Stability Ball Single Arm Dumbbell Pullover

In SetGrip: Dumbbell Pullover (Stability Ball, Single Arm)

Secondary muscles
Triceps, Lats, Rhomboids
Body part
Chest
Position
Lying
Laterality
Unilateral (one arm at a time)
Category
Strength

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Taking the ball pullover down to one arm adds a rotational pull your trunk has to cancel, which is why the rhomboids and obliques show up here more than in any two-hand version. Go noticeably lighter than half your usual dumbbell load and match reps carefully across sides.

How to do the Stability Ball Single Arm Dumbbell Pullover

  1. Sit on an exercise ball with your feet flat on the ground and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
  2. Hold a dumbbell with one hand and extend your arm straight up above your chest.
  3. Slowly lower the dumbbell behind your head while keeping your arm straight.
  4. Pause for a moment, then raise the dumbbell back to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch arms.

Tip: Breathe in deeply as you lower and let the ribcage expand before pulling back over.

Muscles worked

Primary

Pectorals · Chest

The pecs assist from the stretched position and do more of the work on straight arm variations with the arms wide.

Secondary

  • Triceps — The long head of the triceps stretches at the bottom and helps hold the elbow angle on bent arm pullovers.
  • Lats — The lats pull the arms from overhead back toward the body and get a long stretch at the bottom, especially on bent arm and decline variations.
  • Rhomboids

Common mistakes

  • Elbows bending as you lower — set the elbow angle at the start and keep it fixed, otherwise the triceps take over.
  • Arching to get lower — let the shoulders open and the ribs stay down; the stretch should come from the lats and chest, not the spine.
  • Pulling too far over — stop when the arms are vertical over the chest, since past that the tension is gone.
  • Rushing the stretch — lower slowly over three seconds and pause at the bottom before pulling back.

Where it fits in a workout

Pullovers go late in a chest or back session as an isolation movement. Superset them with chest flies or a straight arm pulldown.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without dumbbell

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.