Dumbell Pullovers

[RyanRev]

Do they really help expand your ribcage, and if they do how many of you guys actually do them. Im posting this here because i want a proper answer from people who know what there doing and not some 14 yr olds telling me if they do or dont work. Thanks for your input! :)

[UCFBuilder]

ill tell u what i feel them doing

Everyone tells me they feel it in there chest and serratus...but ive tried every form..the same people telling me it hits the chest watching me when i do them..i was using light weight to really get the form down as well...and all i felt was my lats working..never felt my chest or serratus being used

So needless to say..i dont do them...but many will say they do expand your rib cage..dont know if it does or not..sounds a bit suspicious to me..and hits your chest

[wrkoutfrq]

i do them every now and then because i can feel it in the outer parts of my chest (not saying isolated, thats just where i feel it), but i feel there is too much lat's and long head of the tricep involved to be a real effective chest exercise....

and did them for years and ribcage is still the same size... just saying

[RyanRev]

alright guys thanks for your help!

[MrMcCarthy]

pullovers can be an excellent chest exercise if you know how to manipulate the form

[DanTheManB]

pullovers can be an excellent chest exercise if you know how to manipulate the form

used to do them super heavy all the time. hits lats chest abs and tris

[MrMcCarthy]

used to do them super heavy all the time. hits lats chest abs and tris

I don't feel them in my lats at all (srs)

[sloboda]

I do chest and back together. sometimes ill superset pullovers with machine pullovers. the machine pullovers i feel 100% in my lats and the dumbbell in my chest, its more about the stretch with the dumbbell imo.

[DanTheManB]

I don't feel them in my lats at all (srs)

depends on form/emphasis

[rewaste]

There good for a nice stretch but if you go to heavy there is a chance you can hurt your lower ribs. As far as skeletal build you are given what you have, work with it. The good thing is that with a smaller Torso you can build some impressive thick muscle. And your strength for power movements to.

[Sniperwolf]

I actually did them for the first time in over ten years tonight and I found it hit mainly my upper chest with a little bit of tris. I kept my hips low and my elbows narrow.

[MAX.MAREK]

..i was using light weight to really get the form down as well...and all i felt was my lats working..never felt my chest or serratus being used


use heavy weight. youll then feel the chest being worked...especially at the top of the rep.

[DanTheManB]

depends on form/emphasis

machine pullovers really smash lats though .....

[co1e_train]

use heavy weight. youll then feel the chest being worked...especially at the top of the rep.

I con cur with this. Id go heavy and bangout 8-10 reps and boy did I feel it all over my upper torso

[Justin-27]

Dumbbell Pullover-The awesome shoulder dislocator (my left).
5 years later......EZ Bar Pullover-The awesome 2nd time shoulder dislocator (this time both at same time).

6'3" with crazy long arms FML.

[FATHER FLEX]

If you have a machine this movement is so much better! Just found a gym that has one myself!

[devo09]

Worst exercise of all time

[ziggspeed]

I do them and I can say form is a huge deal. You have to use your mind muscle connection and know which muscles you are using to pull the weight over. If you're doing them right, you should feel a good stretch in your ribs and upper abdominals. My ribs were ridiculous sore for the first couple weeks after doing them. I've always had a small frame, but I can say over the last couple of months I can see a difference in the size of my rib cage. Maybe its just my ability to stretch it larger when I pose, but I can attest to the lift being worthwile. Don't expect anything to happen overnight, do them properly and you'll get results. Just my $.02

[MrMcCarthy]

Worst exercise of all time

lol wut

[MAX.MAREK]

I con cur with this. Id go heavy and bangout 8-10 reps and boy did I feel it all over my upper torso

totally! ive also been implementing decline bench dumbbell pullovers into my upper-back training. really hit the rear lats like no other, and also gives me a semi good contraction on the lower part of the chest when i get to the top of the rep. also, it really improves core strength, since your abs/core are being stretched and tightened throughout each rep. good stuff ;)

[devo09]

lol wut

well tell me why it's good?

-The line of pull is TERRIBLE, you get like a 1inch ROM
-How are you supposed to go heavy? I can do close to the stack on most pullover machines, so am I going to use a 150lb dumbell or something?
-the chest just stabilizes the object in your hands from falling to the side


sooo
Not a chest exercise
A terrible lat exercise (just use a machine)

[mrusa85]

As far as expanding the ribcage... doesn't work. I've read about that for 30 years and don't know of one person that it actually worked on -- myself included. Did lots of them as a teenager supersetted with breathing squats.

