# Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback

A bent-over bodyweight exercise where both straight arms sweep back from beside your thighs to behind your hips. It trains the rear delts and lats with no equipment, which suits warm-ups and high-rep accessory work.

- Beginner · Isolation
- Equipment: 
- HD video: https://media.seto.fit/exercises/backhand-raise/video/male.mp4
- HTML: https://seto.fit/exercises/bodyweight-straight-arm-kickback/

## Muscles worked

- Rear delts: 8/10
- Lats: 6/10
- Teres major: 5/10
- Triceps: 4/10
- Rhomboids: 4/10

## How to do the Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback

1. Hinge forward, knees slightly bent, arms hanging beside your thighs.
2. Keep your arms straight and sweep them back behind your hips.
3. Pause briefly with your hands at their highest point.
4. Slowly lower your arms until they hang beside your thighs again.

### Full technique — 7 steps

1. Stand with feet about shoulder width apart.
2. Hinge at the hips until your torso is inclined forward, keeping your spine neutral and knees slightly bent.
3. Let both arms hang beside your thighs with your palms facing back.
4. Keep your elbows straight and sweep both arms back and up in an arc behind your hips.
5. Pause briefly when your hands are as high behind you as your shoulders allow.
6. Lower your arms along the same arc until they hang beside your thighs again.
7. Keep your torso and knees still throughout the set.

## Common mistakes

- Bending elbows through the pull
- Standing up during each rep
- Shrugging shoulders toward ears
- Using torso swing for momentum

## Form cues

- Keep elbows straight
- Move only at shoulder
- Keep torso fixed
- Don't shrug up

## How much to do

- **Strength**: 2–3 sets of 12–15 reps · rest 45 s · 4 reps in reserve · lower 2 s, pause 1 s, lift 1 s
- **Muscle growth**: 2–3 sets of 15–20 reps · rest 45 s · 3–4 reps in reserve · lower 2 s, pause 2 s, lift 1 s
- **Endurance**: 2–3 sets of 20–30 reps · rest 30 s · 4 reps in reserve · lower 1 s, pause 1 s, lift 1 s

Reps in reserve: how many more you could still do when you end the set.

## Substitutes by equipment

Same muscles, same movement — pick the version you have the gear for.

- **Machine**: [Ski Erg Straight Arm Pulldown](https://seto.fit/exercises/ski-erg-straight-arm-pulldown/)
- **Kettlebell**: [Kettlebell Straight Arm Kickback](https://seto.fit/exercises/kettlebell-straight-arm-kickback/)
- **Resistance bands**: [Single Arm Resistance Band Straight Arm Pulldown](https://seto.fit/exercises/single-arm-resistance-band-straight-arm-pulldown/)

## Where to start and where to go next

Same muscles, same movement. Too hard for now — step down; once it gets easy — step up.

- **This exercise: Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback — Beginner**
- Harder: [Dumbbell Straight Arm Kickback](https://seto.fit/exercises/dumbbell-straight-arm-kickback/) — Beginner
- Harder: [Bent Over Barbell Reverse Raise](https://seto.fit/exercises/bent-over-barbell-reverse-raise/) — Intermediate

## Quick answers

### What muscles does the Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback work?

Primary: Rear delts 8/10, Lats 6/10. Also works: Teres major 5/10, Triceps 4/10, Rhomboids 4/10.

### When should I do the Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback in a workout?

Warm-up. Done at the start to get the body ready. ≈ 4 min with rest.

### How many sets and reps of the Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback?

Strength: 2–3 sets of 12–15 reps, rest 45 s, 4 reps in reserve. Muscle growth: 2–3 sets of 15–20 reps, rest 45 s, 3–4 reps in reserve. Endurance: 2–3 sets of 20–30 reps, rest 30 s, 4 reps in reserve.

### What can I do instead of the Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback?

Machine: Ski Erg Straight Arm Pulldown. Kettlebell: Kettlebell Straight Arm Kickback. Resistance bands: Single Arm Resistance Band Straight Arm Pulldown.

### What is a harder version of the Bodyweight Straight Arm Kickback?

Dumbbell Straight Arm Kickback (Beginner), Bent Over Barbell Reverse Raise (Intermediate).

How we rate exercises: https://seto.fit/guides/methodology/

---
seto — Fast, simple, clever workout tracking — offline-first by design. https://seto.fit/

Video licensed for playback on seto only — copying, downloading, or redistribution is prohibited. https://seto.fit/terms/