A Good Weight for Dumbbell Pullovers

Although the dumbbell pullover is considered an isolation exercise because only your shoulder joints are moving, it works an array of upper-body muscles, including your chest, your latissimus dorsi in the back, your triceps brachii at the back of your arms and a number of smaller muscles surrounding your shoulders and scapula. The weight that you should use when doing pullovers depends on your training goals and what your workout program looks like.

  1. Factors

    • A good weight to use for dumbbell pullovers will depend on a number of factors, including your training plan and the number of repetitions you’re hoping to complete in each set, as well as your current strength level. This value is likely to vary significantly from person to person. If your workout is designed to develop strength, it consists of sets of a relatively low number of repetitions. If you’re following a muscle-building program, the number of reps in each set will be higher.

    Appropriate Weight

    • Workouts to build strength involve completing sets of six or fewer repetitions, while workouts designed to increase muscle size require performing six to 12 repetitions. To know if you’re using the right weight, your muscles should be fatigued by the time you hit your goal number of repetitions. To use the dumbbell pullover to build strength in the chest, select a dumbbell that causes your chest to get tired by the time you perform six reps. Increase the weight if necessary. To use dumbbell pullover to increase the size of your chest, select a weight that allows you to do no less than six but no more than 12 reps and make adjustments if needed.

    Technique

    • If you have a training partner, position yourself on the bench and have your partner hand you the weight. If you’re working out alone, grip the dumbbell with both hands and sit on the flat bench, then lie back while keeping your feet flat on the floor. Start with your arms extended so that you’re holding the dumbbell over your chest. Keeping your elbows just slightly bent, lower the dumbbell over and behind your head. Keep going until your upper arms are in line with your torso and then extend your shoulders to bring the dumbbell back up to starting position.

    Safety Considerations

    • Avoid using a weight for dumbbell pullover that’s too heavy for you to safely control. Don’t use a heavy weight that causes you to stretch your arms too far back behind your head so that they move beyond the line of your torso, as this places a significant amount of stress on your shoulder capsule. In addition, because you’re holding the dumbbell over your head, when using a heavier weight, ask a partner to act as a spotter and be ready in case you lose control.