Pullovers a back exercise or chest exercise?

[Taylor]

im using a barbell when doing this...lying on a bench

it works your chest and your lats...I just tried doing this the other day as i wanted some more variety in my back workouts...so i did it on a back day, i went relatively light on this exercise just so i could get comfortable with the form

my question is should this be done on a chest day or a back day....my chest/back days are back to back during the week

[coffee-guy]

This is very controversial especially the less you know about anatomy. However, once you spend some time studying human musculature you will see that it is really only working the Latissimus Dorsi and Teres Major. Unfortunately, because you are leaning over a bench and using free weights you are limited in how much you actually focus on that muscle. The best way to work this muscle with this type of movement is to use a cable while standing - starting position being with the arms overhead (cable in front of you) and to pull down using the Latissimus Dorsi and Teres Major to bring the cable down to waist level.

So, to answer your question, you aren't even working your chest (maybe a little stretching and balancing but that's the extent of it) so if you change your exercise to the above it is a great wrap-up exercise to a good back workout.

If you have any other questions on exercises etc. use this website to help. Also, keep in mind that when you are using free weights you have to keep in mind the Laws of Physics and Gravity so that you can fully understand what muscles you are using instead of what muscles you "think" you are using...

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

[Taylor]

well see my thing is when I do deads on a back day, i usually DONT go to the gym i stay at home and i don't have anything to hit my lats....i don't have anywhere to do chins and i don't have anything to do pulldowns with

I do go to the gym every other week for back and occasionally i'll do deadlifts at home then go straight to the gym and finish up a back workout...and at other times i will go to the gym on a back day 3 or 4 weeks in a row...it really depends on my time

im not looking for pullovers to be a daily substitute for chins and pulldowns but on back days where i can't hit the gym I looked them up and seemed to be the best remaining option

i also don't have cables at home, would using dumbbells opposed to a barbell be more or less beneficial in your opinion?

[coffee-guy]

Use the link I gave you. Dumbbell pullovers focus more on the stretching of the Clavicular Head of the Pectorals.

If you have a barbell heavy enough to do deads then you can do bent over rows and pullovers (which hit your lats).

Your post above makes no sense at all.

Also, why would you post this thread if it doesn't matter to you what the answer is???

[Taylor]

what doesn't make sense about it?

my question is whether or not to put pullovers with back day or chest day since every site including the one you linked says it hits both the back and chest

[BBAddict]

I've heard of people doing it for chest, but I definitely feel it in my back more than my chest. The only way I feel it in my chest is a dumbell pullover lying on a bench and then it's only a finishing lift.

[NYCmitch25]

I think it depends on the ROM.
lowering the DB just behind the head - Chest, Tris, & Rib cage
lowering the DB close to the floor - Lats, Tri's, & Chest

[njlovehandles]

I never realy understod how this hit the chests. I always do them at the end of a back day using the same techinique Fag talked about. Realy gives you a good pump!

[coffee-guy]

I think it depends on the ROM.
lowering the DB just behind the head - Chest, Tris, & Rib cage
lowering the DB close to the floor - Lats, Tri's, & Chest

What are you referring to when you say Rib Cage? I hear people say that all the time but there is not a Rib Cage muscle. The Serratus Anterior is the closest thing to a Rib Cage muscle and that is only targeted in a chest pressing motion.

As for the DB it mainly hits the chest due to hand position (but this is only a stretching exercise and does not build excessive mass). A BB mainly hits the Lats.

Taylor -

To answer your first post - use a barbell like you have been to hit the lats. Use a dumbbell to focus more on the chest even though it is not a great exercise (imo). As for your 3rd post, I was referring to your 2nd post being a little confusing as opposed to the original. Also, if you look are looking at all of the muscles listed in the links you need to realize that "synergist" muscles are "secondary" and are not being used to a great extent. They are more or less stabilizing muscles and you are by no means "working" them in regards to building mass etc.

I recommend you stick with the barbell pullovers to hit your lats and find something else if you wish to hit the chest muscles.

[NYCmitch25]

I didnt feel like writting or explaining Serratus Anterior or Serratus Magnus. I think you being a little picky? He knows where his rib cage is right? And I like to hear how a BB vs DB hits the lats.

If you read his post hes not asking you what your option is on the exercise - a mass builder or not. Is it a chest or back workout. Yes or No. The whole last part of the post makes no sense. Just confusing.

[NYCmitch25]

BB
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exer...rbell+Pullover
DB
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exer...bbell+Pullover

[coffee-guy]

I didnt feel like writting or explaining Serratus Anterior or Serratus Magnus. I think you being a little picky? He knows where his rib cage is right? And I like to hear how a BB vs DB hits the lats.

See Below

If you read his post hes not asking you what your option is on the exercise - a mass builder or not. Is it a chest or back workout. Yes or No. The whole last part of the post makes no sense. Just confusing.

I'm not trying to be picky about your definition of the "rib cage" (whether or not you were referring to the Serratus Anterior or Serratus Magnus). What I was trying to point out is that this exercise will in no way build the musculature of the "rib cage" despite views of the past. The barbell exercise implies that your hands are placed farther apart than with the dumbbell (a shoulder width pronated grip is recommended). This is what activates the lats. If you were to try to perform a behind the neck lat pulldown with your hands together you would not activate the lats anymore than you would if you were doing a dumbbell pullover.

As for his original question. I answered that in my first post. It was his second post that seemed to confuse the question.

Taylor's second post...

well see my thing is when I do deads on a back day, i usually DONT go to the gym i stay at home and i don't have anything to hit my lats....i don't have anywhere to do chins and i don't have anything to do pulldowns with

What the hell does this have to do with "pullovers?" Also, if you have a barbell to do the deadlifts and the pullovers then you can do bent over rows to really hit the lats.

I do go to the gym every other week for back and occasionally i'll do deadlifts at home then go straight to the gym and finish up a back workout...and at other times i will go to the gym on a back day 3 or 4 weeks in a row...it really depends on my time

Great - good to know...

im not looking for pullovers to be a daily substitute for chins and pulldowns but on back days where i can't hit the gym I looked them up and seemed to be the best remaining option

You're right as long as you use the barbell with a shoulder width grip

i also don't have cables at home, would using dumbbells opposed to a barbell be more or less beneficial in your opinion?

Not beneficial for your lats at all, this is why I posted the difference in BB vs. DB.

In Taylor's very last post he said that all of the pullover exercises emphasize the use of both the chest and the lats. What he didn't notice was that in the BB pullovers that the chest is only a "synergist/secondary" muscle so he doesn't need to do BB pullovers on a chest day. This was just another point to reinforce the fact that he needs to do BB pullovers on his back day.

[coffee-guy]

BB
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exer...rbell+Pullover
DB
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exer...bbell+Pullover

That's great, however if you'll notice in the first picture his hands are in the same position as if he was holding a dumbbell. To ensure the lats are worked your hands must be at least shoulder width.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...BPullover.html

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...BPullover.html

Also, this is the best type of "pullover" to focus on your lats.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...mPullover.html