RealJock Staff

This exercise provided courtesy of Billy Polson, founder and co-owner of DIAKADI Body training gym, voted best personal training gym in San Francisco by CitySearch in 2006.

Benefits
Fans of the pec deck machine should realize that the pec deck machine's name only gives it half the credit it deserves. Reverse your position and face inward toward the weights, and you can give your rear deltoids and shoulders an excellent workout.

Muscles Worked
Shoulders (rear deltoids)

Starting Position
Stand or sit facing a rear pec deck machine or a reversible pec deck machine. Adjust the seat, or, if you're standing, spread your legs apart enough so that your arms are parallel to the floor with slightly bent elbows when you reach out and grasp handles of the pec deck Keep your abdominals on the backboard and sit completely upright with good posture so that your chest is not hunched forward onto pad and your head and neck are in line with your spine (see Photo 1).

Exercise

1. From the starting position with your arms slightly bent, use your rear deltoid and middle/lower traps to move your arms outward and backward in a reverse fly motion. Move your arms and the handles back until your elbows are even with the plane of your back, while keeping your arms slightly bent. Be careful to keep your core engaged and in the same position throughout; a common mistake is to thrust the head and chest forward to try to gain an extra inch of pull (see Photo 2).
2. When you reach the fully flexed position, reverse the motion and bring your arms back in front of you to starting position in a slow and controlled manner (see Photo 3).

About Billy Polson: Billy Polson is the founder and co-owner of DIAKADI Body training gym, which was voted the best personal training gym in San Francisco by CitySearch in 2006. A competitive swimmer and triathlete in his own right, Polson has over 15 years of experience working as a coach and trainer, and was recently named by Men's Journal Magazine (December 2005) as one of the Top 100 Trainers in America.