Lat-Pullover
A dumbbell exercise on a flat bench: holding one dumbbell over your chest with both hands, you lower it back over your head in an arc and pull it back with your lats.
- Primary muscles
- Lats
- Secondary
- Upper chest, Middle chest, Lower chest
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weight × reps
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Why do it
The pullover trains your lats through a long arc with a deep stretch overhead, and your chest helps too, which is why some people do it on chest days. It only needs one dumbbell and a bench, so it's easy to fit in anywhere. Compared to the pullover machine, you have to control the dumbbell's path yourself, and the load is lightest at the top where the weight sits over your chest. Use moderate weights and smooth reps.
How to do it
Lie flat on a bench with your feet on the floor and hold one dumbbell with both hands, palms against the inside of the top plate.
Extend your arms over your chest with a slight bend in your elbows.
Lower the dumbbell back over your head in an arc until you feel a stretch through your lats and ribs.
Pull it back over your chest with your lats, keeping the elbow angle fixed. Don't let your ribs flare up as the weight goes back.
Common mistakes
Bending and straightening your elbows
Changing the elbow angle turns the pullover into a triceps extension. Keep the same slight bend from start to finish.
Letting your ribs flare
Arching your back as the weight goes behind your head makes the stretch look bigger than it is. Keep your ribs down and stop where your lats limit you.
Pulling the dumbbell past your chest
The work ends once the dumbbell is back over your chest. Bringing it further toward your stomach takes the tension off your lats.
Dropping into the bottom
Letting the dumbbell fall back over your head makes the stretch hard to control. Lower it slowly and pause briefly before pulling back.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