DB pullovers can also help to contribute to rotator cuff problems in your later years.

[MrMcCarthy]

well tell me why it's good?

-The line of pull is TERRIBLE, you get like a 1inch ROM
-How are you supposed to go heavy? I can do close to the stack on most pullover machines, so am I going to use a 150lb dumbell or something?
-the chest just stabilizes the object in your hands from falling to the side


sooo
Not a chest exercise
A terrible lat exercise (just use a machine)I disagree with you saying it's "not a chest exercise". I feel pullovers very strongly in my chest and not in my lats in the slightest.

I don't think it's a fantastic chest exercise but it's great for sake of variety. It's another movement pattern if nothing else.

[MrMcCarthy]

totally! ive also been implementing decline bench dumbbell pullovers into my upper-back training. really hit the rear lats like no other, and also gives me a semi good contraction on the lower part of the chest when i get to the top of the rep. also, it really improves core strength, since your abs/core are being stretched and tightened throughout each rep. good stuff ;)

What are the "rear lats"?

[devo09]

I disagree with you saying it's "not a chest exercise". I feel pullovers very strongly in my chest and not in my lats in the slightest.

I don't think it's a fantastic chest exercise but it's great for sake of variety. It's another movement pattern if nothing else.

great, i can do pushups on a bosu ball as a different movement pattern too. And if I'm training chest I want to use a movement pattern that the pecs will be the prime mover, not some small assisting muscle

But either way, if a placebo effect makes you THINK you're working your chest better, then maybe you are..placebo effect ain't no joke

[MrMcCarthy]

great, i can do pushups on a bosu ball as a different movement pattern too. That doesn't mean it will build a chest.

But either way, if a placebo effect makes you THINK you're working your chest better, then maybe you are..placebo effect ain't no joke

Are you serious? brb feeling a muscle working must be placebo effect

With DB pullovers I feel zero lat involvement and some tricep involvement but most of it is in my chest.

[devo09]

Are you serious? brb feeling a muscle working must be placebo effect

With DB pullovers I feel zero lat involvement and some tricep involvement but most of it is in my chest.

yeah, brutha, I can flex my chest and feel it work. Your chest isn't moving the weight, biomechanics brah

[MrMcCarthy]

yeah, brutha, I can flex my chest and feel it work. Your chest isn't moving the weight, biomechanics brah

Biomechanically speaking the bench press should be a great exercise for chest yet regardless of the form I use I feel much more in my triceps than my chest when I bench. Biomechanics has practical limitations.

[ziggspeed]

great, i can do pushups on a bosu ball as a different movement pattern too. And if I'm training chest I want to use a movement pattern that the pecs will be the prime mover, not some small assisting muscle



Thats the idea behind pullovers. They're for your Serratus , the small muscle that layers your ribs, connects to your lats and the lower outer part of your pecs. Of course they are not going to make your pectoral muscles bigger or stronger, but they will contribute to a fully developed chest, which involves those 'smaller assisting muscles.'

I think perhaps you guys are arguing two different points. Yes, pullovers are useless in makeing your pecs larger. They do serve a seperate purpose though, developing the Serratus and helping to stretch the rib cage to create a Fully Developed chest....

[devo09]

Biomechanically speaking the bench press should be a great exercise for chest yet regardless of the form I use I feel much more in my triceps than my chest when I bench. Biomechanics has practical limitations.

no...biomechanically speaking YOUR bench press FORM may be off....i don't care man, keep doing db pullovers all you want, hopefully it doesn't mess your shoulders though.

[MrMcCarthy]

no...biomechanically speaking YOUR bench press FORM may be off....i don't care man, keep doing db pullovers all you want, hopefully it doesn't mess your shoulders though.

So regardless of one's structure the bench press is a great chest exercise?

[SupaaJ]

Thats the idea behind pullovers. They're for your Serratus , the small muscle that layers your ribs, connects to your lats and the lower outer part of your pecs. Of course they are not going to make your pectoral muscles bigger or stronger, but they will contribute to a fully developed chest, which involves those 'smaller assisting muscles.'

I think perhaps you guys are arguing two different points. Yes, pullovers are useless in makeing your pecs larger. They do serve a seperate purpose though, developing the Serratus and helping to stretch the rib cage to create a Fully Developed chest....

