The dumbbell pullover is another great exercise to throw into the mix for your chest workouts. People often perform one or two different angled bench presses and finish off with dumbbell flyes, cable crossovers or the pec deck machine. Dumbbell pullovers are often neglected but are actually a very effective chest exercise. Let’s take a closer look at how to do dumbbell pullovers safely and effectively:
How to do Dumbbell Pullovers
If this is your first time performing dumbbell pullovers then dont go too heavy. You want to be able to perfect the form and get use to the movement first before lifting heavy so pick a weight you can get at least 12 reps with.
Grab a bench. Grab yourself a bench and position it in the flat position. Lay down on the bench so that your head is positioned right near the end of the bench.
Gripping the dumbbell. Dumbbell pullovers are performed with one dumbbell. You will need to grip the one dumbbell with both hands by placing them underneath the top part of the weight.
Position the dumbbell. To start the movement you need the dumbbell positioned up above your head with arms nearly fully extended but maintaining a slight bend. One way to get the weight up is to sit upright to begin with and lift the dumbbell up and rest it on your shoulder.
Get your grip sorted and lift it up above your head while you lay down on the bench. If the weight is not that challenging quite yet you probably wont have any trouble getting it into position as of yet.
Lowering the weight. The weight needs to be lowered back behind your head. To do this focus on maintaining that slight bend in your elbows and bending at the shoulders. The weight should be lowered until it reaches bench height level.
Raising the weight. Raise the weight back to the starting position by focusing on stretching and contracting the pec muscles. Keep those elbows slightly bent, we want to be moving the weight with the pecs. Your upper back and lats will also come into play when lifting the weight.
Dumbbell Pullovers – Things to Bear in Mind
Starting position. The starting position can be altered. You can either perform the dumbbell pullover lying flat on a bench (fully supported by the bench) or laying on the bench sideways with only your upper back and head supported by the bench. Legs are positioned out infront of you with bent knees. This is a more advanced version of the pullover.
Bent Elbows. It’s important to keep those elbows bent to help focus on lifting with your pec and back muscles. Straightening arms completely will make the movement uncomfortable, raise the risk of injury and take away tension from the target muscle.
Lowering the weight. Weight should be lowered to the point where your hands or the weight are inline with your head or the bench. There’s no need to go any lower than this.
