Dumbbell Pullover

What you'll gain

• Loads the lats and chest through a long overhead stretch from one dumbbell.

• Needs only a flat bench, so it fits home and hotel setups.

• A rare free-weight clip that trains shoulder extension without a cable.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. 1

   Lie on a flat bench with your upper back and head supported and your feet on the floor.

2. 2

   Cup one end of a dumbbell with both hands and press it above the chest.

3. 3

   Keep a slight bend in the elbows and brace the abs so the ribs stay down.

4. 4

   Lower the dumbbell behind the head until the upper arms sit beside the ears.

5. 5

   Pull the weight back over the chest by extending the shoulders, not by bending the elbows.

6. 6

   Stop above the chest and repeat without letting the lower back arch off the bench.

Common Mistakes

• Bending the elbows on the way back up, which turns the lift into a triceps extension.

• Flaring the ribs and arching the lower back to gain extra range.

• Stopping the dumbbell far short of the head, which skips the loaded stretch.

• Using a weight so heavy that the arms cannot stay nearly straight.

About This Exercise

The dumbbell pullover is a long-arc shoulder extension from a flat bench. You lie supine, cup one end of a dumbbell with both hands, and lower the weight behind the head with nearly straight arms before pulling it back over the chest. Elbows flared slightly and a deep overhead reach bias the lats; elbows turned out and a shorter arc bias the pecs. The long head of the triceps and the trunk keep the ribcage from flaring as the arms travel. MoveKit's approved frame highlights the latissimus dorsi and uses the classic both-hands-on-one-head grip, so this page is filed as a back-primary pullover. It fits lat isolation blocks, hybrid chest-and-back sessions, and dumbbell-only libraries that need a stretch movement without a cable stack.

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