Bent-Arm Barbell PulloverMuscles Worked
The bent-arm barbell pullover works your lats through a deep overhead stretch, with your chest, shoulders and the long head of your triceps helping bring the bar back over your chest. Bending your elbows shortens the lever, so you can handle more weight than in a straight-arm pullover.
How to do it
- Lie back on a flat bench, head near the end and feet flat on the floor, holding a barbell with a shoulder-width overhand grip.
- Press the bar up over your chest, then bend your elbows to a comfortable angle and keep them there.
- Lower the bar slowly in an arc back past your head until you feel a strong stretch through your lats and chest.
- Pull the bar back along the same arc to above your chest, thinking about driving your upper arms forward.
- Breathe in as the bar goes back and out as it returns, keeping your ribs down so your lower back stays on the bench.
Form tips
- Keep your elbow angle fixed, because bending and straightening the arms turns the pullover into a skull crusher.
- Only lower as far as your shoulders comfortably allow, and stop before your lower back arches off the bench.
- Pick a modest weight, since the bottom of the arc puts your shoulders in a long, stretched position.
Why it made the list
No. 6 of 12
Best Lat Exercises
Stretch-position exercise for lats. Classic bodybuilding movement. Unique angle not covered by rows or pulldowns.
More lat exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover sets in KasMaker and watch your lats, chest, shoulders, and triceps fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
