The pullover is an exercise you seldom see done in the gym
anymore. Yet back in the "Pumping Iron" days of bodybuilding it was a
staple in almost everyone's routine.
In fact, way back in the old days before the invention of
bench presses with upright racks for holding the bar, guys would do a barbell
pullover, lifting the bar from the floor to their chest, and then do their
bench presses. But gradually over the years this exercise got pushed to the
wayside and is hardly ever done by the average gym goer.
The main benefit from pullovers is that they help expand the
rib cage and work all the supporting muscle groups along the torso, chest,
lats, arms, and shoulders through a full range of motion. This can really help
add thickness and depth to your torso, which is one area that a lot of people
lack these days.
I know from the majority of people that I see at the gym
that very few of them have a well developed torso. It's actually quite common
to see a guy with muscular arms and shoulders stacked on a slim chest and
torso. But by adding pullovers to your routine you can help fill out and expand
your rib cage and correct this problem.
Your rib cage is the frame work that supports all your upper
body muscles. So if you have a well built frame underneath, the muscles of your
chest, shoulders, lats, and arms will look much more impressive.
I was fortunate enough to have included pullovers as a
regular exercise in my workouts from the start and I think this has certainly
helped me to develop a large rib cage and good chest expansion, which is
clearly seen when I hit a side chest pose as in the pic above.
The main reason I even did this exercise was the fact I
started training in a simple home gym and didn't have access to a lot of the
fancy machines that are so common in most gyms today. So from having limited
equipment I tried to include as much training variety as I could using basic
free weight barbell and dumbbell exercises. For this reason I sometimes feel
that training with limited gym equipment can be a blessing in disguise.
There are two basic variations to the pullover, the barbell
version and the cross bench dumbbell version. One is not necessarily better
then the other, both work well. I personally feel that the dumbbell pullover
stretches the chest a bit more and the barbell pullover places a little more
emphasis on the lats. But you can pick the one that feels the best for you, or
if you have no preference you can alternate back and forth between both
variations. The main thing is that you just do them.
The pullover is a stretching exercise, so you'll make better
gains from using a moderate weight, higher reps, and really working through a
full range of motion. Add weight to the exercise in a gradual progressive
fashion, but never at the expense of sacrificing your exercise form.
Depending on your body structure and how you do the exercise
you may feel it working the chest, or you may feel it working the lats, or a
combination of the two. So you could include pullovers with your chest or back
workouts. The main thing is that you do them consistently so you reap the
results that they have to offer.
The first time you do the exercise start off with a light
weight and just get used to the movement and the range of motion required. Then
go up by 5 - 10 pound jumps in weight each set. By going through this process
you'll naturally find the sweet spot where you have enough weight that allows
you to stimulate the muscles hard, yet still be able to perform the exercise
through a deep range of motion and fully stretch out your entire rib cage,
chest, and lats.
Start off with 1 - 2 warm up sets and then take a working
weight that allows for 15 reps with good form. Do 2 - 3 working sets and really
focus on feeling the muscles stretch and contract with each rep. Another little
tip that will help add to the effectiveness is to take a deep breath before
each rep and hold your air in as you lower the weight. This will give you an
even deeper stretch throughout the rib cage.
You'll get more benefit from doing pullovers at the end of
your workout when your muscles are already pumped. Doing stretching exercises
when you are pumped up and the muscles feel tight will aid in muscle growth
because the connective tissues are already being stretched from the blood
volume in the muscles, and then by doing stretching exercises at this time as
well you get a double whammy effect. This really stretches the connective
tissue and increases your muscle growth potential.
By doing pullovers as a staple exercise in your workout
routine you are going to experience a good upper body growth spurt and also
notice an improvement in your flexibility and mobility for a lot of your other
exercises as well. Give it a try and don't be surprised if you add an inch or
two to your chest measurement in as little as 6 weeks.
If you would like some more advanced workout tips on how you
can build muscle mass and increase your strength than download a copy of my
Blast Your Bench program. This is a complete power bodybuilding training system
that will show you how to cycle your workouts for rapid muscle gains.
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Source: http://www.leehayward.com
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