Bosu- Strength Training-Series 39

A fly (or flye) is a strength training exercise in which the hand and arm move through an arc while the elbow is kept at a constant angle. Flies are used to work the muscles of the upper body. Because these exercises use the arms as levers at their longest possible length, the amount of weight that can be moved is significantly less than equivalent press exercises for the same muscles (the military press and bench press for the shoulder and chest respectively).

Flies can be performed using any weight that can be held in the hand. The simplest equipment to use is a dumbbell, though they can also be performed using a cable machine and sitting or standing upright. When using a cable machine, the hands and arms move through the same anatomical plane as the dumbbell version.

The shoulder fly (also known as a lateral raise) works the medial deltoid muscle of the shoulder. The movement starts with the arms straight, and the hands holding weights at the sides or in front of the body. Arms are kept straight or slightly bent, and raised through an arc of movement in the coronal plane that terminates when the hands are at approximately shoulder height. Weights are lowered to the starting position, completing one "rep". When using a cable machine the individual stands with the coronal plane in line with the pulley, which is at or near the ground. The exercise can be completed one shoulder at a time (with the other hand used to stabilize the body against the weight moved), or with both hands simultaneously if two parallel pulleys are available.