Exercise library

How to do the Reverse Machine Flyes

A beginner isolation exercise using machine, working the shoulders.

Primary musclesShoulders
Secondary musclesNone recorded
EquipmentMachine
LevelBeginner
TypeIsolation
ForcePull

Steps

  1. Adjust the handles so that they are fully to the rear. Make an appropriate weight selection and adjust the seat height so the handles are at shoulder level. Grasp the handles with your hands facing inwards. This will be your starting position.
  2. In a semicircular motion, pull your hands out to your side and back, contracting your rear delts.
  3. Keep your arms slightly bent throughout the movement, with all of the motion occurring at the shoulder joint.
  4. Pause at the rear of the movement, and slowly return the weight to the starting position.

Tracking it in OneRep

Add the reverse machine flyes to a routine and your previous weight and reps sit beside every set, so the decision to add load is made by what is already on the screen rather than by memory. Exercise history and volume trends are one tap away, and logging works offline for the gyms where signal does not reach.

Because OneRep tracks food on the same timeline, a stall on this lift can be read against what you were actually eating that month — which is the difference between a programming problem and an eating one. More on that in tracking progressive overload without a spreadsheet.

Where the instructions come from

The steps above come from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. They are general guidance, not coaching for your body: if a movement hurts, stop and get someone qualified to look at it.