Barbell Pullover

As far as old-school exercises go, the barbell pullover has been around since resistance training first began. At its core, it involves bringing a weighted barbell over your head and back up again while lying on a bench. Alongside being easy to perform, it offers several useful benefits which will be described below.

Despite its versatility, it is less commonly used by most gym populations. To bring it back into the mainstream gym routines, we’ve discussed everything about why it's so good. We detail the correct form, programming tips, suitable populations, and benefits below.

How To Do

  1. Set up a flat bench in a suitable space. Take a barbell from the barbell rack and lie on the bench with the barbell above your chest. Your elbows should be extended with your head facing forward.
  2. Inhale and engage your core. Exhale and bring the barbell behind your head. Maintain a slight bend in your elbows.
  3. Pause at the bottom position as you feel a stretch in your latissimus dorsi muscles. Inhale and bring the barbell back to the starting position using the same movement pattern.

Tips From Expert

  • Ensure that you maintain the same slight elbow bend throughout the exercise. This allows your latissimus dorsi muscles to act as the primary movers.
  • Keep your elbows tucked in as you bring your arms overhead. If you can’t maintain the tucked position, lower the weight and reassess your form.
  • Make sure that your hips and back stay against the flat bench at all times during the movement. This limits potential lower back stress and injury risk.
  • Maintain the same head and neck position throughout. This means you should be looking towards the ceiling. Doing this prevents potential neck strain.

Optimal Sets and Reps

The programming table below can be used to find your idea sets and reps when performing the barbell pullover. We’ve split it into different training styles.

Training Type Sets Reps
Strength Training 3–5 4–6
Hypertrophy 3–4 8–10
Endurance Training 3–4 12+
Power Training 3–5 1–3 (Explosive)
Optimal Sets & Reps of Barbell Pullover

How to Put in Your Workout Split

The barbell pullover is an old-school bodybuilding-type exercise that works many of the large upper-body muscle groups. It’s suitable to be programmed into several different routines, including chest and ab workouts.

Alongside working several functional muscles, it helps to improve shoulder stability and increase strength. With this, it can be programmed in different ways.

  • Bodybuilding Workout — Program barbell pullovers as part of a back or upper body routine. Perform it towards the middle of your workout following the compound movements. Pair it with exercises such as the barbell row and lat pulldown.
  • Free Weight Circuit — Include the barbell pullover as part of a free weight back circuit. Pair it with shoulder exercises such as the Arnold press and barbell upright row.
  • Accessory Strength Routine — The barbell pullover works great as an accessory strength exercise to work the key stabilizer muscles. Program it at the end of a strength routine following your competition lifts. Examples include the deadlift and overhead press.

When working out training intensity, the loading recommendations below can be used as a general guide. Use these and the suggested rest periods for optimal performance.

They are determined using your one repetition maximum or 1RM. This is the amount of weight you can lift for one repetition with good form.

  • Hypertrophy Training — 60%–80% of your 1RM, 60–90 seconds of rest between sets.
  • Endurance Training — 40%–60% of your 1RM, 60–90 seconds of rest between sets.
  • Strength And Power Training — 80%–100% of your 1RM, 2–3 minutes of rest between sets.

In terms of training volume, a minimum of 10 weekly working sets is required for muscle growth. Between sessions, allow at least 48–72 hours for rest and recovery.

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Secondary Muscle Groups

Clavicular Head of Pectoralis Major

Muscles located at the top of your chest, running from your armpit to collar bone. Smaller portion of your chest muscle.

Sternal Head of Pectoralis Major

Large muscles located underneath your clavicle head. Makes up most of your chest area

Abdominal Head of Pectoralis Major

Muscles located at the bottom of your pectoral region, just above your abdominal muscles.

Serratus Anterior

Small, fan shaped muscle that lies deep under your chest and scapula.

Clavicular Head Of Pectoralis Major

The clavicular head, also known as the upper chest, is the top portion of the pectoralis major. Its primary function is to flex the humerus, or upper arm when the arm is in an extended position. This means bringing it above or in front of the body when it’s behind it.

From the bottom position in the barbell pullover, the clavicular head flexes the arms to bring the barbell back to the starting position.

Sternal Head Of Pectoralis Major

The sternal head, or middle chest, is between the clavicular head and abdominal head. It primarily functions to adduct the humerus or bring it closer to the midline of the body.

As you bring the barbell back to the starting position, the shoulders perform slight adduction. The sternal heads play a secondary role, assisting the latissimus dorsi muscles to bring the arms in front.

Abdominal Head Of Pectoralis Major

The abdominal head is the bottom part of the pectoralis major. The size of the abdominal head varies widely between individuals.

During the pullover, it assists in extending the arms behind the body as you bring the barbell down. It works alongside the latissimus dorsi muscles to extend the arms.

Triceps Lateral Heads

The lateral heads are the outer part of the triceps. They originate from the humerus, or upper arm, and insert into the ulna. The lateral heads are only active against resistance.

Their primary role is to extend the elbows, making the angle between the forearm and upper arms bigger. Therefore, when you bring the barbell behind your head, the lateral heads contract to stabilize the elbow position.

For targeted tricep isolation, consider these tricep workouts. The barbell pullover can be programmed alongside these if needed.

Triceps Medial Heads

The medial heads are located underneath the lateral heads. Like the lateral heads, they primarily perform elbow extension. However, they are active in all forms of resistance.

As you bring the barbell overhead, they keep the same slightly bent elbow position.

Triceps Long Heads

The long heads are next to the lateral heads. Unlike the other two heads, they originate from the scapula, or shoulder blades. Because of this, they extend the elbows and stabilize the shoulders.

During the barbell pullover, they function to keep the same slightly extended elbow position. Because they originate from the scapula, they stabilize the shoulder extension movement as you bring your arms overhead.

