RepDriver
All exercises
Strength·Back

Dumbbell Pullover

Dumbbell PulloverDumbbell Pullover
Art style
Step 1 / 2

At a glance

Equipment
Single dumbbell + flat bench
Suggested reps
3 sets of 10–12 reps

Want this in your plan? Create a free account to add it to a routine, follow along with the timed runner, and log your sets.

Common mistakes

  • You bend the elbows more as the weight passes behind your head, turning the pullover into an awkward triceps extension.

  • You lower the dumbbell too fast and too far, past where your shoulders can stay stable.

  • You arch and flare the ribcage up as the weight goes back, losing the torso position that creates the lat stretch.

What to focus on

  • Set the elbow bend once and keep it frozen so the whole movement happens at the shoulders.

  • Keep the ribs down and the core braced, and let the lats lengthen slowly into the deepest comfortable stretch.

  • Pull the weight back over the chest by thinking of driving the upper arms, not the hands, forward.

Featured in these guides

The Arnold Split, with DumbbellsArnold's classic chest-and-back, shoulders-and-arms, legs rotation hits every muscle twice a week — and it maps onto a pair of adjustable dumbbells almost perfectly. Here's how to run it without a barbell.

Related strength moves

Bent-Over Barbell Row

Bent-Over Barbell Row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Pull-up

Pull-up

Two-Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Two-Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

Barbell Curl

Barbell Curl

Dumbbell Curl

Dumbbell Curl

Sources & further reading

  1. 1.EMG shows the pullover drives the pectoralis major more than the latissimus dorsi through most of the range — J. Applied Biomechanics (2011), Marchetti & Uchida