You know what else works the Serratus and is far safer.


The.
Ab.
Wheel.

Brb getting the best abs without ever doing a retarded situp or crunch. :D

[devo09]

So regardless of one's structure the bench press is a great chest exercise?
well can you explain WHY a bench press would be a bad pec exercise?
And also can you show me how a DB pullover is going to overload the pecs? Because if you can't overload them, then why would you do it? DB pullover's sure as hell wouldn't be an injury prevention exercise

[lth]

pullovers on a nautilus machine, amazing lat exercise.....db pullovers for chest, i've done them a couple times and all i really felt was my rotator cuffs being grinded to sh*t. You guys are talking about flat bench, i feel its a good movement for the pecs personally but it does scare the hell out of me because of how many people have had pec tears on that movement alone...i use it almost every chest workout but do use caution with it.

[MrMcCarthy]

well can you explain WHY a bench press would be a bad pec exercise?
And also can you show me how a DB pullover is going to overload the pecs? Because if you can't overload them, then why would you do it? DB pullover's sure as hell wouldn't be an injury prevention exercise

Again THEORETICALLY benching would be a great chest exercise but in practice I get almost nothing out of it. Similar on a decline. Paradoxically on incline I feel almost all of the stress in my chest and very little tricep involvement and no shoulder involvement at all even though in theory incline work would be more shoulder dominant.

When you say "overload" are you referring to progressive overload?

And lol @ injury prevention... hello bench press ie #1 cause of pec tears.

[devo09]

Again THEORETICALLY benching would be a great chest exercise but in practice I get almost nothing out of it. Similar on a decline. Paradoxically on incline I feel almost all of the stress in my chest and very little tricep involvement and no shoulder involvement at all even though in theory incline work would be more shoulder dominant.

When you say "overload" are you referring to progressive overload?

And lol @ injury prevention... hello bench press ie #1 cause of pec tears.

How do you know you get nothing out of it? When you switched did you get much better development? Post some pics so we can see your massive chest

overload/progressive overload, whatever, applying a stress to force adaptation

yeah, and bench press is also BY FAR, the most performed exercise, BY FAR, so don't jump to conclusions , no exercise is completely safe.

Now answer my question that you're dancing around. What the hell is a DB pullover going to do for my chest? Just because you saw Jay cutler do them doesn't make them good, DB pullovers never built a chest.

[devo09]

Of course changing one exercise didn't have any appreciable difference.

At this point you've lost me. As far as I'm concerned if I feel an exercise work the desired muscle groups I do it as such. I don't get anything out of flat benching (I don't feel the stress in my pecs) so I don't do it (other than close grip for triceps). Conversely I feel DB pullovers in my chest so I do them. Theoretical biomechanics does interest me but at the end of the day what I do in the gym is based on my experience in the gym. I think studying biomechanics can do a lot for one's back training especially because most people don't understand the function of the lats but again it a matter of experience.


You can't like biomechanics only when you agree with it. Good luck with your pullovers for chest, and I'll keep benching my ass off to build a chest.


Do you really think Jay does pullovers for ****s and giggles? The guy IS Mr. Olympia after all!
I don't give a **** lol, Mr.Olympia doesn't make you more knowledgeable about biomechanics than someone who is STUDYING it

[devo09]

So I should stop doing pullovers and start doing heavy benching on a regular basis and my chest will improve even though I feel the VAST majority of the stress of benching in my shoulders and triceps?

You act like there is absolutely no structural variety from person to person. Why do you think Levrone loved benching and Jay almost never flat benches? Pure baseless personal preference or would it be reasonable to think that after decades of training that have figured out what is most effective for them personally?

k bud, post before/after pics of your chest development for reference. In fact, I challenge you to do ONLY pullovers for your chest and see how that works for you. I already know how it will.

I'm done, i feel like I'm argueing with my little sister. You don't know everything bud, so don't think you do, Jay cutler doesn't know everything, so stop thinking he does.

You can't post in the nutrition forum about how ppl have their protein to high because of the evidence against it and then completely dismiss evidence for biomechanics. Maybe you should follow jay cutlers diet too?

[Vai]

I do cable pullovers, except with the rope handle. I do it at the end of my lat workout, gives a great pump!

syYu0wxDKtM

[lth]

lol, in the end i think its a preferance but i agree with devo.....its just hard for me to imagine how a db pullover would put much stress on the pecs....again good lat movement on a machine but thats about it imo.