#Pullover exercise muscles worked how to

Use a decline benchįor an added challenge and for those already experienced with dumbbell pullovers, lie on a decline bench and use a dumbbell in each hand.ĭue to the positioning of the body on a decline and with gravity assisting as the arms move overhead, it is possible to find more range of motion at the shoulders, making the exercise more challenging. If you’re looking for more challenging core stability in addition to working your pecs, lying on a stability ball still offers comfortable support for the head, neck, and upper back, while on a less stable surface compared to the bench. When using a barbell means the palms of the hands will face forwards, making it easier to flare the elbows outwards to work the pecs more than the lats ( 2). In this case, it’s a good idea to use a spotter too. Use a barbellīarbells can be useful if you have experience of the exercise and are looking to use a heavier weight. This option is good to try if you are new to the exercise. Sometimes this variation is more comfortable and easier to maintain good wrist positioning.

Placing your hands on the sides of a medicine ball means the palms of the hands face inwards which can support good positioning of your elbows and upper arms. Imagine holding a soccer ball between your elbows to keep them in and avoid flaring them out for this variation.īreathing out, keeping the arms straight and the elbows in, bring your arms to the start position and lift the hips back up in line with knees and shoulders.

This will externally rotate your upper arm bone in the shoulder joint to engage the lats on the pullover.īreathing in, take the arms back overhead and lower the hips down towards the floor. Turn your elbows to point towards your knees. Keep your knees bent, directly above your feet.Įxtend your arms bringing the weight above your chest to the start position. Pick up the dumbbell in both hands and press your feet into the floor to lift your hips in line with your knees and shoulders. Place the dumbbell on the bench so that it’s within arm’s reach and lie perpendicular to the bench with the back of your shoulders, upper back, neck, and head supported. To focus on working the lats more, as well as the glutes and core muscles, change your orientation when lying on the bench. Incorporate more work for the glutes and core Keeping your arms straight, take them overhead to the point where you can keep your spine, ribs, and pelvis still.Įach time you do this exercise, work for more range of motion, maintaining good form on each rep. To maintain good form during the exercise and avoid overarching your lower back, especially if your shoulders are tight, start with a smaller range of motion. This is useful if you find you have limited mobility or an injury to the shoulder joint.Īdditionally, the floor provides a wider base of support which can be useful if you are a beginner. Lying on the floor will mean there is less range of motion available when your arms go overhead. For strength training results, multiple sets offer better training benefits compared to single sets ( 3), so go for 2–3 sets with rest in between.ħ variations of the dumbbell pullovers Lie on the floor if you don’t have a bench.

Try between 8–10 reps where fatigue is felt towards the end of the set.

Breathe out and pull the arms up to the starting position, keeping the arms straight and flaring the elbows outwards.

Try and keep your arms straight but not locked.

Aim to bring the upper arms alongside your ears. From this starting position, breathe in and take your arms back overhead as far as you can.Neither flatten your lower back into the bench or hyperextend it the opposite way.

Try and keep your pelvis and lower back in a neutral position.This rotates the upper arm bone inwardly slightly which will emphasize the effort in the chest. Point the boney parts of the elbows outwards to look at the sides of the room.Hold the end of the dumbbell with both hands and extend the arms straight up so that the weight is directly above your chest.Make sure your upper back and the back of your head are supported by the bench. Keep your feet flat on the floor or on a stable part of the bench.Recline back on the bench bringing the dumbbell with you, lying flat and looking up.Hold the dumbbell in both hands and sit near the end of the bench.If this feels too heavy or too light for you, go up or down accordingly. You could start by calculating 30% of your body weight and using the closest sized dumbbell available ( 2). If you’re not sure what weight to select, start light and work your way up. Select an appropriate weight dumbbell and use a flat weight bench.

#Pullover exercise muscles worked how to

How to do dumbbell pullovers with proper form