears during the pull, which shifts load onto the upper traps and stresses the neck.
• Cutting the range short and not letting the arms extend on the return, which loses the stretch and reduces the effective working range.

Frequently asked questions