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Barbell Pull Over

The Barbell Pull Over is a strength exercise with a barbell for your back. Share of the load in the Zulta muscle model: lats (upper) 21%, mid chest 17% and lats (lower) 15%.

Level: IntermediateEquipment: BarbellSingle-joint (isolation)

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back on a flat bench with your head near the end and your feet flat on the floor.
  2. Hold a light barbell above your chest with a palms-down grip about shoulder width.
  3. Unlock the elbows slightly and keep that bend fixed through the set.
  4. Lower the bar back over your head in an arc until your upper arms are in line with your torso.
  5. Pull the bar back over your chest along the same arc, stopping above the shoulders.

Tips

  • Keep your ribs down so the stretch comes from the shoulders, not an arched back.
  • Think of pulling with your armpits to feel the lats.

Common mistakes

  • Bending and straightening the elbows so it becomes a triceps extension.
  • Dropping the bar too far behind the head with a heavy load.
  • Lifting the hips and arching hard off the bench.

Muscles worked by the Barbell Pull Over

  • Lats (upper) Primary21%
  • Mid chest Secondary17%
  • Lats (lower) Primary15%
  • Lower chest Secondary11%
  • Triceps (long head) Secondary11%
  • Rear delts Secondary7%
  • Lower traps Minor6%
  • Upper abs Stabilizer4%
  • Rhomboids Stabilizer4%
  • Rotator cuff Stabilizer4%

Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.

Lying pullovers load the pec as much as the lats (Marchetti and Uchida 2011). With the elbows locked, shoulder extension isolates the lats and the long head of the triceps; lying pullovers bring the sternal pec in strongly.

Barbell Pull Over alternatives

Different equipment

Easier

Make it harder

Make it easier

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the Barbell Pull Over work?

Mainly the lats (upper) and lats (lower). The mid chest, lower chest, triceps (long head) and rear delts assist.

Is the Barbell Pull Over good for beginners?

The Barbell Pull Over is rated intermediate. If you are new, learn the Band Straight Arm Pulldown first and build up from there.

What is a good alternative to the Barbell Pull Over?

For example the Dumbbell Lat Pullover, Dumbbell Pullover and Lying Cable Pullover. They train mostly the same muscles, some with different equipment.

How do you make the Barbell Pull Over harder?

Add weight or reps, or move on to the Front Lever Raise and Skin the Cat.

Sources

  • Marchetti and Uchida 2011, J Appl Biomech 27(4):380-384 (pullover, pec and lats)

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