The dumbbell pullover is an iconic chest exercise made famous in the Golden Era of training with the likes of Greats such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. But as the old adage says; “There’s more than one way to skin a cat” or “There’s more than one way to perform the pullover”. The cable pullover is an awesome alternative to the dumbbell pullover and offers several benefits that might even make it the superior option. This article will
Table of Contents
- What is a Standing Cable Pullover?
- How to do a Standing Cable Pullover
- Common Mistakes
- Where Should I Feel Cable Pullovers?
- Benefits
- Cable Pullover Variations
- Cable Pullover Training Programming
- Alternatives to Cables
- Other Lat Isolation Movements
- Final Note
What is a Standing Cable Pullover?
A pullover is an isolation movement that utilizes shoulder extension – this is when the shoulder moves down in front of the body, like a freestyle swim stroke. A few muscles are involved with this but the lats are the major movers.
There are multiple pieces of equipment you can use to perform this such as;
- Barbell
- Dumbbell
- Weight plates
In a nutshell, the standing cable pullover is done by;
- Attach a straight bar or rope handle attachment to a cable pulley system.
- Face towards the cable machine pulley and grab the handle
- Put yourself in a slight forward hinge and straighten your arms
- Bring your arms straight down toward your thighs while engaging the lats
That’s a very brief overview but there’s a bit more nuance we’ll address below. The most important point is this movement hits the lats in a unique manner.
This is also sometimes referred to as a “front straight-arm pulldown” or more easily, “swimmers”. As we know, swimmers have some of the best back development in the sporting world and this movement replicates the freestyle stroke.¹
How to do a Standing Cable Pullover
A cable pullover can be a confusing exercise as it has various names as we just discussed.
Most other versions include having your arms reach back behind your head. This version is unique as this does not occur – you are simply pulling down from a raised version while keeping your arms straight.
While the mechanics are the same in many of the variations, we feel this variation makes it easier to isolate the lats. This is due to the biomechanics and use of the cable machine.
Here is how to do a standing cable pullover:
- Face a cable machine with a straight bar attachment slightly higher than head height (for most, this will have the cable pulley at the top of the machine).
- From here, grab the handle with an overhand grip (about shoulder-width apart) and take a step or two back away from the machine.
- With the core engaged and shoulders down and back, set feet shoulder width apart and hinge forward slightly.
- Now, keep your arms straight and pull the bar down - pulling with your lats!
- Once the straight bar handle attachment reaches your thighs, pause for a moment as you squeeze your lats, then slowly let your arms return to the start position, maintaining your forward hip hinge until all of your reps are complete.
- Once you have completed your desired number of repetitions, you can then slowly return to an upright position while allowing the bar handle attachment to carefully return to the top (don’t just let the load go, always control the movement).
Rope Attachment:
If using a rope attachment, the movement is done in the same way. The only difference is you are going to be using a close neutral grip.
With that, the muscles are worked a little differently, but the form is the same. The rope attachment tends to activate the upper chest more than the straight bar due to the grip position.
Nevertheless, both will target the lats and can be used effectively.
Common Mistakes
The cable pullover has its fair share of common mistakes, just like any other exercise; let’s take a look at a few you can avoid!
Disengaging the core
One of the biggest mistakes made when doing a cable pullover, disengaging the core can have implications on the entire movement. Core stabilization is a key benefit of cable pullovers, and not properly engaging your core muscles will most likely have you losing this benefit, as well as the correct form and posture needed for the exercise to be completed successfully.
From the moment you grab the handle attachment, through the hip hinge and the shoulder flexion/extension, to placing the handle attachment back up at the pulley site, your core should be turned on.
Too Much Flexion Of The Elbows
While this might seem like a natural movement, bending the elbows too much during the cable pullover directs more of the work to your triceps and removes the emphasis from the lats.
For the upper back to be the primary area to target, keeping a slight bend in the elbows is best; not locking the elbows out completely, but having just enough bend to still allow the lats to engage properly.
Excessive range of motion
In a cable pullover, you will notice that the ability to exceed your normal range of motion is highest when the arms are extended straight overhead. In this position (with the handle attachment toward the pulley), it’s easy to let your shoulders rise up and brush your ears, when they really need to stay down and back.
