#Standing pullover exercise free

To address the pecs versus lats question, we must make educated interpretations based on anatomy and muscle physiology. The pullover is performed overhead, toward end-range shoulder flexion (around 100-180 degrees). Textbooks provide muscle actions from the anatomical arms-at-sides position. Well, if you look up “shoulder extension” in an anatomy textbook, it’ll be listed as an action of the latissimus dorsi, not the pectoralis major. So which muscles are contributing the most during the shoulder extension: pecs or lats? The pullover is a resisted shoulder extension.

Why Is There Controversy Over This Exercise? Importantly, keep the elbows pointed forward to promote external rotation at the shoulders and to better target the lats, if that’s what you’re wanting to hit. There’s no added benefit to allowing an extreme arch of the spine.īecause resistance is lost at the top, end the movement at or before the weight crosses over your eyebrows. You can lay on a flat bench in traditional position or you can lay cross-bench with your hips bridged and shoulders supported on the bench, your choice. For ease and simplicity, my preference is a heavy dumbbell. For those with limited forearm mobility, the Olympic bar may not be appropriate. You can do the free-weight pullover with a barbell, an EZ bar, a multi-grip bar, a kettlebell, or a dumbbell. Therefore, my bias is to include pullovers with the rest of my pulling movements during back training. Performing pullovers with back training has never interfered with my subsequent push session.

However, I feel it trains the back more robustly, applying a much greater mechanical stimulus on the lats than the chest. Though we’ll discuss it in depth, research is inconclusive about whether pullovers are best for pectoralis major (chest) or latissimus dorsi (back). Let’s go over the standard variations, dig into some research, discuss the variations you can do for stiff shoulders, and then get into the modifications that’ll improve the resistance profile so you can make more gains.

#Standing pullover exercise free

This means the resistance profile of the pullover has an extremely steep descending curve when you do it with free weights. If you haven’t done it in a while, here’s a reminder: The toughest part occurs when the arms are flexed overhead, and it gets much easier when your arms are perpendicular to your torso. Seasoned lifters have long known about this exercise, but these days, it’s rare to see someone do it.īut is a back or a chest exercise? Should you include it with upper-body pulling work or upper-body pushing? Even practitioners squabble about it. You might remember golden era bodybuilders doing the pullover, their bodies arching across benches, lats flared wide, pumping out reps. Should you do the pullover on pushing day or pulling day? Even the experts argue about it.