How to Do the Dumbbell Pullover to Fire Up Your Upper Body – Sure, a bench press can target your chest and a lat pull-down will fire up your back, but to hit both spots at once, the dumbbell pullover may be just your ticket.
A weighted exercise that challenges both those areas (plus your shoulders, arms, and rib cage muscles), the pullover is an upper-body smoker that you may just want to slot into your routine time and time again.
Despite its high bang-for-your-buck, the pullover is a move that tends to fall by the wayside—it doesn’t get as much love as other chest or back exercises, so you may not see it very often in workout plans. As a result, you might not be as familiar with it as you are with other upper-body staples, like rows or chest presses.
So here’s a quick rundown: The exercise involves lying on your back on the floor (or on a flat weight bench) and gripping one dumbbell above your chest with both hands. With straight arms, you slowly pull the dumbbell over and back behind your head as far as your shoulder mobility allows. Then, you reverse the move to return to the starting position. If the pullover sounds simple, it is—but trust us: It really has a lot to offer, no matter your fitness level.
We tapped certified personal trainer and performance coach Keith Hodges, CPT, founder of Mind In Muscle Coaching in Los Angeles to learn all the must-know intel on the dumbbell pullover, including what muscles it works, if it’s more of a chest move or a back move, the mighty benefits, how to incorporate it into your routine, and—most importantly—how to do it properly.
What muscles does the dumbbell pullover work?
Like we mentioned, the pullover serves double-duty: It targets your chest muscles (pecs), especially your pectoralis major, which spans from your upper arms to collarbone to sternum, and your broadest back muscles called your latissimus dorsi (lats). Additionally, dumbbell pullovers work your triceps (the muscles on the backsides of your upper arms), deltoids (shoulders), and serratus anterior (a muscle along the rib cage that stabilizes your shoulders), too.
Are pullovers for your chest or back?
This is a long-standing debate in the fitness word, and we’re here to clear it up for you: The answer is both! Pullovers work your chest and your back muscles, so yes, they can be considered a chest exercise as well as a back exercise. As for which area you’ll feel this move working more, well, that all depends on your anatomy, Hodges tells SELF. If your back tends to be tight, then you’ll likely feel the pullover really firing up that area more so than your chest. On the other hand, if your chest and shoulders are tense, then you’ll probably feel the exercise targeting those muscle groups more intensely than your backside, Hodges explains.
What are the benefits of dumbbell pullovers?
Since the pullover targets your chest, back, arm, and shoulder muscles all at once, you can get pretty awesome upper-body muscle activation and strengthening with this exercise. That can make the pullover a nice complement to more lower body-focused exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts.
The pullover is also good for improving shoulder health, says Hodges. Lifting the dumbbell overhead requires both shoulder mobility and stability; and the further you raise the weight overhead and behind you, the more work your stabilizer muscles have to do to safely control it and make sure you’re not straining your shoulder joints or arching your back.
Mastering the pullover exercise can help improve your overhead lifting abilities too. For example, Hodges often prescribes the pullover for people who have difficulty performing an overhead squat. The pullover can help “fix that movement and increase that range of motion,” he explains, adding that he also recommends the pullover to athletes whose sports involve lots of overhead movement, like baseball pitchers, football quarterbacks, and basketball players.
Important caveat: Folks with limited shoulder mobility should focus on improving that before attempting the pullover, says Hodges. And people with rotator cuff, pec, lower- or mid-back issues should be careful with the pullover too, he says. In those cases, it’s not a bad idea to check in with a doctor or physical therapist to make sure the pullover is okay for you and your range of motion.
How can you work dumbbell pullovers into your routine?
Beginners should start with a light weight to decrease their chances of getting hurt, Hodges advises. If it’s too heavy for you, you risk straining your shoulders, low back, and pecs, he explains. Focus on moving the weight in a safe range of motion for you by keeping your lower back pressed into the floor or the bench the entire time. If you feel it start to lift, then reverse the movement—don’t worry about raising the weight all the way behind you.
Once you get comfortable with the movement, start with three sets, Hodges suggests. Depending on your goal, aim for 6 to 8 reps per set if you want to work on strength, 8 to 12 reps if you want to build muscle; and 15 reps or more if you want to improve muscular endurance, says Hodges. No matter your goal, pick a weight that feels challenging but doable for your chosen rep count.
You can slot the pullover into your training program on any day you’re already working your chest or back, like in a dedicated back workout or chest-focused routine. Or it can work well as part of an upper-body workout—like this awesome 30-minute circuit that hits your arms, back, chest, and shoulders.
Once you’ve mastered proper form and the move stars to feel easy, you can up the ante by trying a pullover progression. One option, which will especially engage your core muscles, is doing the pullover from a hollow-body hold position (with your legs in the air). You can also really fire up your abs (especially your core stabilizers) by doing the move with your upper body resting on a stability ball and your feet flat on the ground. Or if you really want to challenge your shoulders, hold a (lighter) dumbbell in each hand and perform the move with both weights.
No matter how you incorporate the pullover into your routine, focus on completing this exercise at a slow, steady pace instead of zeroing in on how heavy a dumbbell you can use. “Our goal is range of motion with this exercise versus how much weight we can move,” says Hodges.
How to do a dumbbell pullover
- Lie on your side on a mat with a dumbbell (or kettlebell) in front of you. Grab the weight with both hands, hold it to your chest, and turn flat on your back, shoulder blades pressed into the ground. Keep your feet hip-width apart. (You can also do this move on a weight bench—just make sure it’s a flat bench rather than one that’s inclined or declined.)
- Grip the dumbbell vertically with both hands around one end, as pictured. (If the weight is smaller, you can also grip both ends of the dumbbell with your palms facing each other.) Lift it into the air directly above your chest, keeping your arms straight. Engage your core and press your lower back into the floor.
- Slowly bring the dumbbell over your head, keeping your lower back connected to the ground. Bring the dumbbell as far as you can overhead without letting your lower back come off the ground. Depending on your abilities, you may be able to gently touch the weight to the floor as pictured. (But it’s totally okay if you can’t make it that far!)
- Reverse the movement, bringing the weight back to the starting position. Continue to engage your core as you move the weight. This is one rep.
Demoing the move above is Tray Drew, MPH, owner and operator of Body By Tray, and an ISSA-certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist.