Think of your shoulder blades staying retracted even though your arms are raising up, which keeps the upper back engaged and decreases the risk of over-stretching or exceeding your normal range of motion through the shoulder joint.
Moving too quickly
On some exercises, speed is key – however, with a cable pullover, that is not the case. Smooth, controlled movement will allow you to maintain proper form and technique, and will help you focus on actually engaging the muscles of the upper back in order to perform the movement correctly.
If the weight is on the lighter side, it can certainly be easy to quickly swing your arms down to your thighs and then let the weight stack pull back up. Don’t do this. Use controlled motion and really focus at the bottom of the movement.
Pulling back
It would make sense to pull back on the load as in a row. However, this isn’t the movement we want.
Think about making a big swooping motion, trying to make a big circle. Aim to pull the attachment as low as you can on your thighs.
Where Should I Feel a Cable Pullover?
The cable pullover utilizes a good bit of muscle including;
- Triceps (the long head)
- Pectorals
- Teres major
- Rhomboids
- Posterior delts
At the same time, there will also be many core muscles activated to support your core, including;
- Rectus abdominis
- Obliques
- Erector spinae (lower back)
However, during a cable pullover, the main muscle group worked is the lats.
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Benefits of Cable Pullovers
The cable pullover provides a lot of benefits; this is why you should have these in your rotation.
Shoulder Extension Strength Development
The main benefit of the cable pullover is that it is a great isolation exercise for your lats.
Moreover, it’s really the only isolation exercise to hit the lats through shoulder extension. While you do use these mechanics during the chin-up or narrow-grip rows, the pullover is the only isolation exercise.
Your back should be worked through several movement patterns;
- Horizontal pulling (Any row
- Vertical pulling (Chin-up, pull-up)
- Horizontal shoulder extension (reverse flys)
- Shoulder extension
Stabilizing the core (and all other stabilizing muscles)
Pulling down on a heavy load requires a stable core so those stabilizers are crucial in supporting those working muscles.
This will not only allow better performance, you’ll also get in a decent core workout and train the musculature to stabilize the torso and resist movement
Strengthening the upper body
While this goes almost without being said, the cable pullover is a wonderful exercise for strengthening the upper body, particularly the lats.
If you are on the lookout for a stellar exercise to work the upper back and lats, this is it! Not only will the lats be targeted, but you will also notice improvements in the strength of your core as well.
Possible mobility improvement
The motion of a cable pullover can certainly point out any discrepancies within the mobility at the shoulder joint!
Obviously, a stretching routine specifically set for your personal goals is key to improving range of motion; however, the stretch that you might feel while performing a cable pullover can certainly aid in that progression!
The cable pulldown can effectively stretch out and improve mobility of several muscles including;
- Lats
- Shoulders
- Chest
Cable Pullover Variations
While performing a cable pullover is easiest with a straight bar or rope handle attachment, there are several alternative options.
Kneeling Cable Pullovers:
If your cable pulley doesn’t go very high or you feel more stable in a kneeling position, you can also do a cable pullover from a kneeling position; in this case, you would still set the pulley as high as it can go, but then place your knees about shoulder-width apart on the ground (preferably on a mat) while still performing a slight hip hinge in order to complete the movement.
Supine Cable Pullovers:
Another variation that takes you away from a standing position is performing a cable pullover while in a supine position.
Some may like the variability of switching between doing the movement upright, while also trying it supine while on a stability ball or even a flat or incline bench.
Remember that a stability ball will be more unstable, so ensuring that balance and stability are present is crucial.
If you want to do a cable pullover on a stability ball and/or bench, there are a few tweaks you will need to make;
- Ensure that the cable pulley location is just slightly higher than your head will be once you are laying down on the ball.
- Rest your upper back and head/neck on the ball comfortably – it shouldn’t be positioned any lower than your shoulder blades.
- Grip the handle attachment with your arms and stay extended throughout the movement; really focus on pulling the attachment to your thighs with your lats though, and not your triceps!
- Lastly, use controlled motion throughout.
Straight Standing Cable Pullover:
You can try to do a cable pullover standing from a standing position without the hip hinge.
This will alter the range of motion and how the muscles are worked slightly as you will be starting with less of a stretch. Nevertheless, it is can be an easy variation and you may feel better muscle activation.