Serratus Anterior

The serratus anterior is a small fan-shaped muscle. It originates from the ribs and inserts into the scapula.

As you flex your shoulders to bring the barbell to the starting position, the serratus anterior brings the scapula forward. This scapula stabilization helps to maintain the correct arm position.

Upper Trapezius

The upper traps are the upper portion of the trapezius muscles. Their primary function is to move and stabilize your scapula. They elevate and upwardly rotate the scapula.

As you flex the shoulders to bring the barbell back to the starting position, the upper traps stabilize the scapula movement.

Middle Trapezius

The middle traps are below the upper traps. They also stabilize your scapula, stopping them from moving inwards.

When performing the barbell pullover, they work alongside the upper traps to stabilize the scapula, ensuring the correct arm position.

Equipment

Flat Bench Without Rack

Barbell

Flat Bench Without Rack

This is great for pressing and pulling movements. Ensure the safety catch is firmly locked in. If you can't find this bench, use one with a rack for barbell exercises.

Barbell

You can use this for a range of arm exercises. Ensure the seat is at the right height. A good alternative would be the incline bench.

Who Should Do?

Beginner Gymgoers

At this stage of lifting, beginners are yet to develop the skills needed to perform advanced gym movements. This includes balance, muscular coordination, and muscular strength. The main focus should be on exercises that are easy to perform and help to develop a solid foundation.

The barbell pullover uses a simple movement pattern that develops several foundational muscle groups. You extend your shoulders and flex them to bring the barbell overhead and back again. Therefore, it’s a great movement to include as part of a beginner training routine.

Bodybuilders

The main training goal as a bodybuilder is to improve your physical appearance. When on stage, you’re judged on the proportions and symmetry of your muscle groups. To achieve a well-rounded physique, a balanced exercise routine that works all muscle groups is needed.

The barbell pullover works the latissimus dorsi as the primary movers. These make up a large proportion of the back musculature. 

Alongside this, they work nine other upper-body muscle groups. For well-rounded upper-body muscle development, add the barbell pullover into your routine.

Strength And Power Athletes

Strength and power athletes have the main training goal of improving their strength levels. This refers to the capability of the body to work against resistance. Improving strength can lead to better exercise and athletic performance.

The barbell pullover works many of the key stabilizer muscles that ensure correct arm movement. These include the trapezius and serratus anterior. Strength movements like the bench press and deadlift rely on these for the primary movers to function.

As a strength and power athlete, the barbell pullover can be added as an accessory strength exercise. When performed correctly, this can improve function and performance.

Who Should Not Do?

People With Chronic Shoulder Issues

The shoulder muscles are some of the most commonly injured muscle groups when resistance training. They account for 7.4% of all muscular injuries suffered during resistance exercise. 

Chronic shoulder issues such as shoulder impingement syndrome cause pain and reduce shoulder range of motion. Exercises that involve large degrees of shoulder movement may not be a good idea for chronic shoulder issues. 

The barbell pullover requires large degrees of shoulder extension and flexion to be performed correctly. Because of this, it isn’t suitable for those with chronic shoulder issues.

Those With Muscular Imbalances

Muscular imbalance is the result of a large difference in strength and function between different sides of the body. This is a common occurrence in overhead athletes who perform movements that commonly involve the shoulders.

The barbell pullover uses a compound movement pattern that requires both sides of the body to work together. For those with muscular imbalances, this may cause the dominant side to perform most of the movement. In this case, prioritize unilateral movements that work each side of the body individually. 

Benefits Of The Barbell Pullover

Builds The Upper Body 

The upper body can be split into several muscle groups. This includes the chest, shoulders, back, biceps, and triceps. Building muscle in each of these requires a suitable resistance training stimulus, with training volume as the main determinant.

Training volume refers to the amount of work performed. Exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time allow a bigger training volume in a shorter period. Alongside this, they can also help improve muscular strength.

The barbell pullover works many of the upper-body muscle groups listed above. These include the lats, pecs, triceps, traps, and serratus anterior. Therefore, it’s a great exercise to promote upper-body muscle growth. 

Improved Shoulder Mobility

Shoulder mobility refers to the ability of the shoulder joints to move through their ranges of motion. Good shoulder mobility means your shoulders can move through the full range of motion without any pain or obstruction. Resistance training is well-known to improve shoulder mobility when performed correctly. 

The latissimus dorsi, pectoralis major heads, and triceps long head muscles play key roles in shoulder movements. They allow the arms to move vertically and horizontally during movement and exercise. Each of these are key muscle groups worked during the barbell pullover.

Improving their function with barbell pullovers can therefore improve shoulder mobility when performed with enough training volume. 

Stronger Stabilizers

During movement and exercise, the primary movers tend to be the main focus. However, the secondary movers play equally important, unseen roles that allow the primary movers to function.

During arm movement, key scapula stabilizers include the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles. They move and stabilize the scapula, ensuring proper arm movement. When these muscles function correctly, better movement efficiency helps to reduce possible injury risk.

The barbell pullover works both of these key scapula stabilizer muscles. With this, regular performance can lead to stronger stabilizer muscles, improving movement and performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the barbell pullover so difficult?

The barbell pullover requires several upper-body muscle groups to function correctly. Moreover, the core musculature must work to maintain the correct lifting position. This makes it an advanced movement that’s difficult to perform without practice.

What muscles do the barbell pullover target?

The barbell pullover works the latissimus dorsi muscles as the primary movers. The pectoralis major, triceps, trapezius, and serratus anterior perform secondary roles.

How to do a barbell pullover?

Lay with your elbows extended above you and a barbell in front. Extend your arms back to bring the barbell behind your head, keeping a slight elbow bend. Pause and bring the barbell back to the starting position.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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