#Dumbell pullover how to#

Of course, to fuel all that resistance training, you'll also want to know everything there is to know about increasing your protein intake, as protein is the building block of muscle. This increased effort could correlate to improved muscle growth.

#Dumbell pullover how to#

To get started on another compound move, check out our how to deadlift with dumbbells guide.ĭumbbell pullovers also stimulate muscular hypertrophy because it’s not a very efficient movement: it forces you to work quite hard to bring that dumbbell back overhead. If you don’t have time to split your training up into lots of different sessions targeting individual muscle groups, the dumbbell pullover could sit alongside other compound exercises like the deadlift and barbell squat. This makes it great for growing your chest, but as we’ve covered earlier, it’s a wonderfully well-rounded move. The research was done using barbells, not dumbbells, but the results are very much the same. This is backed up by science: researchers writing in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics (opens in new tab) studied eight healthy male volunteers and found pullovers emphasized the muscle action of the pectoralis major more than that of the latissimus dorsi, but that both muscle groups were effective. “Dumbbell pullovers are great for shoulder and spine health, as well as being challenging the pectorals, triceps, and the latissimus dorsi muscle groups at the same time,” says Searle. (Image credit: Ponzu Fit/Oscar Searle) Why do dumbbell pullovers? Searle provides the following “sample”, showing how the dumbbell pullover might fit in an upper-body session: This move is a great one to fit in any upper-body resistance training session you might be doing, regardless of which muscle groups you’re targeting. However, as it works the lats, it also improves the muscles required during pull-ups and deadlifts. If you’re doing a “chest day” resistance training session, working your chest and triceps with moves like push-ups and the bench press, the dumbbell pullover fits naturally here.

You can even perform the movement without a weight, or use one of the best resistance bands. Instead, keep things light and use them as accessory work. To assist in keeping the spine neutral or flat, you can try lifting the feet close under your hips with the knees bent.ĭon’t go too heavy with the dumbbell pullover, as it could be easy to injure yourself by wrenching your shoulders back. It’s important to keep the whole spine pressed into the bench or floor throughout the entire exercise, in order to make sure the only muscles that are working are the ones meant to work: namely your chest, lats, and delts.

The small step will stop you from overreaching the shoulder into flexion, beyond what you are capable of.” Common dumbbell pullover mistakesĪ common mistake, according to Searle, is not keeping your spine in a flat position against the bench or floor, known as “ribcage flare” as your back arches as you stretch the dumbbell backward. “My best piece of safety advice is to either first conduct the exercise on the floor, or if you are using a bench, place a small step underneath where the dumbbell would be lowering down. The highest amount of force during the exercise will be produced at the end of our shoulder’s range of motion, to avoid any unnecessary strain we should practice the movement with a weight we can comfortably lift until we feel confident to attempt something heavier to maximize our results. “I would recommend ensuring you are fully warmed up first. This shoulder rotation can be dangerous if you use too much weight, so make sure you use a small weight at first.