If you’ve struggled to feel your rear delts working—or to fill in that rear delt gap—this variation of the bent-over lateral raise could be the solution.

Instead of dumbbells, I’m using two 5-pound weight plates (though dumbbells work too). Here’s the key:

1. Start by retracting your shoulder blades—think of shrugging them inward or pulling them together.
2. With arms fully extended, raise the weights out to the sides as high as possible.
3. At the top, hold for 5 seconds. That’s when you’ll feel your rear delts light up!

You don’t need a lot of weight—in fact, most people go too heavy and end up just swinging the dumbbells. That turns the exercise into momentum work, not muscle work. The rear delts barely get involved, and progress stalls.

Focus on form, not load. Emphasize the contraction. With just 2–3 sets of 8–10 reps and 5-second holds twice a week, you’ll go from flat to three-dimensional delts in no time.

Give it a shot—and feel the difference.