Dumbbell Pullover
Lie on a bench holding one dumbbell in both hands above your chest. With your arms slightly bent, lower it in a wide arc behind your head, as far as you can control. Pause briefly, then slowly bring it back over your chest.
In the pullover your arms move through a big arc at the shoulder: from above your chest to behind your head and back. Your chest and lats work together, your triceps and delts help, and your abs keep your upper body still on the bench.
All you need is one dumbbell and a bench. Without a bench, do the Dumbbell Floor Pullover on the floor. The exercise works your chest, back and arms through a long range of motion.
At the bottom your arms are furthest behind your head — that's where your shoulders are most stretched and the load is hardest to control. That's why you start light and learn the movement first.
Starting position
Sit on the bench with the dumbbell and lie back so your head rests on the bench. Hold the dumbbell with both hands under the top plate: palms pressed flat against the underside, thumbs wrapped around the handle. This keeps it secure in your hands.
Always bring the dumbbell into position over your stomach, and lower it the same way when you finish.
Your arms reach up over your chest with the elbows very slightly bent. Brace your abs, with your shoulders and back on the bench. Keep your abs braced for the whole set.
The three cues
- Firm grip, abs braced — and keep them braced
- Wide arc behind your head, only as far as you can control — arms stay very slightly bent
- Three to four seconds down, brief pause, slowly back up
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Your elbows bend a lot and it turns into a triceps extension | Keep only a slight bend in your elbows and hold that angle all the way through. The arc comes from your shoulders. |
| Your lower back arches as the dumbbell goes behind your head | Brace your abs hard and keep your back on the bench. Only take the dumbbell as far back as you can without your back lifting. |
| The dumbbell drops quickly behind your head | Take three to four seconds on the way down — slow and even. |
| You bounce out of the stretch at the bottom | Pause briefly at the lowest point, then slowly bring it back over your chest. |
| You bring the dumbbell into position over your face | Always lift the dumbbell into position and lower it again over your stomach. |
| The weight is too heavy to control at a slow tempo | Go lighter. Only add weight once the tempo and the pause at the bottom are solid. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Light weight, learn the movement | A very light dumbbell. Practise the arc, the tempo and a still upper body until the movement feels solid. |
| Tempo and pause | Three to four seconds down, a brief pause at the bottom, slowly back up — through the full range you can control. |
| More weight | Move to a heavier dumbbell once both are true: your reps feel easy, and you keep the tempo, the pause at the bottom, your back on the bench and the same elbow angle. Then go up in small steps. |
Reps and load
The tempo is key here: three to four seconds down, a brief pause, slowly back up. Pick a weight that lets you keep that up for every rep.
Add weight once the reps feel easy and you can pause at the bottom. The exercise pairs well with the dumbbell bench press and the one-arm dumbbell row.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Chest M. pectoralis major | Prime mover | Pulls your arm from behind your head back over your chest |
| Lats M. latissimus dorsi | Synergist | Helps pull your arm from behind your head back over your chest |
| Triceps M. triceps brachii | Synergist | Helps bring your arm back and holds the slight bend at the elbow |
| Front delts M. deltoideus, pars clavicularis | Stabiliser | Helps steady the shoulder joint through the arc |
| Rear delts M. deltoideus, pars spinalis | Synergist | Helps your lats pull your arm back over your chest |
| Abs M. rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | Keep your upper body still and your back on the bench as the dumbbell goes behind your head |
Your chest and lats work together, your triceps and delts help, and your abs keep you steady. Depending on where your arms are in the arc, the work shifts between chest and back.
Explained in full
Andreas covers the grip, the setup and the tempo, demonstrates the movement on the bench and explains when to add weight. The second part covers the muscles involved. · 2:53
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
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Sources
Marchetti PH, Uchida MC. (2011). Effects of the pullover exercise on the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi muscles as evaluated by EMG. J Appl Biomech 27(4):380–384. DOI: 10.1123/jab.27.4.380 — Measures pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi activity in 8 healthy men during a barbell pullover (30% of body weight, 10 reps). The pullover emphasised the chest more than the lats; how active the muscles were depended on the lever arm of the load. The basis for listing the chest as prime mover and the lats as synergist. A very small sample, a barbell rather than a dumbbell, age not given in the abstract. There is no measurement specific to the Academy's target group (aged 40 to 60, training two to four hours a week). (Evidence type: EMG)
Muyor JM, López-Miñarro PA, Alacid F. (2022). Comparison of Electromyographic Activity during Barbell Pullover and Straight Arm Pulldown Exercises. Applied Sciences 12(21):11138. DOI: 10.3390/app122111138 — Measures seven muscles in 20 healthy, physically active adults during a barbell pullover and a cable straight-arm pulldown (8 reps at 30% of body mass). In the pullover the chest, front delts and rectus abdominis were more active (p ≤ 0.01); lats and triceps were most active in the pulldown. Activity was higher in the lifting phase than in the lowering phase in both exercises. The basis for the triceps, front delts and abs in the table. A barbell rather than a dumbbell; age and sex not given in the abstract; not listed in PubMed, verified via Crossref. (Evidence type: EMG)
Teixeira LFM, Gomes WA, Da Silva JJ, Magalhaes RA, Marchetti PH. (2022). Differences Between Pullover and Pulldown Exercises on Maximal Isometric Force and Myoelectric Activity in Recreationally-Trained Men. Int J Exerc Sci 15(4):797–807. DOI: 10.70252/SYAL7537 — Compares the pullover and the lat pulldown in 15 young, resistance-trained men using maximal isometric holds at shoulder angles from 0 to 180 degrees. For the lats and rear delts, activity depended only on shoulder angle; for the chest it depended on angle and exercise (each p < 0.001). The basis for listing the rear delts and for the note that the work shifts between chest and back depending on where your arm is in the arc. Isometric only, young men. (Evidence type: EMG)
Bull ML, Ferreira MI, Vitti M. (2007). Electromyographic validation of the deltoideus (anterior portion) and pectoralis major (clavicular portion) muscles in pull-over exercises. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol 47(7–8):329–335. PubMed 18051626 — Examines the front deltoid and the upper (clavicular) chest in 24 men during pullovers with straight and with bent arms. The upper chest worked weakly to moderately in both; the front deltoid worked moderately with straight arms and strongly with bent arms. The basis for the cue to keep only a slight bend in the elbows, and for the front delts in the table. Qualitative ratings only, an older paper, age not given in the abstract. (Evidence type: EMG)
Di Fonza D, Di Claudio G, Colantuono G, Persichini L, et al. (2026). Electromyographic Analysis of Latissimus Dorsi Activation During Common Resistance Training Exercises: A Narrative Review. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol 11(3):315. DOI: 10.3390/jfmk11030315 — A narrative review of 23 EMG studies on the lats, three of them on the pullover (about 43 people combined, evidence rated low). It classes the pullover as a combined chest-and-lat exercise; shoulder angle shifts the emphasis between the two more than exercise choice does. Technique variations have not been tested systematically, and older adults were excluded. The basis for presenting this as an upper-body exercise where chest and back work together. (Evidence type: Narrative review)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.