Step-by-Step Instructions

1
Lie perpendicular across a flat bench with only your upper back and shoulders supported, feet flat on the floor with hips slightly dropped below bench height.
2
Hold the barbell with a narrow overhand grip (hands 6-8 inches apart) and press it to arm's length directly over your chest.
3
Keeping a slight bend in the elbows, lower the bar in an arc behind your head until you feel a deep stretch through the lats and ribcage.
4
Pause briefly at the bottom of the arc where the stretch is maximal, maintaining core tension to prevent excessive lumbar extension.
5
Pull the bar back over your chest by contracting the lats and squeezing through shoulder extension, not by flexing the elbows.
6
Stop when the bar is directly over your chest again and repeat, maintaining the same elbow angle throughout.

Common Mistakes

Bending the elbows excessively during the arc, converting the pullover into a triceps extension and reducing lat involvement.
Allowing the hips to rise and fall with the bar, using momentum instead of isolated lat contraction.
Not lowering the bar deep enough behind the head, missing the stretched position where the lats are most activated.
Arching the lower back excessively at the bottom of the movement instead of bracing the core to protect the lumbar spine.

About This Exercise

The barbell pullover trains the latissimus dorsi through a full range of shoulder extension while also engaging the teres major, long head of the triceps, and serratus anterior. Uniquely, it loads the lats in their most lengthened position, providing a potent eccentric stimulus that other pulling movements cannot replicate. It also promotes thoracic spine mobility and ribcage expansion, making it valuable for athletes with limited overhead range of motion.

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