Is it worth doing a pullover exercise to pump your chest and back

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This movement used to be very popular, but now everything has changed.

How is the pullover exercise performed

The pullover exercise is used to pump the chest and back and is an extension and flexion of the shoulders while lying on the back.

As a weight, you can take a barbell with a straight or EZ ‑ bar, a dumbbell, a barbell pancake, a lower block or an expander.

Why exercise pullover has lost popularity

In 1914, THE HISTORY OF THE DUMBBELL PULLOVER was printed on cards in cigarette packs, and the founding father of American strength training, Alan Calvert, considered Super Strength Paperback exercise to be the best way to increase chest size.

In the middle of the 20th century, the pullover was used by such famous bodybuilders as Randy Roach, Bob Hoffman, Joe Weider and Reg Park, but in the 90s the exercise suddenly began to be considered not especially effective and even dangerous.

For example, Dr. Joseph Horrigan, a sports medicine expert at the University of Southern California, wrote the article Complications of Pullover (1990) - Joseph Horrigan on how exercise can cause hernia and back and shoulder injuries.

Is it true that exercise can lead to injury?

In his article, Joseph Horrigan argues that a pullover can be harmful if performed with only your shoulders on a bench and strongly bending the body.

Due to the stretching and relaxation of the muscles during inhalation, such a performance can injure the white line of the abdomen - a strip of connective tissue between two rows of "cubes" - and cause a hernia.

How to find weight, sets and reps

If you have never tried a pullover exercise, first take a very light weight and try to do it with different equipment: dumbbell, barbell, EZ-bar.

If this does not cause discomfort in the shoulders, you can add weight. But here it is also important not to overdo it. Pick up a weight for 12-15 repetitions with which you will feel fatigue in the muscles at the end of the exercise. Do 3-5 sets.

Aim at 30% of your body weight, but adjust the load to suit your capabilities and sensations.

How to integrate a pullover exercise into your workouts

If your main goal is to build muscle, you can periodically insert a pullover at the end of a workout dedicated to pumping your pecs or lats to finish them off and increase the stimulus for growth.

If you plan to develop shoulder mobility and train neuromuscular communication, do the pullover exercise once a week, combining it with other upper body pumping movements: pull-ups, presses, and push-ups.