Dumbbell Pullover

Exercise technique:

You are lying on a bench, your feet firmly on the ground, knees at 90 °, a dumbbell in your hands. Start the dumbbell movement at the level of the pectorals (arms perpendicular to the ground), arms slightly bent, you bring the dumbbell behind your head (arms parallel to the ground) without going beyond your joint flexibility (shoulders). Then you come back to where you started. Inhale on the outward phase (opening the rib cage), exhale on the return phase.

You often hear it said that you should do the exercise with your arms outstretched. The truth is, the moment you strain, your arms will “bend on their own.” So don’t worry about keeping them tense at all costs.

Remember to open your elbows slightly during the negative phase so as not to hurt your shoulders.

Finally, it is worth noting that as with all chest exercises, your rib cage should be “out”. You should never find yourself flat.

Muscles worked:
Main: pectorals, latissimus dorsi, teres major, triceps
Secondary: shoulders (anterior bundles), abdominals

The pullover is a polyarticular exercise that uses a large number of muscles.

Depending on the body type, the exercise can place more or less strain on the back to the detriment of the pectorals.

In addition, bending the arms too much accentuates the recruitment of the triceps, especially of the long portion which is stretched at the level of its two insertions during the negative phase. So be careful.

Do not be surprised to feel your abdominals worked statically during the eccentric phase of your movement (outward phase)

Interest of the dumbbell pullover:

This exercise will allow you to open your rib cage. It’s also found in a lot of programs when you’re just starting out.

Variant of the exercise:

You can perform this exercise also with bars:

1: Straight bar

straight-bar-pull-over

2: EZ bar

E Z bar
Danger / contraindication 

Pul Over requires a lot of care in practicing because you can easily get injured. Its execution must be strict and irreproachable. Don’t try to get as low as possible. Always do warm-up and joint mobilization exercises in your shoulders before starting your workout.