Double Kettlebell Rear Delt Row

A bent-over row with a kettlebell in each hand and the elbows driven out wide of the torso, which shifts the work off the lats and onto the posterior deltoids and upper back.

How to do it

1. Stand a kettlebell just outside each foot with your feet about hip-width apart.
2. Hinge at the hips with a flat back until your torso is close to parallel with the floor, letting your knees bend slightly.
3. Take both handles with an overhand grip and let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders.
4. Row both bells up by driving your elbows out to the sides, away from your ribs rather than back along them.
5. Stop when your upper arms are roughly in line with your shoulders, and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
6. Lower the bells under control until your arms hang straight again, and repeat for the desired reps.

Tips

• The wide elbow is the whole exercise. Let it drift in against your ribs and you are doing an ordinary double kettlebell row, training your lats instead of your rear delts.
• Use less weight than you would for a normal row. The flared elbow is a long lever and the rear delts are a far smaller engine than the lats.
• Hold the hinge angle steady. Standing up as you pull hands the work to the traps and lower back and shortens the range where the rear delts actually work.

Muscles

Primary: Rear deltoid, Rhomboids

Secondary: Biceps, Erector spinae, Lats, Traps