Upper body heavy dumbbell training has always been a staple in old school bodybuilding workout programs. Building the upper body muscles has always been a matter of putting in hard work and being determined and mentally strong to endure the heavy resistance that free weights provide, not workout machines.
They do offer their own unique benefits, but the muscles are forced to move in the machine’s planes of movement, which are mostly unnatural and can hardly substitute the muscles natural ranges of movement. This article is not meant for those who think they have found success using machines exclusively, are satisfied with their current results or aren’t interested in exploring new ways of training. But for those who are continuously striving to find new ways to improve their upper body and overall physique and take it to the next level, plus, have the mental fortitude to face a new hard and exciting physical challenge, we’ve found an exercise that will do just that.
We’re talking about straight-arm dumbbell pullovers.
How do they affect the muscle structure?
Straight arm dumbbell pullovers will stimulate both pectoralis major and minor, the latissimus dorsi, as well as the smaller serratus anterior muscles, which will put the pecs and lats in the spotlight looking from the front. This results in an upper body attack from all angles that will make your chest wider and add thickness to your shoulders and the back.
The muscle fibers in the latissimus dorsi extend from the lower thoracic vertebrae, and the iliac crest in the hip, and then they join at the upper part of the humerus in the upper arm next to the shoulder. Latissimus dorsi extends the humerus bone by dragging the upper arm in a backward motion. Additionally, it causes an adduction of the humerus bone by getting the arm back to the body center. When your arms get directly overhead like they do in this exercise’s range of motion, greatest activation is achieved in the lower and middle parts of the lats.
The bigger part of the chest muscle, the pectoralis major is also stimulated when the dumbbell is moved from the overhead position to the position over the chest. This muscle runs from your clavicle, manubrium which is the top part of the sternum, the upper costal cartridges and the upper area of the external obliques to the head of the humerus of your upper arm next to the shoulder joint. The pectoralis major muscle adducts your bone, which is basically drawing the arm to the middle of the body.
The serratus anterior is attached to the ribs’ lateral side. The muscle fibers of serratus anterior are anchored on the first eight ribs, after which they are posteriorly positioned at the thorax’s lateral side. Its other end attaches at the scapula’s medial border. It protracts the scapula (pulls it forward) and holds it against the wall of the thorax, which is very important in throwing and pushing movements.
Your abs act as stabilizers to the upper body muscles while doing pullovers. The rectus abdominis is positioned from your pelvis to the sternum base. The external oblique muscles are positioned from the 5th to the 12th rib, downward to the pubic area and the pelvis’ iliac bones. When the right and left side of the external obliques and rectus abdominis are shortened, they are flexing the trunk in a way that the head goes in the direction of the feet.
Execution
- Grab a dumbbell and put it on either of its ends at the edge of a bench. Then, lie down in a 90-degree position to the bench’s long axis. The shoulder and the upper back muscles should be rested upon the bench and the feet should be placed firmly on the ground. The head and the neck should lie slightly beyond the bench.
- Grab either end of the dumbbell with the palms facing upwards, in a way that you create a diamond-like shape between the fingers and thumbs of both hands (each hand forms one-half of the “diamond”). Place the plates at the end of the dumbbell on your hands, in a way that the dumbbell shaft is positioned inside the “diamond” formed by your hands. Lift it over your pecs, this will be your start and end position.
- First, straighten out your arms, and then start lowering the dumbbell in a slow and controlled manner from the starting position over the chest, into an arching movement stretching back over the head, finishing behind the neck. As the dumbbell goes over your head, drop the hips towards the ground in order to get a better stretch in your rib cage.
- Stop the arching movement when the upper arm and the shoulder form a straight line. Strive to keep the elbows straight and locked as you descend the dumbbell.
- When the dumbbell is at the lowest position, the triceps muscle and your nose should form a straight line. When you get to this position, start raising the dumbbell back to your chest.
- When lowering the weight over and behind the head and getting to the lowest position, you should strive to take a forceful deep breath and exhale forcefully when getting it back to the starting position over your chest.
You should always make sure that you’re moving the dumbbell in a slow, controlled manner to minimize stress and avoid injury to the rotator cuffs of the shoulders. Also, you need to make sure that you end the movement with the dumbbell over the chest and that you never try to lower the dumbbell on the ground behind your head since this poses a significant risk of injury to the rotator cuffs.
As you lower your arms, you activate the serratus anterior, since your scapula will be protracted during this part of the movement. When getting the dumbbell back to your chest, you activate the lower muscle fibers of the pectoralis major and the lats. In this part of the movement, the obliques and the rectus abdominis are activated too.
The costal cartilages which connect the ribs and the sternum get a good stretch as the dumbbell is lowered and this is further increased when you lower the hips. Give this old school exercise a try and you will definitely see its huge effectiveness when it comes to getting a more bulky and muscular torso as well as increased chest and back width.
