How to Do Dumbbell Pullovers
A dumbbell pullover is an upper-body exercise done lying on a bench. Hold one dumbbell over your chest with both hands, keep a slight fixed bend in your elbows and lower it in an arc behind your head. It trains the chest and triceps long head more than the lats. Most lifters do 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps.
- 1Stretch. Lying on a flat bench, lower the dumbbell in an arc behind your head until your upper arms are about level with the bench.
- 2Top. Pull it back over your chest with the same slight bend in your elbows, and stop when your arms are vertical.
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How to do a dumbbell pullover
- Sit on the end of a flat bench with one dumbbell on your thigh. Lie back so your head, upper back and hips are on the bench and your feet are flat on the floor.
- Hold the dumbbell upright with both palms flat under the top plate and your thumbs around the handle. Press it up over your chest.
- Unlock your elbows slightly and keep that bend for the whole set. Brace your abs so your ribs stay down.
- Lower the dumbbell in an arc behind your head over 2 to 3 seconds, until your upper arms are about level with the bench or your ribs start to lift.
- Pull it back along the same arc and stop when your arms are vertical over your chest.
Where the dumbbell pullover is hardest
A dumbbell pulls straight down, so it only loads your shoulders when your arms are away from vertical. Over your chest it has no leverage at all. It gets heavier as your arms go back, and is hardest with your upper arms level with the bench, where your chest and triceps are most stretched.
In max-effort holds lying on a bench, lat activity was highest with the arms down by the hips and lowest overhead, while chest activity peaked between arms vertical and halfway back (Teixeira 2022). A dumbbell pullover stops at vertical, so it never reaches the range where the lats work best.
How much weight should you use for dumbbell pullovers?
On Gravitus, the median man lifts 50 lb (22.5 kg) for 10 reps on the dumbbell pullover, and the median woman 25 lb (11 kg).
- Most lift
- 37.5 to 60 lb
- Top 10% lift
- 75 lb or more
- Starting out
- under 37.5 lb
- Most lift
- 20 to 30 lb
- Top 10% lift
- 40 lb or more
- Starting out
- under 20 lb
- Most lift
- 17 to 27.5 kg
- Top 10% lift
- 35 kg or more
- Starting out
- under 17 kg
- Most lift
- 9 to 14 kg
- Top 10% lift
- 18 kg or more
- Starting out
- under 9 kg
Chest or back? What the research says
The dumbbell pullover works the chest more than the lats. In a barbell pullover, chest activity was higher than lat activity (Marchetti 2011). At a 10-rep max, the chest reached 50.8% of its bench press level and the lats 22.7% of their lat pulldown level (Borges 2018). Barbell and dumbbell pullovers drew the same activity in all seven muscles measured (Campos 2017), so these findings carry over to the dumbbell. The triceps long head works hard too: in a dumbbell pullover study it was as active as the chest or more (Lacio 2021).
Three common claims the research does not back:
- Bend or flare your elbows to shift it to the lats. Bending the elbows to 90 degrees made no significant difference to chest or triceps activity (Lacio 2021). No study has shown a lat shift from elbow position.
- Lower it further to hit the lats. Lat activity was lowest with the arms overhead (Teixeira 2022). Going deeper adds stretch, not lat work.
- It expands the ribcage. No study shows pullovers widen an adult ribcage.
Muscles worked
Lengthwise or across the bench, straight or bent elbows
Pick the setup you can control through the full stretch. The bent-elbow version is easier on the shoulders for some lifters, and the study authors suggest it for anyone with shoulder discomfort (Lacio 2021).
Dumbbell pullover vs cable pullover vs lat pulldown
| Attribute | Dumbbell pullover | Cable lat pullover | Lat pulldown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range | Arms vertical to behind your head | Arms overhead to your hips | Arms overhead to your sides |
| Equipment | One dumbbell, a bench | Cable station | Pulldown station |
| Works most | Chest and triceps, lats help | Lats, teres major, triceps | Lats, biceps |
For lats, use the lat pulldown first and a cable pullover second. In the same lifters, lat activity in the pullover was less than half of the pulldown (Borges 2018). Keep the dumbbell pullover as a chest and triceps accessory that loads a deep stretch.
Sets, reps and progression
Do pullovers after your presses on chest day, or at the end of an upper-body session. Stop each set 0 to 2 reps short of failure. Sets taken close to failure build muscle across a wide range of reps (Schoenfeld 2021), so pick a range you can keep strict through the stretch.
Dumbbell jumps are 5 lb (2.5 kg) at most gyms. Add reps first: when every set reaches the top of your range, move up one dumbbell and drop back to the bottom of the range.
Common mistakes
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Bending and straightening the elbowsIt turns into a lying triceps extension. Set the bend at the top and keep it for the whole rep.
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Lowering past your mobilityYour ribs flare and your lower back arches. Stop when your upper arms are level with the bench or your ribs start to lift.
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Arching the lower backBrace your abs before each rep and keep your hips on the bench.
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Dropping into the stretchThe bottom is the heaviest part of the rep. Lower over 2 to 3 seconds and reverse without a bounce.
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A loose grip over your faceCup the top plate with both palms and wrap your thumbs around the handle. Check that the plates on an adjustable dumbbell are tight.
Dumbbell pullover variations
Questions people ask
Is dumbbell pullover for chest or back?
Both, but more chest. Pullover studies found more chest than lat activity (Marchetti 2011, Borges 2018), and the dumbbell version works the same muscles as the barbell (Campos 2017). The triceps long head works hard too.
Are dumbbell pullovers good for lats?
They help, but they are a weak lat exercise. The lats work best with the arms near your hips (Teixeira 2022), and a dumbbell pullover stops with the arms vertical. Use a pulldown or a cable pullover for lats.
Can dumbbell pullover replace lat pulldown?
No. In the same lifters at a 10-rep max, lat activity in the pullover was less than half of the lat pulldown (Borges 2018).
Do dumbbell pullovers work serratus anterior?
As a stabilizer. The one study that measured it found moderate serratus activity in both barbell and dumbbell pullovers (Campos 2017). It holds your shoulder blade steady as your arms go overhead.
Are dumbbell pullovers bad for shoulders?
No study has linked them to shoulder injury. The stretch needs full overhead mobility, so lower only as far as you can keep your ribs down, and start light. Bending the elbows to 90 degrees shortens the lever without losing chest or triceps work (Lacio 2021).
Is dumbbell pullover push or pull?
By joint action it is a pull, since the shoulder extends as in a pulldown. By muscles it trains more like a push, because the chest and triceps do most of the work. Put it on the day you train chest.
How much weight to use for dumbbell pullover?
For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 50 lb (22.5 kg) for men and 25 lb (11 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 60 lb (27.5 kg) and 30 lb (14 kg) or more.
Log every set and see your percentile on every lift, dumbbell pullover included.
Get GravitusRelated exercises
- Marchetti and Uchida 2011. J Appl Biomech 27(4):380-384.
- Borges et al. 2018. J Phys Educ Sport 18(2):648-653.
- Campos et al. 2017. Rev Bras Med Esporte 23(5):357-360.
- Campos and da Silva 2014. Motriz 20(2):200-205.
- de Lacio et al. 2021. J Exerc Physiol Online 24(4):1-11.
- Teixeira et al. 2022. Int J Exerc Sci 15(4):797-807.
- Schoenfeld et al. 2021. Sports 9(2):32.