Cable Pullover Training Programming
With an exercise like the cable pullover, the range of sets, reps, and total weight will be different for everyone – and is highly dependent on factors like current health/injury status, fitness goals, flexibility and mobility, etc.). Aside from that, there are some general training guidelines you can incorporate into your workout program accordingly.
Sets and reps: The cable pullover is wonderful for building endurance through the upper back; with that being said, anywhere from 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps is ideal, with reps slow and controlled. If your goal is to build muscle, then aiming for 4-5 sets with a lower rep range such as 8-10 would be more appropriate. Rest times for endurance can stay within a 30 second to 1 minute range, while rest times for building muscle mass can be upwards of 2 minutes between sets if needed.
It can be easy to let the weight get away from you on a cable pullover, in which case more momentum is used and/or you are moving outside of your typical range of motion in a way that might not be the safest. Think in terms of improving stability here – and move with purpose through all your rep schemes!
As for the other variations of cable pullovers, you can switch things up week to week or training cycle to training cycle (i.e. when you finish your 8 week split, alter the shoulder extension exercise on the next). It's good to add variability in terms of grip and body positioning, as well as the different equipment you use...
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Alternatives to Using Cables
As we mentioned in the beginning, there are several other variations we can use with the pullover.
Cable Vs Free Weights With The Pullover
Cable machines have a flat resistance, which means the resistance is the same no matter where you are in the movement. On the other hand, free weights have a resistance curve, due to gravity, so the resistance/tension changes during the different phases of the movement.²
Thus, when considering the stretching and contraction tension mentioned and the cable machines flat resistance, both free weight pullovers and cable pullovers should have their place in your workout routine.
They have the same biomechanics, but different dynamics.
Dumbbell Pullover:
Everyone knows the dumbbell pullover. It is basically the same as doing a rope handle cable pullover due to the grip. However, with the dumbbell pullover, you can get greater stretching tension, but not as great contraction tension.
So, if you are looking to really squeeze your lats, the cable pullover wins.
To do this exercise, you’ll need to;
- Find a bench for support and lie down flat
- Grab a dumbbell and hold one head of the dumbbell with both hands
- With arms extended, you will bring the dumbbell back behind your head.
- Your upper arms should end by your ears at the end of your range of motion
- Squeeze your lats and bring your arms back overhead, maintaining a solid grip on the dumbbell and contracting your lats.
Barbell Pullover:
The barbell pullover is like the straight bar cable pullover due to the grip. Like the dumbbell pullover, you will get greater stretching tension but not as great contraction tension as you can with the cable machine.
Banded Pullovers
You can also use a resistance band to do pullovers in the same manner as a cable machine. The motions will be exactly the same except you’re using a resistance band.
Single Arm Pullovers
This is a unique variation that puts extra demand on your core. As you’re only using one arm, the resistance is off and wants to force your body to turn. Your core will need to resist any rotational force.
This can be performed with any variation that allows one arm such as a dumbbell or cable pulley and single-hand attachment.
Rowing Exercises to hit your lats:
- Reverse Grip Barbell Row
- Dumbbell Row to Hip
- Krock Rows
- Underhand Grip Seal Rows
FINAL NOTE:
If you haven’t yet attempted a cable pullover, but would like to incorporate it into your training routine, try and add a few sets! This movement can be supplementary to other back exercises as you learn to move through the exercise correctly and safely, and you will still reap the benefits of mobility and stability in the process.
Eventually, you will begin to notice that not only is your back and core stronger – you might notice improvement in other areas of performance, due to your stabilizers being stronger as well!
Related: Best Cable Machine Back Exercises
References
- Cavaggioni, L., Scurati, R., Tosin, M., Vernole, R., Bonfanti, L., Trecroci, A., & Formenti, D. (2024). Are Dryland Strength and Power Measurements Associated with Swimming Performance? Preliminary Results on Elite Paralympic Swimmers. Sports, 12(4), 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12040094
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Andersen LL, Andersen JL, Magnusson SP, Suetta C, Madsen JL, Christensen LR, Aagaard P. Changes in the human muscle force-velocity relationship in response to resistance training and subsequent detraining. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2005 Jul;99(1):87-94. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00091.2005. Epub 2005 Feb 24. PMID: 15731398. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15731398/
Garett Reid
Author