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Exercise library · Chest

Dumbbell pullover

Pullover for the chest with dumbbells.

How to do it

1 of 3

Dumbbell above your chest

  1. Starting position

    Lie on a bench with your feet on the floor and hold one dumbbell in both hands above your chest with slightly bent elbows.

  2. The movement

    Lower the dumbbell in an arc behind your head, then bring it back above your chest with nearly straight arms.

Most common mistake

Don't bend your elbows more during the movement, keep the same slight bend and keep your back still on the bench.

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Muscle group
Chest
Equipment
Dumbbells
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The pullover is one of the few exercises in which both your chest and your lats, the broad muscles of your back, work hard. Together they bring your arms from behind your head over your chest, and which you feel most varies with the person and the technique. The long head of your triceps helps because it crosses the shoulder joint, and the serratus anterior on the side of your ribcage usually joins in. The load is greatest with the dumbbell behind your head and eases towards your chest.

Common mistakes

  • Lowering the dumbbell too far. At the back the load peaks just as your shoulders are most stretched. Stop at a clear stretch, for most people with your arms roughly horizontal, and turn there. If your shoulder hurts, rather than just feeling heavy, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.
  • An unsafe grip on the dumbbell. The dumbbell passes over your face, so the grip must hold. Press your palms flat against the inside of the top plate, thumbs around the handle, and check that the plates are tight on an adjustable dumbbell.
  • Going too far forward at the top. If the dumbbell carries on past your chest towards your stomach, your arms rest and the tension goes. Turn back once it is directly above your chest.

Variations and alternatives

  • The straight arm pulldown is a similar movement done standing, with more of the work on your lats.
  • The band pullover works at home, and the resistance builds the further you pull.
  • The dumbbell fly when you want to target your chest with a different movement.

Sets and reps

The pullover is not one for heavy sets: a dumbbell you can barely handle is hard to control over your face. Do 8 to 15 reps over 2 to 3 sets, often at the end of a chest or back session, with a weight you can lower calmly over two to three seconds. Planning and rest are covered under sets and reps.

Add reps first, and move up to the next dumbbell once all your sets reach 15 reps and the last rep looks like the first. That is progressive overload in an exercise where technique, rather than strength, sets the limit.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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