Cross-bench DB pullovers – are these worth doing?
One idea that comes to mind is, although they likely don’t build muscles that “show” as much (ie. serratus anterior, etc), they might be worth it because they work the sagittal plane of motion which doesn’t normally get as much stimulus as the horizontal push-pull plane.
In my opinion I’d say that they are well worth doing. Since I incorporated them into my workouts my reach over from lats to chest has become firmer, shown a little more muscle, and the vain side of it, it has pushed my arms even farther from my sides.
[quote]doctor negative wrote:
Cross-bench DB pullovers – are these worth doing?
One idea that comes to mind is, although they likely don’t build muscles that “show” as much (ie. serratus anterior, etc), they might be worth it because they work the sagittal plane of motion which doesn’t normally get as much stimulus as the horizontal push-pull plane.
[/quote]
while i dont know what sagittal refers to, i can at least recognize your idea that its working a different plane. i dont personally use pullovers with any kind of consistency, however two guys that i see regularly/am friendly with at my gym do use them consistently. both have impressive builds.
that being said, im interested in seeing the response to this thread.
I would say they hold some value. Besides the serratus aspect, they are good for putting the subscapularis into a loaded stretch. Many people are tight in this muscle group and it impairs optimal shoulder function. Then of course the fact that you can actually force it to recruit through a full ROM is also quite beneficial.
Sometimes that serratus when really defined makes some poses. I can sure see how this would push one’s arms out to the sides too.
I think CT recommended them as one of the best excercises for a lagging upper back. Can’t seem to find the article though.
They were a favourite of some of the golden age guys like Grimek and Reeves. Reeves in particular made a lot of use of them, and his lat development was absolutely insane.
The (main) job of the lats is to pull the humerus down and back when upright. When you lie down, you actually pull up and forward which when viewed properly is just about right.
The biceps can’t give out first (because they do not really contribute to the movement). Actually most of my clients including myself have some pretty substantial soreness in the triceps after doing them. That’s always a welcome benefit and another example of the fact that you can not isolate any muscle (nor should you).
I use them and would say yes to anyone who asks if they should use them.
Awesome exercise. Great stretch. And yes derek, often I feel a trashed tri.
I love the movement, cross bench with good depth, just like the heavy db,s for these, some guys find them painfull for their shoulders but they suit my structure. As you get the Db above your chest pause it and push it out a couple of times with the Db’s, gives a great chest contraction, one of my favourite movements.
I like pullovers, they aren’t necessary but i’ve had succes with them and use them when I fell like it. However, why do you do them “cross-bench”? I use a flat bench myself.
I like to do straight-arm pulldowns. I feel it works the body similarly without as much stress on the shoulders.
It’s funny, I had forgot about them (as sometimes you do with various exercises) and just started re-incorporating them into my workouts this afternoon.
Good movement and I notice the triceps getting a workout as well.
My dad always told me to do pullovers, it was a staple in his routine, so being a newbie, I listened to him and I always did dumbbell pullovers, since I started lifting at like 16 years old.
5 years later I continue to do them, In fact I can do very strict dumbbell pullovers with a 90 pound dumbbell at 178 pounds. This may or may not be impressive to some, but it has become one of my better lifts and sure enough my back is probably my best body part today, and strongest. I would have to honestly say, deadlifts, pullovers and chinups are what gave me the back I have developed. So I would have to say yes, give them a shot. Great exercise in my opinion.
I havent done pullovers in years, and this thread is making me miss them. If I did one now, I’d be rushed to the doctor with my arms hanging out of the sockets, hehehe. Possibly the worst move you can do if you have bad shoulders. Or, my shoulders, anyway.
That being said, I think they’re a good exercise for healthy shouldered people. I used to love doing them. I got kinda confused on this subject though, as I’d always heard they were a serratus movement, but I recall reading a few times (I believe on here) that they actually work the serratus’ antagonist muscle, which escapes me at this moment.
I just tried the straight arm pulldowns a little while ago. Man, I was WEAK in that exercise. Never even occured to me that they were like a safer pullover. Time to start doing those more…
Kubo
[quote]Bram Wiley wrote:
I like to do straight-arm pulldowns. I feel it works the body similarly without as much stress on the shoulders.
It’s funny, I had forgot about them (as sometimes you do with various exercises) and just started re-incorporating them into my workouts this afternoon.
Good movement and I notice the triceps getting a workout as well.[/quote]
I prefer these as well, you can keep tension on the muscles through a greater range of motion. Its not the same exact thing but works better for me.
[quote]JNeves wrote:
Bram Wiley wrote:
I like to do straight-arm pulldowns. I feel it works the body similarly without as much stress on the shoulders.
It’s funny, I had forgot about them (as sometimes you do with various exercises) and just started re-incorporating them into my workouts this afternoon.
Good movement and I notice the triceps getting a workout as well.
I prefer these as well, you can keep tension on the muscles through a greater range of motion. Its not the same exact thing but works better for me.
[/quote]
What about straight arm pullovers using a cable? Not seen many people do these, but tried them out a while ago and quite liked the constant tension feel. Also lying flat with the cable makes it harder to ‘cheat’ than doing them standing and I didn’t feel as much tri involvement. Am thinking of incorporating them into a future routine.
tks for the replies.
I did these today with a 90 lb db, and seriously felt them in the upper back. I supersetted them with chins. I am gonna keep this for a while on back days, and maybe after switch to a variation with a straight bar cable pulldown.
I think pullovers are a great exercise, mainy because they are so different from many other exercises. However, I would say that many people do these wrong. When you lower the weight to the extended position it is at this position that you need the most tension on your lats, long head tri, and other adductors.
I have watched many people do this exercise and it seems at this position people tend to relax for a moment or at some time, before going back upward, so the weight is basically hanging against your shoulder joint and causing all sorts of impingement issues…
Since the biceps aren’t involved, they work great supersetted with pulldowns or chins or even rows.
I know a lot of the old timers liked to alternate these with high-rep and/or breathing squats too. Dave Draper has mentioned this combo a few times in his newsletter.
[quote]Northcott wrote:
They were a favourite of some of the golden age guys like Grimek and Reeves. [/quote]
This is true
This is also true. But what is interesting is that Grimek, Reeves, McCallum, etc recommended the pullover because they said it “stretched the rib box to make it bigger.” Some say that’s impossible, some say it IS possible to stretch the cartilage. Who’s right? Who knows, but I still do them. Rader Chest Pulls are good, too.
