“You’re training your rear delts all wrong!” Jay Cutler reveals the mistake that’s holding back your progress

The rear delts are a challenging area for many gym-goers. It’s often hard to “feel” them, and even harder to stimulate their growth so that the shoulders achieve that coveted 3D look. Four-time Mr. Olympia champion Jay Cutler shared a crucial tip in a recent video on how to make one of the best exercises for this muscle group— the Cable Crossover—more effective .

Why are the rear delts so crucial?

According to Jay, developing the rear delts is what separates a good physique from a championship-caliber one.

“People often focus only on the front and side delts because they can see them in the mirror. But it’s the rear delts that give the shoulders thickness and depth when viewed from the side and from behind,” explains Cutler.

Most common mistake: Too much weight and back involvement

Most people use too much weight when doing cable flyes. As a result, the trapezius and rhomboid muscles start pulling the movement instead of isolating the rear delts.

Cutler’s “Fix”: Change Your Angle and Posture

Jay Cutler recommends a specific adjustment that dramatically changes muscle tension:

1. Forget the adapters: Cutler prefers to grip the ends of the cables (or the balls at the ends of the cables) directly instead of using the standard handles. This allows for a more natural rotation of the wrist.
2. Pull-up bar height: The pull-up bar should be set roughly at eye level or slightly above your head.
3. Crossing and range of motion: When doing flyes, don’t pull your hands too far back behind your body. Jay emphasizes that the movement should end when your arms are in line with your shoulders. If you go any further, you start to squeeze your shoulder blades together and your back takes over the work.
4. Constant tension: “Don’t let the weight drop all the way back to the starting position. Maintain constant tension in the rear delts throughout the entire set,” advises the legend.

How to incorporate this into your workout?

Jay recommends this exercise as an isolation and pump move at the end of a shoulder or back workout.

• Sets: 3–4
• Repetitions: 12–15 (controlled tempo)
• Tip: Try holding for a second at the point of maximum contraction (when your arms are fully extended).

Conclusion

If your shoulders have hit a plateau, take advice from one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. Reducing the weight and maintaining perfect control of the movement on the pulley machines may be exactly what your rear delts need to kickstart new growth.