Dumbbell Pullover
The dumbbell pullover is done lying on a flat bench: you lower one dumbbell, held in both hands, in an arc behind your head and pull it back over your chest. It works the chest, with the lats and triceps assisting.
How to do the Dumbbell Pullover
- Lie on a flat bench with your feet on the floor and hold one dumbbell with both hands above your chest.
- Keep a slight bend in your elbows and hold it there for the whole set.
- Lower the dumbbell in an arc behind your head until you feel a stretch through your chest and lats.
- Pull it back along the same arc until it is over your chest again.
Muscles worked
Common mistakes
- Bending the elbows on the way down — that turns the pullover into a triceps extension; keep the elbow angle fixed.
- Going deeper than your shoulders allow — stop where the stretch is strong but comfortable, not where the dumbbell touches the floor.
- Arching your lower back — keep your ribs down and your hips on the bench as the weight goes behind your head.
Where it fits in a workout
Use it after your main chest or back lifts.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Logging the Dumbbell Pullover in SetGrip
SetGrip logs the Dumbbell Pullover as weight and reps; enter the weight of the single dumbbell you hold.
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.
Track the Dumbbell Pullover in SetGrip
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- 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. Text: SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.