# Suspender Reverse Fly - Canonical: https://fitwill.app/exercise/10895/suspender-reverse-fly/ - Media ID: 10895 - Primary muscle: Shoulders - Body part: Upper Back - Equipment: Suspension - Video: https://fitwill.app/videos/10895/suspender-reverse-fly.mp4 ## Description The Suspender Reverse Fly is a bodyweight rear-delt and upper-back exercise performed with a suspension trainer. You hold the handles, lean back with your arms extended in front of you, and open your arms out wide against the resistance of your own bodyweight. Because the straps are unstable and the load is self-regulated by your foot position, this movement trains the rear shoulders, rhomboids, and mid traps while also demanding real control through the trunk. This is one of the few reverse fly variations that requires no dumbbells or cables, which makes it a great fit for home training, hotel workouts, or anyone who wants to hit the often-neglected back of the shoulders without loading the spine. People who spend long hours sitting tend to benefit most from it, since the motion directly works scapular retraction and horizontal abduction, two actions that rarely happen in daily life. The setup determines everything here. The closer your feet are to the anchor point, the more upright your body becomes and the easier the exercise; walking your feet back toward the anchor or away from it changes the lean angle and therefore the difficulty. A bodyweight row uses the same stance but pulls the elbows down and back, while the reverse fly keeps the arms relatively straight and sweeps them out to the sides, which shifts the work away from the lats and into the rear delts and upper back. Execution should feel like an open-book motion. As you pull the handles apart, your chest rises toward the anchor point, your shoulder blades draw together, and your arms finish roughly in line with your shoulders or slightly above. The return is just as important: lower yourself back under control instead of letting gravity collapse you forward, or you lose most of the training effect. Keep expectations realistic about muscle involvement. The rear delts and upper back are the prime movers, but the core works isometrically to keep your body in a straight line, and the biceps and grip assist as you hold the handles. Treat this as a moderate-resistance, high-control movement rather than a max-effort lift, and use it as an accessory after your main pulling work or as part of a shoulder-health circuit. ## Instructions 1. Anchor the suspension trainer securely overhead and adjust the straps so the handles hang around waist to chest height. 2. Grip the handles with a neutral palms-facing-inward grip and walk your feet back until your arms are fully extended in front of you and your body forms a straight line from head to heels. 3. Set your feet roughly hip-width apart and lean back so your weight hangs on the straps; the more horizontal your lean, the harder the set will be. 4. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your hips do not sag or pike before you start the movement. 5. Keeping a slight bend in the elbows, pull the handles apart and out to the sides in a wide arc, as if drawing a big semi-circle with your hands. 6. Continue until your arms are open wide and roughly in line with your shoulders, with your chest lifted toward the anchor and your shoulder blades pulled together. 7. Pause briefly at the open position and feel the contraction across the back of your shoulders and between your shoulder blades. 8. Slowly bring your arms back together in front of you, resisting the pull of your bodyweight as you lower back to the start. 9. Exhale as you open your arms, inhale as you return to the starting position. 10. Complete your reps, then walk your feet forward to unload the straps before letting go of the handles. ## Tips & Tricks - If your hips sag or your lower back arches during the set, you are leaning too far back for your current strength; step your feet forward slightly to reduce the angle. - Do not turn the exercise into a row. If your elbows bend a lot and your body rises as if doing a pull, the load has shifted to the lats and biceps, so lighten the angle and focus on sweeping the arms out wide. - Lead the movement with your elbows, not your hands. Thinking about driving the elbows back and out helps the rear delts and upper back do the work instead of the arms. - Keep your wrists neutral and your grip relaxed. Crushing the handles too hard fatigues your forearms before the target muscles get anything out of the set. - Squeeze the straps between your upper arms and torso at the start so they do not swing or rub against your arms mid-rep. - Control the return deliberately. Letting your bodyweight yank your arms back together is the most common reason people feel this in the shoulder joint instead of the muscle. - Stop the set when your form breaks. The end of a hard set usually shows up as shrugged shoulders or a collapsing torso rather than a sudden failure, so end the rep before the torso drops. - Add difficulty gradually by walking your feet back a few inches at a time rather than jumping straight to a near-horizontal position. - If wrist or elbow discomfort shows up, try holding the handles with a slightly palms-down rotation or gripping the strap itself to change the angle. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What muscles does the Suspender Reverse Fly work? The rear shoulders and upper back are the main movers, with the rhomboids and mid traps pulling the shoulder blades together. The biceps, forearms, and core assist and stabilize throughout. ### How do I make the Suspender Reverse Fly easier or harder? Adjust your body angle: walking your feet forward makes your torso more upright and reduces resistance, while walking them back increases the lean and the load. Everything else about the form stays the same. ### Is the Suspender Reverse Fly suitable for beginners? Yes, as long as you start with an upright body angle and treat the first few sessions as learning the arm sweep. Because the straps are unstable, beginners should prioritize slow, controlled reps over adding difficulty. ### Why do I feel the Suspender Reverse Fly in my biceps instead of my rear delts? You are most likely bending the elbows and pulling rather than sweeping the arms wide. Straighten your arms more, lighten the body angle, and focus on driving the elbows back and out to shift the work to the rear shoulders. ### Can I use the Suspender Reverse Fly instead of a dumbbell reverse fly? It is a solid substitute that trains the same horizontal abduction and scapular retraction pattern using your bodyweight. The main difference is the unstable straps, which add a stabilization demand that dumbbells do not. ### How far should my arms open at the end of the Suspender Reverse Fly? Aim for your arms to finish roughly in line with your shoulders, forming a wide T shape with a slight elbow bend. Going much higher tends to shift work toward the upper traps and shrug the shoulders. ### Where should the suspension trainer handles be set for this exercise? Set them at around waist to chest height so that with your arms extended and body leaning back, the straps have light tension at the start. Too low or too high and you will fight the strap angle instead of your bodyweight. ### Is it safe to do the Suspender Reverse Fly with shoulder problems? The movement is generally shoulder-friendly because the load is light and self-regulated, but anyone with an existing shoulder issue should start with a very upright angle and a small range of motion. Stop and consult a professional if the movement causes pain. ### How many reps should I do of the Suspender Reverse Fly? Because the resistance comes from your bodyweight and is hard to load heavily, this works best in the higher rep range, typically 10 to 20 controlled reps per set. Focus on the quality of the squeeze rather than rushing through reps.